Archive for the ‘Reviews’ Category

(Hey, don't forget that you've still got a couple days to enter to win one of the books we're giving away to celebrate our 800th post! Go on and leave a comment over here if you haven't entered yet!)

It took a few late nights (and several dinners of leftovers!), but I'm happy to report that today, I'm wearing a T-shirt that I made myself. So exciting!

It started with the T-shirt pattern drafting class that Lisa and I took at The Workroom last weekend. The teacher was Cal Patch, an acquaintance of mine from Squam Art Workshops and an all-around superstar when it comes to sewing clothes. She wrote this book:

Design-it-Yourself Clothes: Patternmaking Simplified. It's a great book, and I own it, but I always found it was a little bit intimidating. So many things to measure!

I'm glad we took the class. Everything seemed so straightforward with Cal leading the way. It turns out that the measurements you take for a T-shirt pattern aren't really that different than the ones you take when you're sizing yourself for a knitted sweater. (You can just call me Master of the Obvious, if you like. ;^)

Once you've taken your measurements, it's just a matter of plotting them on a piece of paper and connecting the dots. Grading the curves was alternately frustrating and satisfying, but I got there eventually.

Cal shared lots of great tricks about choosing the right fabric, which stitches to use (hint: check your manual!) and what order to put things together in, and then she sent us off into the wild.

And it worked! It really worked. Check it out:

Hee! I'm pretty pleased. I mean, it's not perfect (I definitely need to practice sewing neckbands) but it's close, and it fits better than anything I've ever bought from a store.

At this point my goal of being able (at least in theory) to clothe myself in handmade clothes from head to toe is pretty well complete. Now I just need to find a class about pants, I guess!

Have a great weekend – hope it includes some crafting time just for you.

Sometimes all you need is a little eye candy to inspire your next work of art. Quilting Modern: Techniques and Projects for Improvisational Quilts (Interweave, 2012), by Jacquie Gering and Katie Pedersen, has plenty of visual sweets to inspire a lifetime of quilts.

These ladies really know their stuff. The introduction outlines the basics: tools, sewing skills, colour matching and strategies for finishing quilts are all covered, with plenty of colourful photos and helpful pieces of advice.

Once the basics are taken care of, it's time to move on to chapters covering specific modern quilting techniques:

• free-piecing
• improvisational Log Cabin blocks
• slice-and-insert piecing
• the stitch-and-flip triangle
• strip piecing
• crazy quilting with a modern twist
• curved piecing

Each chapter outlines a single technique with easy-to-understand illustrations. A handy box of hints and tips caps off the intro, helping you navigate any potential pitfalls and avoid common headaches associated with the technique. Then there is a selection of projects for you to try out your new skills.

The part I liked the best, surprisingly, was the introduction to the book. Called "The Improvisational Path," it shares the creative manifesto of the authors. They encourage their readers to learn traditional quilting methods, but to feel free to break the rules when they want to. They advise them to be creative, to take chances (and learn from failures), and to go where their hearts and guts lead them.

Most importantly, the authors encourage quilters to savour their creative time. Whether it's on your own or with friends, creating is something that's meant to be enjoyed. That's excellent advice to live by.

If you can't get enough of Quilting Modern, check out Jacquie Gering's blog or Katie Pedersen's blog for more tutorials and inspiration.

Better yet, want to win yourself a copy of Quilting Modern? Leave a comment below, telling me which new technique you'd like to try from this book. Entries are limited to residents of Canada only, and the deadline to enter is 11:59 p.m., Tuesday, April 3, 2012.  I'll random-draw the winner and announce the results next Thursday, April 5, 2012.

Good luck!

Today I'm excited to be participating in the blog tour for a fabulous new release from Interweave Press: The Crafter's Guide to Taking Great Photos by Heidi Adnum. Giveaway details are below, but I'd love to tell you a bit about this book first...

This book is TERRIFIC. I took it home with me this weekend and almost as soon as I started to read it, I was wishing that I qualified for my own giveaways. I've struggled to take interesting photos of my just-cast-off socks, but with this book, I think the struggles will be over!

