A Knitter Gives Back: A Guest Blog Post from Leigh Radford of Portland, OR

Leigh Radford is the author of three STC Craft books: AlterKnits, AlterKnits Felt, and One More Skein. She is also the author of One Skein. Leigh and I have been friends ever since we worked together on Interweave Knits magazine. Always generous, she recently completed a beautiful, colorful community knitting project. When I heard about it, I asked her if she would write a guest blog post for us and she--generously--agreed.

 

Above: Albers Stash Blanket, a field of knitted dreams for the Portland community (photo here and below by Beth Conyers).


Knitting is one of my favorite activities.  What began as a childhood hobby has transformed into a career that continues to evolve.

In May 2011 I completed 3-1/2 years of study and earned a bachelor of fine art in craft degree from Oregon College of Art and Craft. The time I spent at OCAC was amazing and, frankly, very self-absorbed. When I finished I took time to reflect on the support I had received from my friends and family and also from my community.

I feel fortunate to have grown up in Oregon and to make my home in Portland. I love living here. The environment, the people, and yes, even the rain--it all feels like home to me. I wanted to give back in some way that would benefit the community that helps nurture my creativity and I wanted to reconnect with people outside of the art school campus.

While pondering possibilities, I thumbed through a copy of One More Skein, the book I finished writing during my first semester back in school. I stopped when I reached the Albers Stash Blanket. I designed this project to celebrate my love of color and my desire to artfully use leftover yarn in my stash. I knew that this project could easily be worked on by a group of knitters--the perfect way to reconnect and give back, and it was right under my nose!

I posted the pattern on my Facebook page and asked  knitters to send me completed panels to assemble into blankets that I would donate to three Portland nonprofits: Cascade Aids Project, p:ear, and Raphael House. Alternatively, I asked them to coordinate similar efforts in their own communities. 

Lantern Moon generously donated knitting needles so that I could start multiple panels and then hand them off to other knitters to complete. I love that this was a joint effort—a community of those who love to knit working together to create something for others. As the deadline approached, I found myself lurking around my mailbox each day to see if a new panel might arrive.

The Albers Stash Blanket is a simple project and versatile enough to incorporate into my daily routine. I brought panels with me to meetings and social events. As I worked a panel, I eagerly anticipated choosing the next color. Sometimes I found myself knitting faster so I could get to it. 

This spring I proudly delivered four blankets to the chosen organizations on behalf of everyone who contributed their time and talents: Michele Lee Bernstein, Linda Blum, Anne Bressler, Jody Creasman, Close Knit, Erin Derr, Liz Hawthorne, Christie Heinonen, Sue Hill, Laura Irwin,  Loretta Kelly, Debbie Kenyon, MaryBeth Lynn, Aileen Mann, Tamsyn Mihalus, Kristin Spurkland, Twisted Yarn Shop, Laurie Undis, Cathy Woodcock, and Sharon Woodcock.

I began this project thinking I was the one giving a gift.  In truth, I feel like I have received one. This project created an opportunity for me to spend time with friends, old and new, and to learn more about three local nonprofits and how I can participate in them in a positive way going forward.

I continue to find inspiration within my Portland community and ask that you think about how you might use your time and talent to connect with others in your community as you reach for your knitting needles to work another row of stitches.

Above: Leigh puts finishing touches on the four blankets donated by the community. 

Introducing Craftcation--A New Conference for Indie, Crafty Business Owners

The internet offers us all sorts of information, resources, and even community, but here at STC Craft we're still big fans of a good, old-fashioned meetups. Whether we're hanging out with our friends and knitting at a coffee shop, taking a class at a local craft store, or attending a more formal event like VK Live or Alt Design Summit, we're just crazy about that face-to-face interaction with creative people. So, we were thrilled to hear about Craftcation, a new event happening March 22-23 in Ventura, California. The brainchild of Nicole Stevenson and Delilah Snell, Craftcation is a sure-to-be-inspiring conference for indie craft business owners who want to grow and maintain their businesses while building new skills. Tending to both the right and left sides of the brain, events on the schedule include business lectures and panels on marketing, social media, legal issues, and accounting, as well as hands-on workshops in subjects like sewing, canning and preserving, cooking, paper arts, and embroidery.

A few days ago we had the chance to ask Nicole (above right) some questions about her conference " baby" and here's what she had to say:

What inspired you to host Craftcation? How long have you been working on it?

