Introducing: Mom Crafts

I've got a fun new book to show you guys today: Mom Crafts: DIY Crafts for the Expectant Mom.

It features 20 projects to make for new babies and their expectant parents... including three projects designed and stitched by me!

 

The book includes projects to knit, embroider and sew (hand sewing and machine sewing). The "Mom" section includes a maternity pillow, a nursing bag and a lavender eye pillow. The "Baby" section includes burp cloths, bins and that adorable strawberry hat and booties. Then the "Nursery" section includes lots of decorative items to brighten up the nursery and celebrate the new arrival.

My three projects all involve felt, of course! (You'd probably guessed that, hadn't you?)

There's a night sky mobile to hang over the crib.

Then there's colourful and customisable hoop art (look, it's baby me! wasn't I cute?), which you can make with felt or some simple embroidery.

My favourite project of the three though has to be the whale pillow/cushion which doubles as a photo prop for marking those important milestones!

I showed my dad this book and pointed out my projects and he said "You made a baby? Just for a book? How much were they paying you???", haha.

Seriously though, how cute are these little people? Such sweet pictures!

Mom Crafts is published by Lark Crafts. It's available from Amazon UK, Amazon USA, The Book Depository and lots of other bookshops. Please note: The Amazon and Book Depository links in this post are affiliate links.

It's always a joy working on projects for Lark Crafts titles - I've contributed to quite a few over the years! Do you have any of these? :)

Made by Yourself Giveaway Winner

It's time to announce the winner of the copy of fab DIY interiors book Made by Yourself.

The lucky winner (picked at random) is...

... Aiza who said: "Would love to win this :) DIY is not my strong suit but I would love to try some projects out!"

I hope you'll have lots of fun trying them, Aiza!

Made by Yourself is published by Jacqui Small. RRP £18.00. It's available from Amazon UK, Amazon USA, The Book Depository and many other bookshops. You can read my review of it here.

Please note: The Amazon & Book Depository links in this post are affiliate links.

Book Review: Simple Knitting

Book week continues today with a review of a knitting book...

Simple Knitting: 30 Quick-to-Knit Projects for Stylish Accessories by Ros Badger is one of the books in the "Creative Makers" series that also includes Simple Sewing and Simple Crochet (click the links to read my reviews of those titles). Each book in the series has a different colour spine and they look great sitting together on my bookshelves.

Like the others in the series it's a lovely hardback book with yummy matte paper pages and nice little details like these bicycles at the top of the pages...

Simple Knitting begins with some clear step by step photos showing the different knitting techniques used in the book - I love it when knitting books include photos like this, I find them so much easier to follow than illustrations. It would have been great to have an illustration or two for the bag that needs lining (especially as there is plenty of space on the page) but it's just one project. All the designs are labelled with a difficulty rating - starting out, going further and moving on.

Oh, and there are some some nice photos of yarn dotted throughout the book! Mmm... yarn...
 

The designs are divided into chapters by type: Wrap Up Warm (scarves), Heads You Win (hats and an earwarmer/headband), Fingers and Toes (gloves, mittens and slippers), Pretty Please (quick projects that are good to give as gifts, like little flower hair clips) and Carry Me (bags and purses plus a coffee cosy and a dog coat).

 

Ros introduces each project, chatting about her inspiration and suggesting ways you can vary the design (by using different yarns, etc). Some of the designs are inspired by vintage patterns and consequently have a pretty, retro feel to them like this bow scarf:

None of the designs feel super-trendy, they're more what I'd call "modern classics". Practical and simple but without being boring or old-fashioned.

As with most knitting books there are lots of patterns that I'd never make for myself but which would be nice to knit as gifts, but I also found lots in here that I would keep for myself, including this knitted headband...

... this hat...

... and these mittens.

As a not-especially-skilled knitted I was also pleased to see a nice range of projects that look like something I could actually achieve! Woohoo!

This is not a book for fans of super-fashionable, ultra-trendy designs or for anyone after quirky or cute projects, but it is a book that successfully "does what it says on the tin": simple, stylish, quick-to-knit accessories.

Simple Knitting is published by Mitchell Beazley. RRP £16.99. It's available from Amazon UK, Amazon USA, The Book Depository and many other bookshops.

Please note: I was sent a free review copy of this book. The Amazon & Book Depository links in this post are affiliate links.

My Projects from Mollie Makes Feathered Friends

Mollie Makes: Feathered Friends is published today in the UK, hurrah!

As you've probably guessed from the title, all the projects in the book are bird-themed. There are 20 projects, covering a mix of different crafts - sewing, knitting, crochet, paper-crafting, etc.

I was delighted to be asked to contribute a couple of felt-y projects to the book. Those of you with super memories might remember me working on a colourful secret project last summer... well, I was working on my projects for this book :)

The finished book is lovely, and includes designs by loads of designers & crafters I really admire, including Clare Youngs, Eline Pellinkhof, Mollie Johanson, Kirsty Elson, and Emily Peacock. I'm thrilled to find my work in such great company!

Wanna see my projects in the book?

There's a trio of "3D Felt Flying Parrots" to hang on your wall - I think the parrots would also look great sewn onto things like cushions.

And there's a "Felt Applique Cockerel Cosy", with a trio of matching coasters - inspired by the traditional Polish craft of paper cutting. (Again, if you didn't want to make a coffee cosy and coasters you could use the motifs to decorate lots of other things!). 

I'm so pleased with how both these projects turned out (I hope you guys like them too!).