Whether you take photos of your handmade items to sell on Etsy, to show off on your blog or to feature in your portfolio, you're sure to find this book comes in handy. It starts with the basics – how to use light, what those mysterious terms like "aperture" and "exposure" mean, and how to choose a camera. I've read about this stuff again and again, but with this book it finally clicked!

From there, you'll learn about how to tell a story with a photograph, and then read tips and techniques broken down by product or craft (accessories, knitting, etc.) The chapters cover planning and set-up, composition and common problems – everything you need to know to help you set up a successful craft photo shoot. At the end, you'll read all about post-production, photo editing, and business advice.

There's also a practitioner spotlight for each craft– an interview with a photographer who is a superstar at taking great shots of his or her crafts. I loved these and noticed many of my favourite crafters and crafts were featured. Paging through this book was like reading a Who's Who of craft photography.

Of course, the photographs are fantastic, and the book is as gorgeous as it is informative. (Click through to take a peek inside the book.)

For your chance to win, leave ONE comment telling us your greatest challenge when it comes to taking great photos of your Finished Objects.  The contest is open to Canadian residents only. Contest will run until 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, February 12, 2012; I'll post a winner here on Monday, February 13. Good luck!

(Want to read more about the book? Visit some of the other stops on the blog tour, below. You'll find other giveaways, as well as posts by featured crafters and photographers.)

There's a certain beautiful synergy between knitting and nerd culture. I think it's because knitters tend to be a little...well...obsessive – just like people who adore Star Trek, Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings, obscure Japanese manga, etc. And believe me, I know what of I speak.

How exciting that there's finally going to be a book that celebrates both cultures – and gives you something to wear to your next Harry Potter convention, Dr. Who viewing party or Firefly panel at Comic-Con.

Knits for Nerds by Joan of Dark (a.k.a. Toni Carr)

Knits for Nerds (Andrews McMeel, Feb. 12, 2012, $20) by Joan of Dark (a.k.a. Toni Carr) contains 33 projects taken from three different categories of geekdom – fantasy, science fiction, comics and manga – and mixes in a few other projects for good measure.

Carr has included a number of her own projects and rounded up a bunch of others from fellow knitters, including her mother, a science fiction writer who knits her own roller derby costumes. (Actually, Carr has followed in her mother's skate tracks and also written Knockdown Knits, a book of patterns for chic derbywear that's already on the market.)

The book is also peppered with bits of deliciously nerdy trivia. (Did you know that Trekkies actually prefer to be called Trekkers?) And the intro to each project tells you a little about where the inspiration came from – and might set you on the road toward a new obsession.

My 5 Favourite Projects from the Book

• Baby Elf Beanie – an adorable horned chapeau for your favourite tiny fantasy fan
• Horrible Gloves – buttoned-up long fingerless gloves that honour Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog
• Space Princess Hats – for when you just need a set of Princess Leia buns to complement your outfit
• Aim to Misbehave Brown Jacket – a rebellious extra-long cardigan that's perfect for Firefly fans (like me)
• Big Bang Guy's Sweater Vest – if you love Raj's sartorial splendour on The Big Bang Theory, you'll need to knit one of these

Do you have a nerdy passion you want to share with the world? Leave a comment on this post, telling me about your nerdy passion, by 11:59 p.m., Tuesday, December 6, 2011. If your entry is drawn randomly, I'll send you a copy of Knits for Nerds, which isn't in bookstores until February 12, 2012!

Drop back in next Thursday, December 8, 2011, to find out who won. Good luck!

Hi friends,

Earlier this week, Tina, Lisa and I had a chance to take a little field trip. Get three craft bloggers together outside of the city, and you can probably guess what happens next: we Google-map directions to the closest craft store. This time, we ended up at Stitch, a lovely little shop in Jordan Village, Ontario.

This little brick house is chock-a-block full of fabric, yarn, notions and books.

The fabric choices range from traditional, country-style patterns to 1930's-style feedsacks to modern prints from designers like Amy Butler, Anna Maria Horner and Denyse Schmidt.

My resolve was sorely tested as I surveyed the shelves and shelves of yarn (this is just a fraction of what's available) – including Malabrigo, Noro and Handmaiden yarns in luscious colours and fibre blends.

At the back of the shop we found this work table, plus several couches and comfy chairs. We were disappointed to learn we were several days too early for the lively Friday night stitch night. (Did I mention the fireplace? Oh yes: there's a fireplace.)

