Books

Because life is just too busy, the house is too messy, the kids are too needy and I am forsaking computer time this week to get back on schedule. Gah!

So some pretty pictures for you: quilts and sewing — applique, squares, triangles, pretty fabrics …

Swapsie:? During all this clean up – I have ended up with a bunch of bundles of fabrics I am getting rid of — yes a clear out! Let me know if you can use some scrap fabrics – quilting fat quarters, corduroy for kids pants, and other assorted bits and things – if you live near me and can pick up and a do a swapsie — even better! email me.

I have been very inspired this week by all the wonderful guest posts in our creativity series: Some amazing stories have been shared and good solid advice given – Monitizing your craft blog :: Two pink lines :: Value of creativity :: Creating for children :: Listen and watch.

Books – gah – have been reading some stuff – there doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of time for reading – but I am part of a book club which meets monthly and I did manage to read this months book The White Castle by Orhan Pamuk which I found to be strange and alluring and frustrating. But more importantly I did just finish reading the series A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin which I loved (there are more books coming) and now am watching the TV show (called Game of Thrones) – which is amazing too.

On a more crafty note – a couple of colour filled knitting books have entered my life: Knitting with The Color Guys — Kaffe Fassett and Knit Noro: Accessories — Vogue knitting (both published by sixth and spring 2012). Both of these books are lovely and hard cover and big to hold and full of inspiring colour knitted colour combinations – big and small projects, I recommend if you have a chance to flick through them over a cup of tea – do!

[Thanks to publishers and distributors for sending me books to review, I don't get paid to post reviews but I am an amazon affiliate] (Australians can purchase craft books online through can do books or booktopia or else browse booko for the best prices.)

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What with the celebratory week I have just had: birthday parties and mother’s day, I have been baking just a little.

But on the flip side we have been quite overdoing the green smoothie (frozen peas, pineapple, ginger and spinach – trust me — it’s good!) and the homemade muesli thing too – just to add some balance to all that cake.

For my 12 year old’s (second) birthday party this year, I was commissioned to make a double layer marble cake filled with vanilla cream. It was actually incredibly delicious and light (I adapted a sponge cake recipe instead of making a butter cake). And for a different kind of treat bag I made giant chocolate chip cookies. I don’t know about you but I am so sick of the treat bags full of junk – so I decided to take a stand and the giant cookies were much loved and admired by all.

Recipes: For the cake and cookies I adapted recipes from two of my fave cook books: Milk & Cookies and Gran’s Kitchen. But I did a little online search and found a few recipes that might fit the bill if you don’t have these two fantastic I-don’t-know-how-I-would-cope-without-them books. Giant chewy choc chip cookies :: Marble butter cake :: Victoria sponge cake :: Kale and pear smoothie :: Monster smoothie :: Homemade muesli

Quilt market: for those non-quilters and others who live in a different universe – Quilt market is on and reports have started to filter in: Spoonflower :: Uhandbag. If you can’t make it – you can join the Blogger’s quilt festival.

At whipup this week the creativity series continues: A failed attempt to control the chaos :: Healing through craft :: The stream of inspiration runs both ways :: Crafting brings the joy :: I’m mostly a self taught creative type. Please share your stories by commenting at these posts.

Fun online tutes: dino hoodie :: Fun sandals :: Fly with me quilt block :: Project run and play.

On my book pile:

Sunday Morning Quilts by Amanda Jean Nyberg and Cheryl Arkison. Published by Stash April 2012. Favourite quilt bloggers + favourite quilt book publisher = great quilt book! Super ideas for using up your scraps and some really fun quilt designs too. Beginner quilters will love the sections on sorting your scraps and quilting techniques, while others will want to just get stuck into the quilts themselves. The quilts are mostly simple in design and constructions and take advantage of the ad-hoc nature of scraps to create quilts that are a little bit improv and a little bit structured. And of course the best thing about scraps is that they don’t rely on any particular fabric line — they are about playing with colour, which I love.