When I started my own handmade business Random Nicole, eleven years ago in Los Angeles The Handmade Movement didn’t exist the way it does now. There were lots of people creating things in makeshift kitchen or dining room home ‘studios.’ Indie craft shows hadn’t surfaced yet. When I would meet a fellow maker at a farmer’s market, flea market, or church craft show where we were selling we would frantically exchange information on suppliers, places to sell, and the business side of crafting.

I started Patchwork Indie Arts & Crafts Festival in 2007 with my aunt and business partner Delilah Snell to provide a venue for emerging makers to showcase their goods. At our Patchwork shows Delilah and I noticed that same frenetic information-sharing between crafters that I’d engaged in when I began Random Nicole. We saw a need for an event bringing makers together to connect and share information.

Delilah and I were in Ventura last August scouting future Patchwork locations. We both realized that Ventura was the perfect spot for our dream event, an indie business and DIY conference and Craftcation was born. Since August, Craftcation has pretty much taken over our lives.

 Why do you think so many people are interested in developing craft-related businesses right now?

People are moving towards a more conscious way of living. We’re more aware of the impact our individual choices make on the world around us. We’re asking questions previous generations didn’t ask. How does buying a product made overseas affect our local economy? What materials are used to make the things we purchase and are those materials harmful for us or our environment? How is our food sourced and grown? Every single thing we spend our dollars on reflects our personal philosophies. Although we are in a recession many people don’t mind paying a little more for something if it’s organic or local. We’re beginning to live with less waste, which means maybe we don’t want to spend $40 on 3 T-shirts made overseas that may not stand the test of time but do want to spend $40 on ONE T-shirt that is made from sustainable bamboo, screen-printed with soy ink. and sewn by someone who lives in our town. Value is returning to handmade goods as well as to our time.

Technology has not only made the world ‘smaller’ but also made business more accessible. Anyone can go online and order business cards, open up a shop on Etsy, create a website or blog or learn how to sew. The internet has made it so simple for anyone to gain skills and put themselves out there.

The return to handmade things stems from this new way of living consciously coupled with convenient access to the tools people need to make, buy and sell things.

How did you choose the people who are speaking and teaching classes?

I connected with so many inspiring makers in my eleven years on the craft show circuit and through teaching classes at the brick and mortar studio/shop the craft kitchen that I owned. Delilah forged relationships through her eco-shop The Road Less Traveled, teaching workshops and her involvement in the Southern California food scene. Our seven years producing Patchwork also led to some lasting connections. We put together a list of everyone who we wanted to share their expertise with attendees at Craftcation and began sending emails.   

 Response from these craftelbrities was overwhelming and we’re proud to have industry leaders like Jenny Hart (Sublime Sticthing), Kathy Cano-Murillo (Crafty Chica), Cathy Callahan (Cathy of California), Evan Kleiman (KCRW’s Good Food), Aida Mollenkamp (host on The Food Network and The Cooking Channel) and 30+ more presenters.

What do you most hope attendees will get out the experience?

I want attendees to gain a better understanding of the business aspects of what they do and be able to implement what they learn into starting or growing their indie businesses. Garnering a sense of community with their peers and making lasting connections is also important. Building upon skills they already hold and learning new things in the hands-on craft workshops is fundamental to the Craftcation experience. Running your own business usually means working twice as hard for less money than if you worked for someone else, so I also hope attendees unwind and have fun at our community events like the BBQ Social, Happy Hour Meet & Greet, morning yoga, and '80s Dance Party.

How do you suggest that Craftcation attendees prepare themselves in advance so that they'll be able to get the most out of the experience?

Bring lots of business cards, a sample of your work, and be ready to take tons of notes. Research the presenters beforehand and prepare questions to ask them. This is an amazing opportunity to connect with leading industry professionals. Think about areas where you need help and outline what you want to learn so you can pick which workshops fit your needs. Bring clothes for cool nights and warm days, a banana clip and some leg warmers for the '80s dance party, and a bathing suit (the hotel is steps from the beach).

For more information about Craftcation visit  www.craftcationconference.com and get Craftcation updates on Facebook and Twitter.

STC Craft Gift Guide and Special Holiday Giveaway

UPDATE: In the spirit of the holiday season, we've decided to extend the contest through Friday, December 23rd. We'll be picking three lucky winners that day at noon so after you've left a comment, be sure to tell your friends to enter as well!

