Craftside

Exciting news from Craftside UK

To all my crafty peeps: I'm excited to bring you the latest news from our Craftside UK contributor, Natalie! -Stefanie
 

Here at Craftside UK HQ we are delighted to announce our attendance at London’s upcoming Stitch & Craft Show. Taking place on 15^th-18^th March at Olympia, Kensington the Stitch & Craft Show is packed with everything the knitting, stitching, or papercraft enthusiast could ever need alongside a programme of exciting workshops and demonstrations.

Craftside UK is proud to be taking part in the Stitch & Craft Show and we are looking forward to meeting as many of our crafty friends and fans as possible. Make sure you pop by our stand at F-F04 to say hello if you’re planning on attending. We’ll have all of our favourite craft books on display, including very special show price offers knocking £'s of the recommended retail prices, a craft expert on hand to run demos and to answer any of your craft related queries, free project sheets and lots of chances to win copies of our books in our special competitions.

Subscribers to our Craftside UK newsletter will also shortly be receiving a very special offer voucher on purchasing our books from our stand during the Stitch & Craft Show. If you’re not already a member you can sign up for free here.

We look forward to welcoming you to our stand!

Natalie xx

 

Craftside UK: New crochet exhibition opens in London

If you’ve been following my Craftside UK Twitter feed you might remember seeing a link to this amazing crochet covered Black Cab recently.

Now Olek (the artist behind it) has opened her first solo show made up entirely of crocheted covered walls and objects. The artistic installation is in London’s trendy Shoreditch area at Tony's Gallery on Sclater Street and runs until 23rd March.

Utilising her trademark camouflage motif some of the objects are covered in subversive and intimate messages giving the show a much edgier feel than is traditionally associated with crochet. Whilst the show probably isn't suitable for children it’s bound to fascinate, intrigue and perhaps shock everyone else.

"I do not expect to be a mother, but I do expect to die alone" is Polish-born, New York based Olek's first solo show in London. And for those of you who are Stateside and keen to see for yourself Olek's playful meshing of traditional crafts and street art style, she will be participating in the Smithsonian American Art Museum's 40 Under 40 exhibition later this year which promises to showcase her entire crocheted studio apartment.  

And if Olek's crazy crochet has whetted your appetite for all this yarn, why not have a purusal through Lela Nargi's book Astounding Knits!: 101 Spectacular Knitted Creations and Daring Feats, packed with even more wooly wonders. 

 

Craftside UK: Give the gift of crafting this Christmas - plus, a crafty giveaway!

Books make the perfect gifts, especially crafty ones. Here’s our Craftside UK round-up of fantastic books to delight in giving this year.

We’d love to know which of these books would make it onto your Christmas list. Leave a comment on this post letting us know by 20th December GMT and the Craftside elves will magic one book of their choice to two lucky recipients (one from the U.S. and one from the UK). Good luck!

 

For yarn lovers

• Knitting Socks From Around the World
• For the Love of Knitting
• Astounding Knits!
• Intertwined

        

For fabric fans

• Complete Photo Guide to Sewing
• Palm-Size Softies
• Quilts Around the World 
• Playful Patchwork

        

For artists and crafters

• The Crafter's Devotional 
• Unfurling
• Drawing Lab
• Unstuck

   

For jewellers

• 1000 Jewelry Inspirations
• Steampunk Style Jewelery 
• The Jeweler's Studio Handbook
• Creating Glamorous Jewellery with Swarovski Elements

     

For fashionistas 

• Handbag Designer 101 
• Atlas of Fashion Designers
• Felt Fashion 
• Hip Graphic Knits

       
 

For kids

• Origami 101 
• Paper Puppet Palooza
• Hello My Name is Amineko
• Let’s Draw Cute Animals

       

 

Craftside UK: Stocking fillers

Stockings are one of my favourite things about Christmas. As a child my brother and I had our own personalised ones that had been knitted by grandmother. They were jumbo sized, far too big for any human foot, but perfect for stuffing with lots of exciting little presents, which we would excitedly rush to retrieve come Christmas morning.

If you need something to hang up for Father Christmas, this pattern for a knitted stocking is the perfect thing to get crafting on now. Just be sure to have it finished in time to take pride of place, hanging from the mantelpiece on Christmas Eve, as you never know what Santa might bring. 

Click on the image to download the pattern. Taken from the book Knit or Crochet - Have it Your Way by Margaret Hubert.   

 

Click on the cover below for more information on this project-filled book:

We also have a host of festive treats lined up for subscribers to our Craftside UK e-newsletter. If you haven’t already signed up you can join here and you’ll get special offers, crafty tips and free projects sent straight to your email account. 

Natalie x

 

 

Craftside UK: Christmas Countdown

Uh-oh! There are now less than 50 days until Christmas Day. Which means I better get cracking with my crafting if I want to give family and friends some extra-special handmade gifts this Christmas.

Here are some books I’m planning on taking some present inspiration from: 

Knitting Scarves From Around the World

Palm-size Softies

 
Knitting Socks from Around the World

 
Bead Jewellery 101, 2nd Edition

 
Simple Gifts

As a special treat here is an extract from Simple Gifts on how to make a gorgeous body cream to give (or keep!).

Plus if you live in the UK, look out for ours ads in the December editions of Let’s Knit and Sew magazine, featuring some of the books mentioned above, along with exclusive discount codes for readers. 

Oh, and don’t forget to sign up to our CraftsideUK e-newsletter. It’s packed with fantastic special offers, news and competitions on a crafty books.

Natalie x