And books! I couldn't even begin to capture the shelves and shelves of books, but you can see one of my favourites – More Last-Minute Knitted Gifts – peeking in at the bottom of that photo.

The lovely displays were the icing on the cake. Aren't these great?

(You know how much I love Advent calendars.)

Hee hee!

Do you have a favourite local craft store you'd love to share with Canadians from coast to coast? Please leave a comment and tell us about it!

Hi friends,

My friend Alli recently finished a whirlwind vacation in western Canada. She said that the highlight was having the opportunity to meet Felicia Lo of SweetGeorgia Yarns fame and check out the studio where she creates her sumptuous colour palettes. Enjoy!

First thing in the morning the day after my arrival in Vancouver my brother drove me downtown to 4th and Main streets and the location of Felicia Lo’s SweetGeorgia Yarns studio. And I was nervous!

Felicia Lo of SweetGeorgia Yarn.

Of course there was no reason to be. Felicia was just as nice as I remembered (we met briefly last year at a trunk show at Toronto’s Lettuce Knit). She graciously opened her studio to me just days after returning from Sock Summit and a couple of weeks after getting married.

Knitted samples.

If you’re a Canadian knitter or crocheter who likes bold colours but you don’t know SweetGeorgia Yarns – you should. Operating since 2005, SweetGeorgia Yarns has expanded their indie-dying operation from part time to full time, with an attitude as relentless as their colours.

Felicia trained to be a pharmacist, but knew almost immediately that it wasn’t the right career path for her. She moved to a career in web design, where she honed her eye for colour and design and continued to explore fibre arts on the side.

Cultivated silk before dyeing.

Felicia finds inspiration for her colour choices in the bold colours that she and her friends like to wear. In fact, many of the colours are influenced by favourite wardrobe pieces from her past. Felicia says that her pharmacy background is what allows her to have an extremely scientific approach to her dying process, ensuring consistent colour results time and again.

Stock on display in the studio.

After an explosive period of growth (she says she had no idea her business would take off so quickly once she started taking wholesale orders) and experimentation with dying different yarn and fibre bases, Felicia has refined her product offerings to those that showcase the vibrant colours the best.

All of the SweetGeorgia yarns are protein based (except for some fibre, which has a blend of some bamboo) and have been selected for their ability to really soak up the colour and reflect the saturated quality that the SweetGeorgia label has become known for.

Yarn and fibre drying in the studio.

With all these beautiful colours in their palette, Felicia says her plans for SweetGeorgia are to work on designing really beautiful and wonderful things to make with her yarns.

If the designs are as beautiful as the colours, they’re sure to be a winning combination – I know I can’t wait!

Hi friends,

Today I'm happy to welcome my friend Sherrie. She's a teacher, a mother of two small boys, a soap-maker extraordinaire and an all-around dynamo who lives in Yarmouth, N.S. You can read about her adventures in crafting, cooking and parenting at Twenty-Two Pleasant, but today she's here to review Amanda Soule's latest offering. Enjoy!

Image, Shambhala Publications

Before I begin, I feel as though I need to tell you that I have Amanda Soule's first two books, The Creative Family and Handmade Home. I read her very popular blog, Soulemama, and had high expectations for this, her third book. And I wasn't disappointed. So here's my warning: I'm about to gush.

The tone of The Rhythm of Family is much like Amanda's blog: calm and gentle. What I particularly love about this book is that it’s organized by the months of the year. Each month's pages open with brief, mindful reflections of parenting through the seasons in essays from Amanda and her husband Stephen.  It's a lovely way to set the tone for the month's activities.

And oh, the activities! Along with the essays, there is a "Make" and "Do" for each month: hands-on ways to celebrate the season with little ones. From a recipe for bug spray in July, to nature stamping in October, each is a nature-inspired, seasonal way to create through the ebb and flow of the year.

My four-year-old son Phillip and I made the Flower Essence Lotion on page 97 as soon as we opened the book. He jumped right up and asked if we could make it RIGHT NOW. Of course, we did.