Have you run out of time to make crafts for the crafty people in your life? Then keep it simple and treat them to a beautiful craft book. And while you're at it, leave a comment below and you will be automatically entered in our free book giveaway! Just tell us your favorite holiday craft—whether it's ornament-making, cookie baking, or making lavish handmade gifts. The contest closes next Wednesday, December 21, at noon EST. If your name is drawn, you'll win a book of your choice from our online catalog.

For those who love to make toys:
Knitted Dinosaurs & Wee Wonderfuls

 

For those who love to read about knitting (and make a few things too):
My Grandmother's Knitting & A Knitter's Home Companion

 

For sewists who want to take their stitches to the next level:
Stitch Magic & Sewing Basics

 

For knitters who want to take knits and purls to the next level:
Loop-d-Loop Lace, Reversible Knitting

 

For holiday crafters:
Have Yourself a Very Vintage Christmas
Crafting a Meaningful Home

 

For crafters on a budget:
PS I Made This and Repurposed Library

 

For crafters who want to make everything:
Bust DIY Guide to Life		  

 

For backyard enthusiasts:
The Complete Kitchen Garden & Beekeeper's Bible

 

For culinary crafters:
Home Made, Sugar Baby, Canning for a New Generation
For those who love to make children's clothing:
Oliver + S, Knitting for Baby, Vintage Baby Knits
For top-down knitters:
Custom Knits 1, Custom Knits 2, & Modern Top-Down Knitting
For weekend crafters:
Weekend Knitting, Weekend Sewing, Weekend Handmade
For procrastinators: Last-Minute Series

 

Handmade Holidays Memories from Kelly Wilkinson, author of Weekend Handmade

A Guest Post by Kelly Wilkinson

 

For me, the telltale smell of Christmas isn’t gingerbread or eggnog--but the smell of a hot glue gun. 

We were one of those annoyingly Currier & Ives families who actually made our holiday gifts and invited people over to sing carols around the piano and, get this–-reenact the story of Mary and Joseph traveling to Bethlehem. I kid you not. My dad always played the tax collector and sometimes doubled as the donkey.  I know, I know: I can practically HEAR your eyeballs rolling. You can’t get much more wholesome, which is probably why my sisters and I each cultivated a pretty healthy streak of snark.

Naturally, these traditions became unbearably embarrassing once we entered middle school and beyond. But now, there is nothing I love more than an old-fashioned sing-a-long, led by my insanely musical mother.  Another holiday tradition that I still cherish is crafting up homemade presents for my family. 

This year, my husband and I are travelling back to Virginia and the renovated barn I grew up in for the holidays. And while I’ll try to have all my presents made by the time we ship out, I’m sure that my down-to-the-wire personality means that you’ll find me in my Christmas pajamas, tucked into a cozy corner of the barn, soldering or sewing or wrapping. 
 
And in all truthfulness, there’s nowhere else I’d prefer to be. 

Above, left: Kelly expectantly hanging her stockings in 1979; above, right: The Wilkinsons, wishing you a Merry christmas sometime in the early 1980s.

Inspired to craft your own holiday presents? Check out Kelly's book Weekend Handmade for plenty of fresh, simple, and fun ideas.

A Handmade Holiday Recipe from Susan Waggoner, Author of Have Yourself a Very Vintage Christmas

A Guest Post by Susan Waggoner

My early Christmases were celebrated in Des Moines, Iowa, with my father’s family, a group to whom Yuletide was equal parts holiday and competitive crafting marathon. Today, my most vibrant memories of those years revolve around what was made rather than what was bought: red voile aprons with white poinsettias painted--freehand--by my grandmother; a host of miniature angels crafted by my mother hovering around an organ my father made, using his drafting pencils for pipes; wreaths of pinecones. It was exciting to be even on the fringes of such activity.

A few years later, when we relocated to Minnesota, my mother kept up the tradition on her own, gluing mercury glass beads to pine boughs on the steppes of suburbia. Our Christmas Eves were quieter, lit by tiny blue lights and the magical hush of a house surrounded by deep snow. In Minnesota, we followed my mother’s family tradition, and hand-crafting took the form of a Swedish smorgasbord, with tender meatballs in cream gravy, sweet Swedish rye bread with orange peel grated in for the occasion, a sweet-and-sour brown bean dish known as bruna bönor, and for dessert—kringler, a delectable almond pastry whose very taste still summons up to me the essence of so many Christmases gone by.

