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New Sewing Books

I recently got a few new sewing books that I thought I’d share.

sewing-books

First up, Martha Stewart’s Encyclopedia of Sewing and Fabric Crafts. This book is full of many techniques and projects, beautifully photographed and clearly illustrated. I think this one will become an essential reference book and I’d definitely recommend it. Among my favorite projects are the pinch-pleated pillows and dyed fabric ticking, shown below. But there are many, many more. The book has a beginning section about various techniques, then goes through projects A-Z. It includes a CD with printable templates.

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And STC Craft sent me a review copy of Alabama Studio Style by Natalie Chanin. This book is full of inspirational sewing projects and southern recipes. As you would expect, there are beautiful photographs of Chanin’s detailed reverse appliqué work. And there are other projects for the home; I particularly like the woven farm chairs (stool shown below) and sewn furniture. Being from Alabama myself, I think the recipes are a good representation of traditional southern fare, but a bit too heavy. Overall I found this book to be more inspirational than instructional, but very pretty.

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And then there’s Built by Wendy Dresses by Wendy Mullin. This is a practical, get-your-hands-dirty sort of sewing book with 25 dress variations all based on three basic dress designs. She does a really good job of giving you the tools to customize the dresses and make them your own. I was really excited about making dresses for myself this summer, but I’m actually thinking that I’ll use some of the pattern ideas to make them for my girls. It includes three full-size patterns. There’s a very thorough review of this book from Amy Karol here.

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Revisiting the Past

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Sometimes having children is about revisiting the past. Do you have any of your childhood toys left? Lucky for me, my mother is a bit of a packrat and kept many of our things. Now we regularly drink from Smurf and Muppet glasses, my children play with my old doll house and use my handmade wooden doll beds. It’s nice to see things come full circle.

But these Ant and Bee books were a different story. I had them squirreled away on a shelf, intending never to share them with my children as they are too precious. The books were originally printed in the UK in the ’70s with a re-print in the late ’80s and early ’90s, but are  now out of print. They are selling for rather outlandish prices, as you can see here. But mine aren’t in very good condition and what’s the point in having something that you can’t share? So I pulled them down from the shelf and had a flood of memories as my daughter read them aloud. So sweet — and really great books. As my seven-year-old was reading Ant and Bee and the Rainbow, my five-year-old followed along reading the names of the colors. Angela Banner’s words and illustrations are still relevant today. They should print these again.

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Then my friend Laura brought the girls a super awesome gift – her Barbie townhouse that she had as a girl, still in its original box and in perfect condition. My husband said this was the Death Star of Barbie toys. I took one look at that elevator and remembered that I also had this as a kid. Somewhere down the line it didn’t make it back to me, but it’s so nice to complete the circle. My younger daughter especially loves Barbie, though I have rather mixed emotions. But then I do that “Well, I played with them as a kid” thing that we as parents often do. You know, since we turned out so well. And this Barbie house has a working elevator. Now that’s just cool.

barbie-townhouse

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Fa la la la Felt

fa la la la felt

Check out the new downloadable book from Lark Books — Fa la la la Felt. The book includes 45 decorations, ornaments and stockings made of your favorite material — felt!  I’m excited to have three projects featured in the book.  So if you’re ready to deck the halls, head over here and buy the book instantly for $14.95.

And as a special gift, Lark Books is offering a free tutorial for this cute little mushroom ornament from Cathy Gaubert.  Click on the image below to download the .pdf file.

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Slouch Bag

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I’d like to make this in a brown twill for fall.  Wouldn’t that be nice?  This is the slouch bag from Akiko Mano’s book Linen Wool Cotton. A very nice book full of simple, natural designs.  If you don’t have this one, it should go on your holiday wish list!