Making Mini Books with various contributors and published by Lark Crafts April 2012. Oh the wonderfulness. The variety. The inventiveness. This book contains a whole bunch of diy mini book book projects from the sweet and simple to the complex and artistic. Using different materials, paper, leather, recycled junk, wire and twine — to teach you how to make traditionally bound books, or more unusual books. You’ll be inspired.

The Book of Gardening Projects for Kids By Whitney Cohen and John Fisher (from life lab). Published by Timber Press May 2012. A bunch of gardeners, educators and parents got together to create Life Lab, a nonprofit organisation in Santa Cruz, California in 1979. Life Lab’s mission is to teach people to care for the world and them selves and each other through garden based programs. They have camps and internships and classes where they not only teach kids but also parents and teachers. So now Life Lab has written a book about their philosophy along with practical stuff from years of experience and classes – such a fantastic resource. With projects from designing play friendly gardens to getting creative with your planting pots, learning about what to plant where and when and how to test your soil. These activities are all aimed at families working with their kids and would make for some great homeschooling projects too. There is too much in here for this short review – so I urge you to go and grab a copy for yourself.

[Thanks to publishers and distributors for sending me books to review, I don't get paid to post reviews but I am an amazon affiliate] (Australians can purchase craft books online through can do books or booktopia or else browse booko for the best prices.)

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My life in this very moment is just all about quilts, quilting, fabric, stitches, threads, rotary cutter, sweeping the mess, scrap bags of fabric piling up, making space for more quilts…

In between I am trying to keep the sanity by staying real. Real life keeps butting its head into my sewing realm. Kids. Dinner. Dishes. Responsibilities. Friends. Health. … so to stay real I have to stop procrastinating, need to use my time wisely. Need to be organised. Have to stay on track. Stay focussed. …

How to stay on track … Keep lists. Use the blackboard planner. Not in fact plan too much. Be realistic. Delegate. What do you do to stay on track?

Some organisation tips:: from Elsie :: Organising the family paperwork.

Check in on our creativity series:

We also hosted: Maya on her blog tour for her new book Reinvention.

Interesting links: 

Happy mother’s day this weekend to all the mothers out there. [I share mother's day this year with my husband's birthday -- so ... kiddos you better buck up! :)]

This week I am reading some traditional quilting books from That Patchwork Place:

Foundation-Pieced Quilts (Dec 2011) :: Civil War Legacies (March 2012) :: Pretty Patchwork Quilts (March 2012) and Kaleidoscope Paper Piecing (Jan 1012). All of these quilt books are full of traditional designs and techniques that have taught me a thing or two. That Patchwork Place always has such excellence in their quilt books. The instructions, diagrams, templates and images are straightforward. Don’t get these books for the pretty styled pictures or the conversational dialogue – you won’t find it. However do get these books for a good foundation in technique and some lovely traditional style quilt designs that will challenge your skills.

[Thanks to publishers and distributors for sending me books to review, I don't get paid to post reviews but I am an amazon affiliate] (Australians can purchase craft books online through can do books or booktopia or else browse booko for the best prices.)

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Today I am very pleased to welcome my dear friend Maya Donenfeld to Whipup. Maya is currently on book blog tour for her first book Reinvention: Sewing with Rescued Materials (published by Wiley). This book is a wonderful extension of everything Maya does so well on her blog: maya made. The thing that I love so much about Maya, her blog and now this book, is how natural and close to earth she tries to live. Her natural authentic living, down-to-earth philosophy and lifestyle is in everything she does, from craft to cooking and to her children. Today Maya joins us with discussing how and why she ‘rescues’ materials.

Maya Donenfeld is a green crafter and eco designer. She’s a frequent contributor to books and magazines with projects focusing on creativity, mothering, and natural living. She just published her first book: Reinvention: Sewing with Rescued MaterialsVisit her blog, maya made, to find endless projects, tutorials and recipes for your home and family.