Swedish Kringler

This is a surprising recipe in that it has no sugar other than the frosting, and the filling sounds about as appealing as wallpaper paste. Nevertheless, the end result is delicious. If I'm just making this for a few people, I make half the recipe. I don't try to do half of 3 eggs, I just pick the largest egg in the carton and it works fine. To keep the crust crisp, I store leftovers in a shoebox, or on a plate loosely tented with foil.

Crust:

1 c flour

½ c butter

2 tbsp water

Filling:

1 c water

½ c butter

1 c flour

3 eggs

1 tsp almond extract

Frosting:

1 c powdered sugar

1 tbsp milk or cream

1 tbsp butter, melted

1 tsp almond extract

To make the crust:

Pulse ingredients in a food processor or cut with knives as you would pie dough to make a crumbly dough that will stick together if you press it.

Round up dough in two balls.

On a cookie sheet (a silicon mat on the cookie sheet is swell, as is baker’s parchment), pat into 2 long strips, about 4" x 12" each. This is kind of messy and sticky—I use the side of my hand to push it into shape. No problem if it looks rustic.

To make the filling:

Put water and butter in a saucepan. Heat to melt butter, then increase heat, bring to boil and remove from heat immediately. Add flour and stir until smooth. Beat in one egg at a time. Add extract and spread over crust.

Bake on 325 for about 40 minutes, until the edges of the crust turn golden brown.

To make the frosting:

Whip ingredients together. 

When cool, frost and garnish with slivered almonds or multicolored sprinkles or drained maraschino cherry halves.  Slice crosswise in strips about 1" wide.

For more traditional holiday recipes as well as vintage-inspired holiday decorations, check out Susan's book Have Yourself a Very Vintage Christmas.

The BUST Holiday Craftacular in NYC This Weekend!

We all know that handmade gifts are the way to make loved ones feel warm and fuzzy. Well, New York crafters, listen up: At this weekend's BUST Magazine Craftacular, at 82 Mercer St., you can not only shop 'til you drop for cute indie goods, but you can also create some DIY gifts of your own.

At The BUST DIY Guide to Life Lab there will be classes on both Saturday and Sunday afternoon on how to make friendship bracelets, bath bombs, terrariums, snow globes, and rad retro hairstyles. All projects are excerpted from The BUST DIY Guide to Life, and authors/BUST magazine co-founders Debbie Stoller and Laurie Henzel will be on hand to sign copies of the book (which makes a great gift in and of itself). 

Here's the full schedule:

Pre-register online to reserve your space. Hope to see you this weekend!

Gertie at STC Craft: Awesome DIY Hairdos

 

I've been a Bust magazine reader since way back, and I've always loved their smart and sassy attitude. A feminist magazine with sewing projects and beauty tips? Yes, please!

So, of course, I was super-excited to get a copy of the new book, The Bust DIY Guide to Life. After flipping through it, I fell in love with the section on hairstyles. So I hatched the idea of trying out a couple of the 'dos (there are ten in total) and reporting the results to you here. Here goes!

First, I tried the "Go Go Kahlo," an homage to Frida the Great.

Here's my version.

 

The front is done in French braids down the side of the head, which then get flipped up to the top of the head and pinned in place. (I don't think I've French braided since I went to Girl Scout camp! It was a good refresher.) The book gives you several options for how you can finish the back of your hair, and I chose to twist it into pin curl-like shapes.

Of course, chandelier earrings were a must! This would be a great look for an elegant evening out.

Next, I tried "The Do in Doo-Wop," a bouffant style reminiscent of girl groups of the 60s, with a punk edge like Amy Winehouse (RIP).

I decided it needed glasses and more black so I did a quick wardrobe change. (And extra eyeliner would have been good, but I was on a tight schedule.)

 

I loved the messy approach to this style. As the book says, "Don't aim for perfection--this is rock 'n' roll, not a beauty pageant!" I dig that. This coiffure really spoke to my inner bad girl; it would look amazing paired with a motorcycle jacket, don't you think? (Note to self: Look into sewing motorcycle jacket ASAP.)

The best part about these two styles is that they worked with my hair's natural texture, so no blow drying or curling or straightening was needed or recommended. No fuss and super stylish--what more could a girl want out of her DIY life? The only hard part will be deciding which one to try next!