As well as the tutorials in the book (which all have step by step instructions and photos) there are also a couple of sections with ideas and inspiration for other birdie projects and though the templates in the book need enlarging it also includes info on where you can get the full size versions to download and print which I think is a great idea.

Each designer is also introduced with a photo and a bit of info about them, so you can check out their website or blog and discover even more crafty goodness. Look! It's me! :)

Mollie Makes: Feathered Friends is published by Collins & Brown, and is available from Love Crafts, Amazon UK and lots of other bookshops. (The US edition is due to be published later this summer).

And guess what, Collins & Brown have offered me a copy to giveaway to one lucky reader! Woohoo! Check back here tomorrow for the giveaway post...

[P.S. Just to let you know, the Amazon links in this post are affiliate links]

My Projects from So Pretty! Felt

As I mentioned yesterday, today I get to show off the projects I made for So Pretty! Felt, a lovely new felt craft book that was published this spring. Hurrah!

(Oh, and hello to anyone visiting my blog as part of the So Pretty! Felt blog tour! If you're a fan of all things felt-y, do check out my free craft tutorials).

So, the lovely Amy Palanjian got in touch a couple of years ago asking if I'd like to contribute to a felt-themed book she was working on for Chronicle Books and I said YES PLEASE (I have such a crush on Chronicle's range of arty, crafty books). I made my projects that summer, blogging about some of the threads I was using since I couldn't reveal what I was using them for...

... and then this spring I got sent my contributor copy of the book and there was much oohing because Oh My Goodness this book is SUPER nice, you guys!

It's a hardback book (about 9 inches high) ...

... containing 24 felt-y projects - two each from 12 crafty women who work with felt.

Each designer/maker/crafter is introduced with a spread with their name, location (mine is a bit out of date as I actually now live near London, not in Gloucester, but never mind!), a page of text about how they got into felt crafting & what they love about working with felt plus links to their websites or Etsy shops so you can check out more of their designs.

You can see a full list of the contributors here - I'm thrilled to find myself in such great company!

Here are a couple of "work in progress" snaps I took when working on my projects...

... wanna see the finished designs in the book?

First up, there's a Mosaic Pincushion...

... and second, there's a Dragonfly Pennant with lots of lovely sparkly details:

They were both so much fun to make! And aren't the styled photos lovely?

Even the chapter headings are super pretty, with sweet felt lettering designed by Julia Rothman.

Another nice touch is the final chapter, "How to Find Inspiration". I did a little happy dance when I saw that Amy had mentioned my blog in her list of "favourite craft blogs" and my book in the list of "trusted felt books" (she kindly listed my felt shop in the suppliers list too but, alas, I've had to stop selling felt squares this spring).

So Pretty! Felt is available from Amazon UK and Amazon USA, direct from Chronicle Books or from lots of other bookshops.

Want to follow along with the rest of the blog tour? Here's the full schedule:

Monday, May 6 – Whip Up & Bugs and Fishes

Tuesday, May 7 – Mom Inc. Daily & Studio DIY

Wednesday, May 9 – Coquette & Studs and Pearls

Thursday, May 9 – The Sweetest Occasion & Ambrosia Creative

Friday, May 10 – West Coast Crafty & One More Mushroom

Saturday, May 11 – Mod Podge Rocks

Monday, May 13 – Handmade Charlotte & Fabric Paper Glue

Tuesday, May 14 – MINT & A Spoonful of Sugar

Wednesday, May 15 – Positively Splendid & Hart and Sew

Thursday, May 16 – Rouge and Whimsy & So You Think You're Crafty

Friday, May 17 – Aesthetic Nest & Dollar Store Crafts

(P.S. The Amazon links in this post are affiliate links)

Starting and Finishing

This week I've been doing lots of work involving piles of paper and pencils.

Starting a possible new project by sketching designs for project proposals (fingers crossed some of them get accepted!)...

... and finishing up the work on my new book. Working through the proofs to check all the text is correct = a pretty boring job, but it's great to see how the finished book is going to look. Roll on the autumn! :)

Two Bits of Good News

First up, thanks to a big delivery of supplies there are now LOTS of felt squares back in stock in all my shops. Yay!

Secondly... I've written a new book! SO EXCITING.

The book is the reason I had to close up my shops for so long over the Christmas break, why the virtual shelves in my shops have been a little bare lately, why I had a big chart of tasks to get ticked off, why I've been blogging about so many secret projects, and why it's the middle of February and I've still not finished my sky blanket (or sent my friends any Christmas cards).

Basically, my days have been very book-focused recently! It's been lots of fun working on all the new projects, but very busy.

I can't tell you much about the book yet except that it's called Super-Cute Felt Animals and that it's due to be published this September... but I will (of course) be posting more about it nearer to the publication date :)

Giveaway: The Needlecraft Stitch Directory

As promised, Jacqui Small are giving away a copy of The Needlecraft Stitch Directory (which I reviewed yesterday) to one lucky reader.

Please note that this giveaway is open to UK residents only.

Want to enter? Just leave a comment on this blog post for your chance to win. Leave your comment before 10pm on Thursday 29th November, and I'll pick the winner at random on Friday 30th November.

Please make sure you leave a name or pseudonym (no anonymous comments please!) and leave a blog link, Twitter username, Etsy username or email address so I can contact you. If I'm unable to contact the winner within two weeks or the person I pick turns out not to be from the UK then I will pick someone else.

Apparently some people are having problem leaving comments on my blog at the moment. If you're unable to leave a comment here on my blog, you can enter via my shop's contact form instead. Please make sure you say which giveaway you're entering!

Update: this giveaway is now closed.