I love that the book isn't constrained to a particular genre of creativity; there's simple sewing, body care recipes, "crafty crafts," and recipes, too. Each activity is appropriate for the month it is coupled with, but many of them could easily be done at other times of the year.

The Rhythm of Family is an encouragement to embrace our long winter months, rather than just gritting your teeth to get through. And a reminder to cherish those fleeting summer days, too. This will be one of those books that will stay on the shelf in my living room, waiting for one of us to look around and say, "Hmmm... I wonder what we should do today?"

Intrigued? Click through to preview the book!

Hi friends,

My friend Alli rarely meets a yarn store that she doesn’t like. On her recent trip out west, she managed to visit a record five yarn shops, one weaving studio and one indie dyer’s studio – in just over 10 days. Here's part two (read part one here). Enjoy!

Kelowna, British Columbia

Store: The Art of Yarn
Impressions: I may have only visited one store in Kelowna, but oh, what a store! Packed with an insane amount of yarn-y goodness in a small space – I didn’t even make it all the way to the back of the store!
Excuse for being there: Ball of Noro Kureyon for my Lizard Ridge afghan project and to check out their selection of Silken Straw by Alchemy Yarns.
Highlights: Wide range of products from Patons, Sirdar and Sublime right through to a wide selection of Madelinetosh, Alchemy Yarns and the uber-fabulous (and uber-expensive!) Artyarn.

The Art of Yarn also carries its own Mulberry Yarns – “hand-dyed in the sunny Okanagan Valley and reflecting the colours of the area” – dyed by shop owner Sally (above).

Vancouver, British Columbia

Store: Silk Weaving Studio
Impressions: Working studio with gorgeous woven silk accessories and materials.
Excuse for being there: It was next door to where we had lunch on Granville Island and I just can’t help myself.
Highlights: You can buy pre-(hand)-made accessories or the materials to make them yourself. The shop also has carries materials from Japanese maker Habu, which can be hard to find.
Purchases: A tiny dangly earring of a drop spindle charm in sterling silver that I’m going to put on a chain and wear as a pendant.
Verdict: Gorgeous place for inspiration and if you’re looking specifically for silk yarn, the colours were amazing!

Store: Maiwa Supply
Impressions: Smaller shop but jammed with amazing yarn-y goodies!
Excuse for being there: Likely my only Vancouver yarn shop stop and Silk Weaving Studio said they carried knitting needles.
Highlights: International yarns from Peru and Japan and beyond. They also had a to-die-for selection of 100% Quiviut and Quiviut-blend yarns that I drooled over.
Purchases: Two pairs of knitting needles so I could start the Berocco Seduce project, a ball of Noro Kureyon for the Lizard Ridge project and a ball of Noro Silk Garden for a project I’d brought with me but was quickly running out of yarn.
Verdict: Lovely shop and very helpful staff. I wish I’d had more time to spend there but now that I know where it is on Granville Island, I’ll definitely be back!

Alli has another blog post coming up with all the details on her SweetGeorgia Yarns studio tour. Stay tuned!

Hi friends,

My friend Alli rarely meets a yarn store that she doesn’t like. On her recent trip out west, she managed to visit a record five yarn shops, one weaving studio and one indie dyer’s studio – in just over 10 days. She'll be joining us over the next couple weeks to tell us all about it. Enjoy!

Ever since learning about KnitMap I’ve become obsessed with checking the site when I’m planning a trip. Contributing to my obsession is the fact that over the last two years I’ve been knitting the Lizard Ridge Afghan. It requires 24 different balls of Noro Kureyon, so I try to collect one each time I find myself in a different yarn store in my travels.

The need to manage my family’s patience levels means I’ve become adept at gaining intel on stores before I visit them to maximize time and success when picking up “souvenir yarn.” This vacation was no different! Here’s a roundup of the different places I visited in Alberta.

Calgary, Alberta

Store: The Loop – Kensington
Impressions: Bright and cheerful with a fresh and funky vibe.
Excuse for being there: Knit night – and the gang was very welcoming.
Highlights: Spinning fibre hand-dyed by owner Annie, as well as the rich colours of Rocky Mountain Dyeworks yarns and fibres (colours used on knitted samples on the walls fly off the shelves).
Purchases: A crochet hook for adding beads to your knitting. This was two days into my vacation and I was easing into my vacation shopping.
Verdict: Definitely coming back to hang out with the gals and absorb the good vibes in this place!