Also! See a gallery of project images from the book here.

The BUST DIY Guide to Life Book Tour Begins!

Debbie Stoller and Laurie Henzel, two of the founders and co-publishers of BUST Magazine, are currently on the road with The BUST DIY Guide to Life book--a big fat labor of love that contains more than 250 favorite DIY and craft projects from the past 15 years of BUST Magazine.

San Francisco and Portland, BUST's boss ladies are heading your way this week! They'd love to meet lots of BUST readers and DIY enthusiasts, so stop by one of the bookstores below, say hi, and get your book signed in person.

Here is the full schedule. You can also follow Debbie and Laurie's day-to-day adventures on the BUST blog and on Twitter.

Thursday, November 3
SAN FRANCISCO, CA
7:00pm
Princess Animal: workshop & signing
803 Valencia Street, San Francisco CA 94110
 
Friday, November 4
SAN FRANCISCO, CA
7:00pm
Books Inc. at The Marina: talk & signing
2251 Chestnut Street, San Francisco CA  94123

Saturday, November 5
PORTLAND, OR
2:00pm
Powells Books: talk & signing
1005 W Burnside St., Portland, OR 97209

4:00pm
Ace Hotel: Happy Hour with Debbie & Laurie *RSVP required; contact Ellie for details
403 SW 10th St., Portland, OR 97209

Saturday, November 19
NEW YORK, NY
2:00pm
The New York Public Library: NYPL Crafternoon
Fifth Avenue at 42nd St., New York, NY 10018

The BUST DIY Guide to Life Lab at Maker Faire

Maker Faire takes over the New York Hall of Science this weekend and STC Craft will be there! Join us at The BUST DIY Guide to Life Lab, where we'll be crafting up projects from BUST's big new book. What's on the schedule? Two days of exciting demos and DIY projects, plus a book signing with authors Debbie Stoller and Laurie Henzel.

Check out the full schedule after the jump. For those of you who won't be at Maker Faire but can't wait to get your hands on the book, follow @STC_Craft and @BUST_magazine on Twitter. We'll be giving away a signed copy to one of our lucky friends online.

To get the full scoop on the making of The BUST DIY Guide to Life, read editor Liana Allday's behind-the-scenes blog post here.

Read more

Introducing...The BUST DIY Guide to Life

The idea for The BUST DIY Guide to Life came to us one day in fall 2009 as Melanie and I sat around the office, dreaming up future books. I said something like, wouldn’t it be amazing to do a book with BUST magazine, including hundreds of their craft and DIY projects from over the years? And Melanie said something like, let me give Debbie a call! And so we found ourselves just a couple weeks later having lunch with Debbie Stoller and Laurie Henzel, the editor in chief and creative director of Bust, talking about this exact book idea.

1,498 emails and 23 months later, we have a book! And so it is with great excitement that we want to tell you a bit about The BUST DIY Guide to Life and why we hope you will be excited about it, too.

At our kick-off meeting with Debbie and Laurie, we had a really great conversation about the current craft community and what it means to be “DIY.” You see, ten years ago when so many of us were picking up our knitting needles for the first time or blowing dust off of our grandmother’s sewing machines, we were mostly single-subject kind of gals. We might knit, but that didn’t mean we were going to grow our own vegetables or make our own cheese. Slowly over the last decade, that mentality has changed, and a person who is willing (not to mention excited) to make her own sweater is fairly likely to also want to bake a pie, or cut her own bangs. And so, as we discussed articles from the magazine that could be repurposed in the book, we came to realize that so much of what Bust produces could be considered DIY: from removing stains to giving yourself a beehive hair-do to learning how to fix your bike to starting your own craft business. 

Brimming with excitement about this new kind of book, Melanie and I went back to the office and contemplated how many pages we would need to produce a book like this (the answer: 368), while Debbie and Laurie had their staff dive into the archives, flagging any articles that could be considered DIY, and developing categories, which roughly turned out to be these: home crafts, cleaning, gardening, sewing basics, repurposing clothing, jewelry making, hair-dos, make-up tricks, DIY soaps-n-scrubs, home remedies, cooking and entertaining, finance, travel, work-out tips, sex, marriage, birth, and death.

Phew! In a word, this project was feeling ambitious.