I enjoy working with salvaged and recycled fabrics so much that I wrote an entire book about it! Here are my top 5 reasons for rescuing material:

  1. Earth friendly. Something that already exists doesn’t create more waste and pollution. The energy and resources used to create a single item are compounded by toxins that then are dumped into our water systems and soil. Ultimately, thrifting also keeps stuff out of the already overflowing landfills around the world.
  2. Saves money. That one doesn’t need much explanation, but I would add that it’s more inviting to experiment and make mistakes if the materials used didn’t take a chunk out of your wallet.
  3. Incorporates history and soul into stitching. Using items that already have a story creates a connection between the past and present.
  4. Inspires creativity. Working with odds and ends stimulates us to problem solve and think about the inherent qualities of materials. This gives focus and many “light bulb moments”.
  5. Pride in being so clever and a sense of resourcefulness. There is a universal sense of satisfaction in making something out of nothing.

I am frequently asked about how to store and organize salvaged pieces of fabric. Having all of your materials visible is a wonderful way to remember what you have when it’s time to get making. However, deconstructed clothing and small scraps from previous projects do not fold into neat stacks for pretty display. So what to do with all of the piles? I keep much of it in open baskets, hampers and buckets. The structured fabric hamper I designed for my book was based on one of the first scrap bin baskets I ever made. It’s oversized and its internal frame ensures that it stands up tall and ready to be filled.

I also sort and organize everything by material, size and color. The more specific the category can be, the easier it is to find just what you might need. For instance, I have a category called little white linen scraps and another that’s just small floral patterns in cotton.

What about all of the pieces that just aren’t workable or desirable… do I save everything? No not everything, but I try to find homes for even the clipped corners and thick seams cut out from a pair of jeans.

I use these unwanted scraps for stuffing new items. Wool sweater scraps are soft and lofty and make great interiors for stuffed toys, whereas denim is dense and heavy- perfect for floor cushions. The pouf project, in Reinvention, is a wonderful vessel for all fabric odds and ends… just open the zipper and stuff it with every frayed and unwanted scrap you’ve got!

Happy reinventing!

reinvention: sewing with rescued materials blog tour

Photo credits: Deborah Donenfeld
Project excerpt: How to portfolio

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Change of seasons, change of pace. Planting the vegetable garden, jamming figs, roasting tomatoes and freezing stewed apples. Eating homemade granola with homemade yoghurt. Kids practicing their instruments: piano and guitar. Another birthday coming up next week – planning a cake and a special dinner. Tidying the yard, having an outdoor fire, a trip to the tip. Watching the ducks fattening up and the last old chook needing some friends — keeping me company. Sewing, baking and making. The weekly houseclean, the never ending laundry pile. Planning a weekend winter camping trip. Dinner with friends. Reading books. Life my friends.

Wonderful guest posts as part of whipup’s creativity series this week: Leisl blogging at jorth - Stitch by stitch, I healed :: Amy Palanjian - I did my best with what I had :: Christine Chitnis -  Take your creativity where you can find it.

Plus a guest post introducing a new sewing community Threadbias.

Some interesting links…

Reading and reviewing… on my book pile
  • The Story of English in 100 Words by David Crystal (Profile Books October 2011). :: Take 100 old english words and research them and tell stories about them — discover their beginnings and myriad of uses and meanings. Uncover their riddles and mysteries. From the earliest example of a written word (roe thanks to an archeological discovery) to the latest with a chronological selection in between. David Crystal uses words as ‘windows into the world of those who use them’. Fascinating read.
  • Quilts in the Attic: Uncovering the Hidden Stories of the Quilts We Love by Karen Musgrave (Voyageur Press February 2012). Well known quiltmakers share their stories of how their much loved old quilts came into their lives as they uncover the stories behind who made them they discover a love of quilts and quiltmaking.
  • Finishing School: A Master Class for Knitters by Deborah Newton (Sixth &S pring Books October 2011). Deborah Newton puts her 25 years of knitwear designing to teach others the skills and secrets of her trade. For knitters who already have basic skills, this book will take your further and give your confidence to tackle interesting and unusual patterns and techniques.

[Thanks to publishers and distributors for sending me books to review, I don't get paid to post reviews but I am an amazon affiliate] (Australians can purchase craft books online through can do books or booktopia or else browse booko for the best prices.)

Sign up here to receive our weekly email newsletter 

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