Store: The Knitting Room
Impressions: Good size space with lots of stock.
Excuse for being there: Hunting for Berocco Seduce for a new project.
Highlights: Spinning fibre from Australian company Pear Tree (so soft!) and a sale section at the back that I wish I’d had more time for.
Purchases: Nothing, as they didn’t have enough yarn of the colourway I wanted for my project and my mom and son were waiting in the car.
Verdict: Good place to go with something in mind or a list as their website is a blog that hadn’t been updated in a while and it was impossible to look up in advance what they might have.

Store: Pudding Yarn
Impressions: Small but beautiful shop crammed with posh yarn goodies.
Excuse for being there: Still on the hunt for Berocco Seduce.
Highlights: ShiBui sock yarns, Blue Sky Alpacas, Rowan products, books by Kim Hargraves, Signature Needles, and tons of really great stock.
Purchases: Success! Eight skeins of Berocco Seduce in the colourway I was looking for (seven for the project and the inevitable one extra just-in-case skein), and a real treat in a pair of size 4mm Signature Needles that are usually only available online via the US. (I’m counting the needles as a birthday present to me!).
Verdict: There’s always a lot to see in this tiny shop (I’ve been here on a previous trip) so I’m looking forward to coming back.

Hi friends,

Have you read Tina Fey's memoir, Bossypants, yet?  It's been out since early April, but it wasn't until a few weeks ago that I finally picked it up. I don't know why I waited: I read the book cover-to-cover in one sitting. It's good. Really good.

Image, Reagan Arthur Books

I think Tina Fey is smart and hilarious and awesome, but my favourite part of the book was her list of rules for improvisation, honed over her years working with Second City, Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock.

Expanded versions are available, but here's the Coles Notes version:

1. The first rule of improvisation is to agree. ... Start with a yes and see where that takes you.
2. The second rule of improv is to not only say yes, say yes and.
3. The next rule is make statements. Don't respond with questions. Whatever the problem, be part of the solution.
4. There are no mistakes, only opportunities.

I really like the sense of cooperation, collaboration and positivity that comes through in those rules. And although in some cases we've learned that improvisation and crafting don't always mix, I think these improv rules can be really helpful in my work.

Developing crafts and brainstorming for photo shoots is a big part of my job. We work months in advance on our craft stories (in fact, I'm already thinking about projects for 2012!) and sometimes that presents a problem: What happens when you can't find Halloween candy in April or Christmas decorations in July? That's when a talent for improvising comes in handy. Instead of shutting down (after all, saying "Well, I guess we just won't have a craft that month!" isn't really an option), it's an opportunity to try something different.

Here's a small example – the way we displayed the Easter bean bag craft from our April 2010 issue.

Photography, Mike Deluca

We worked on this story in December, when every craft supply in the world seems to be red or green. Finding an Easter basket and cellophane "grass" was proving to be a real problem. I had several conversations with the art directors as I tried to find a solution, and now that I think about it, we worked our way through Fey's rules. If I distill the conversations I had with the art directors over a week or so, they boil down to this:

1. Yes, it is impossible to find an Easter basket in December.
2. And all we see is stuff for Christmas: red and green craft supplies, wrapping paper, and tissue paper.
3. But if we cut the tissue paper in strips it might look like "grass." And we could use a regular basket rather than an Easter basket.
4. So what was a bit of a mistake (not having an Easter basket stashed away) turned into an opportunity, giving us the chance to showcase a simple solution – tissue paper strips and an rustic, reusable basket – that wasn't just easy to make, it was also cost effective and reduced waste.

The more I think about these rules, the more potential applications I come up with. It seems to me they'll come in handy when working with mixed media, jewellery-making and quilting, even cooking – especially if you're working with limited resources, which often happens if you use recycled or repurposed materials in your crafting (or leftovers, in your cooking!).

I'll be working on a craft for an upcoming issue tomorrow, and you can bet I'll have these rules at the forefront of my mind as I try to get the idea just-so. (And don't tell anyone, but I'll probably have this interview with Tina Fey playing in the background. It's research!) Do you think they might change the way you craft?