Once we picked our categories, we created an outline, and Debbie and Laurie dove back into the archives again, this time to extract all of the Word documents, photos, and illustrations. The writing styles from the articles were all over the map, so the first step was to retrofit the text so that it would have the same tone. After many months of wrangling this material, we handed all of the text and art files over to our graphic designer, Anna Christian, who flowed it into her design.

That’s when we discovered that the book was coming in at 520 pages (not the 368 pages that we needed it to be). I never in my life thought it would be possible to trim 152 pages from a book—after all, many of our books are  152 pages—but we rolled up our sleeves and hacked away at the book, moving things around, combining articles, cutting others. Above is just one “storyboarded” page from the book (each box represents two pages), which we used as a roadmap to tell the graphic designer what to cut and what to move.

Some of the photos from the magazine were shot ten or more years ago, so we decided to give them a spruced up look. We picked about 25 projects to remake from scratch and had Marianne Rafter photograph them. Probably the most chaotic moment in the entire process of making this book was two days before the shoot when our sewist’s machine broke and she couldn’t finish the remainder of the projects. Debbie and I got on the phone and called every sewist we know in town (and many thanks to all of you who replied so quickly!). To make myself feel less stressed out, I went home that night and sewed three of the projects myself—a pillow sewn in the shape of a dachshund, a scarf made from sweaters, and this skirt shown above. Oh, the glamorous life of a craft book editor!

 

Despite all of the ups and downs creating this book, I must say, I was inspired every step of the way. I remember reading through the instructions for these cute fabric-covered sewn notebooks and thinking, hmmm…this looks so easy. That night I went home and whipped up a set of my own.

In the grips of winter, I made myself some sugar scrub using the recipe in the book, adding tangerine essential oils to add some cheerfulness.

For a friend’s party in March, I followed the instructions for giving myself a Frida Khalo hair-do, which garnered rave reviews from friends!

And that’s hardly scratching the surface…I’ve also made piñatas, flower hair-pins, and homemade butter. I've repaired my bra when the underwire poked through, and I've even grown potatoes in a bucket (yes, those are my potatoes shown above, and yes, potato plants look like this!) Not to mention, the Bust DIY Guide to Life even helped me plan my wedding. I was engaged while working on the book and was beginning to feel a bit stressed about the preparations. I remember reading this sentence in the “Planning a DIY Wedding” article and feeling greatly comforted: If you’re planning a DIY wedding, all you really need is an officiant, the papers, and the love of your partner. Everything else—and we mean everything—is totally optional.

So, if it isn’t totally obvious, I became pretty passionate about this book during the process. It was a primary focus for STC Craft between January of 2009 and May of 2011, and we couldn’t be prouder of how it turned out. To check out more of the images from the book, be sure to check out the gallery here. But really, nothing quite matches the experience of flipping through it yourself—there is sure to be something (or a dozen things) that you will want to make, learn, or grow for yourself—so be sure to preorder a copy or take a look when it hits bookstores this October!

 

Designing Fabric with Heather Ross--Lucky Me


Last week I hit the jackpot when it comes to being a craft book editor. I learned how to design my own fabric with none other than Heather Ross. We were working together on her next book, Heather Ross Prints, which we will publish in Fall 2012. While Weekend Sewing, Heather's first book, was a tour de force full of gorgeous, doable sewing projects, her next book will focus on all manner of crafts that can be made using fabulous repeating designs, hers (see sampling below) and your own (just keep reading). 

One of the first chapters in Heather Ross Prints is dedicated to teaching crafters how to make their own repeating designs using artwork of their making and/or choosing. Up until last week, this section of the book was making Heather and I feel both nervous (“How exactly will we do this?”) and excited (“It will be so cool if we can do this!”). So, once Heather had written her first draft, I printed it out, wrote out a million notes and questions, and headed downtown to Heather’s apartment. After being treated to an amazing homemade lunch—Heather is 8½ months pregnant, and so, according to her, lunch is a “big deal”—we sat down at the computer and started reviewing the manuscript.

About five minutes into the process, I turned to Heather and said, “I really think it would be most effective if I tried to create my own repeating design following your instructions…you know, to see if it works.” And so she handed over a sketchpad and said, “Sure, what would you like to draw?”

As she warned in her manuscript, this would be the scariest moment of the design process. What should I draw? Can I draw? These questions were running through my head. But before I committed to just drawing a simple circle or star, I thought, I’d like to try to draw my favorite animal: a bear. With some artistic tips from Heather regarding the shape of the nose and the hulk of the belly, I suddenly had a bear (shown below alongside Heather's bafflingly cute donkey.)

Once the sketch was done, we scanned it into the computer and Heather taught me how to turn it into an illustration. It was my first time drawing with a stylus, and true to another warning in her manuscript, it was pretty awkward. While coloring in my bear, I could not stop laughing every time I got near the “outline,” knowing that mine would be super wobbly. But after some practice, I got the hang of it and could make fairly controlled strokes.

After about an hour or so of coloring in the background, playing with different hues, and shading some areas of the bear, we saved the file and uploaded it to Spoonflower—a site where you can print your own designs onto fabric of your choosing and buy it by the yard.

Next we played with the repeating design.

Seeing my silly little bear design up on the screen felt so empowering. It was unbelievable that in just an afternoon, I was able to use my humble artistic skills to create a fabric design that I will proudly use to make pajama bottoms for the whole family next Christmas. How cool is that?

Having gone through the process myself now, I feel confident that this is something anyone can do, and I personally can't wait to sit down and do more. But for now, I should probably get back to the editing.

Thanks again, Heather!

 

Crafting for Dad + Free Book Giveaway!

Dads are kind of hard to shop for, right? Ask a typical dad what he wants for Father's Day and he'll likely shrug his shoulders and--with a smile, of course--say "I don't know." I don't think that they mean to torture us with their ambiguity. For many dads, it's simply a matter of not really having much of a wish list. Except maybe love, a little respect, and for someone to laugh at their corny jokes (or at least make fun of them). 

But for those of us who want to give a gift beyond love, respect, and laughter, we have to get a little creative. Lucky for crafty types, we've got creativity in spades!

For the knitters amongst us, look no further than Knits Men Want. As the subtitle states, it's all inclusive: "The 10 Rules Every Woman Should Know Before Knitting for a Man--Plus the Only 10 Patterns She'll Ever Need." A few photos from the book are shown below, including lots of quick-knits for Dad, and even a few dude-approved sweaters. And for another classic dad gift with a knitterly twist, try your hand at the Rusted Elegant Tie from Knitting Classic Style (shown above). Father's Day is June 19--just over a month away--so get out your needles and get crackin'!

 

For the non-knitters amongst us--or for those who are pressed for time--we've got more great ideas for handmade dad gifts. Shown below, clockwise from top left:

Gus's Dog Bed from Printing by Hand (A screen-printed fabric that is then sewn into a pillow--this is the perfect gift for Dad and his best buddy.)

Pickles from Alabama Studio Style (Several recipes for making homemade pickles for Dad. Perfect for sandwiches or for a Bloody Mary brunch on Father's Day.)

Hexagon Storage Bin from Modern Paper Crafts (A receptacle you can make yourself to hold anything from fishing rods to recycled papers.)

Pajamas for Everyone from Weekend Sewing (An easy-to sew project for every member of the family. If the Dad in your life is a lounger, this is the perfect gift for him.)

Story Time Clock from The Repurposed Library (A unique clock, perfect for Dad's den or office. Pick a book tailored to his interests (golf, baseball, computers, a volume of an outdated encyclopedia featuring the first letter of his initials, or maybe even an old cookbook for culinary types).

Decoupaged Fridge from Crafting a Meaningful Home (A cool way for Dad to remember his favorite city. Or if he's more of a nature guy, use maps from a hiking trail. If Mom won't let you decoupage the fridge, consider decoupaging him a tackle box or a stepladder...or something else that can stay in the garage.)

So, readers, we hope this post gets your creative juices flowing! Tell us which of these gifts your Dad would like the most in the Comments section and you'll autmatically be entered to win the STC Craft book of your choice (see the choices here). Enter by noon on June 1. Three winners will be picked at random and notified that day. 

For official sweepstakes rules, click here.

From The Repurposed Library: A New Sewing Box

If you’re reading this blog, you are most likely a person who A) loves crafts, and B) loves books. If you meet both of those criterion, then chances are you'll be interested in one of our newest STC Craft titles: The Repurposed Library.

When we first acquired this book nearly two years ago, e-readers were new on the scene. The Nook may not have existed yet, but we could see which way the wind was blowing. The Repurposed Library felt like the perfect response to a tech-savvy world that’s changing before our eyes. Both ironic and beautiful, The Repurposed Library presents craft projects to make, literally, out of old books, lifting obscure tomes off of dusty shelves, and putting them in a new light. 

I edited this book and worked closely with the author, Lisa Occhipinti, from beginning to end. When I finally decided to make a project from the book, I was drawn to so many things—from the decorative book bursts made from folded book pages to the shelves made from a sturdy stack of drilled hardcovers—but the sewing box seemed like an excellent choice for me since I love to sew and am constantly leaving my notions about. Shown above is the inside of my finished sewing box, and below is what it looks like when it's closed.

I must say, the hardest part of making this project was picking out the book. As a book lover, it is very hard to find a book you feel okay about putting under the knife. Especially with old books, there’s a certain amount of reverence—a sense that it has been passed through many hands, perhaps loved, perhaps not—and that you are now the keeper of this book in a vast "world library." So, I’m not going to lie: I bought four used books before I found the one I felt okay about transforming into a sewing box. Luckily, Lisa provides us with a very helpful section on selecting books—from how to identify first edition and rare books (which you should not cut up) to the importance of evaluating sentimental value—so when I found the book I wanted, I felt good about my choice.

I chose an old Reader’s Digest Condensed Book from the 1950s. The books in this series all have wonderful, decorative hardback covers hiding beneath their jackets, and almost no value whatsoever. As an added bonus, there are cute little illustrations throughout, which I’ve been cutting out and gluing onto homemade cards (shown below is a card I sent to my mom for Mother’s Day…)

The sewing box project couldn’t have been easier. To get started, you simply remove the pages from the book with two slices of an Xacto knife down the inside spine (the pages will all be glued or sewn together, so they come out in one big chunk). Then you measure your balsa wood, which you can find in sheets at craft or art supply stores, and trim it to size with an Xacto knife (the wood is very soft and easy to cut through). Then comes the fun part: You get out your hot glue gun and glue the compartments in place! I managed to complete all of these steps, beginning to end, in under two hours.

If you’d like to try your hand at making the sewing box, download the instructions here! And if you’d like to see more projects from the book, click here.

Celebrating Mom

Mother’s Day has a way of sneaking up on all of us. One minute the calendar says April, and the next thing you know it’s May, with Mother’s Day firmly planted on the first Sunday of the month. This year, don’t let Mother’s Day catch you off-guard. If the mom you're celebrating is a crafter, we’ve got your gift-giving covered! Below are some simple ideas, whether she’s a sewist, a quilter, a knitter, or a paper-folding enthusiast. There’s something for everyone here.
For moms who like handmade décor:
Modern Paper Crafts The Repurposed Library Crafting a Meaningful Home
For moms who like a good read:
A Knitter's Home Companion Knitting for Peace Quilting for Peace
For moms who sew for little ones:
Oliver + S Little Things to Sew Wee Wonderfuls Kata Golda's Hand-Stitched Felt
For moms who love beautiful stitching:
Stitch Magic Alabama Stitch Book Alabama Studio Style
For moms who are fans of Teva Durham:
Loop-d-Loop Lace Loop-d-Loop Loop-d-Loop Crochet
For moms who like to accessorize:
Knitted Socks East and West Knitting New Scarves Knitting New Mittens and Gloves
For moms who quilt with passion:
Kaffe Fassett's Simple Shapes Spectacular Quilts Material Obsession Material Obsession 2

STC Craft Spring Books in Bloom

 

It's not quite spring outside--no daffodils poking through the soil yet--but there are signs of spring in our office and in bookstores and craft stores everywhere. STC Craft's spring 11 collection is making its way to retailers now. First up are Oliver + S: Little Things to Sew by Liesl Gibson and A Knitter's Home Companion by Michelle Edwards. Modern Paper Crafts by Margaret Van Sicklen is being released next week. You can see sample pages from these three books by clicking on the covers in the right-hand margin. Upcoming soon are The Repurposed Library by Lisa Occhipinti, Loop-d-Loop Lace by Teva Durham, and Stitch Magic by Alison Reid. You can see photo galleries for all of these books (except for Stitch Magic but stay tuned) by clicking on their respective titles under "Galleries" in the right-hand margin. The weather where I live is cold and wet today, but the views inside these books are bright and beautiful. Spring is on its way.