Craftside

Creative projects for crafters the world over

Today's post features six free projects from some of our favorite books to set you up for the weekend, and to get our Craftside UK readers in the mood for the Knitting and Stitching Show in London!

First up is a great tutorial on a jog fix when knitting in the round from the book:

Colorwork for Adventurous Knitters:
Master the Art of Knitting Stripes, Slipstitch, Intarsia, and Stranded Colorwork through Step-by-Step Instruction and Easy Projects

(Click here for the Amazon.co.uk link)

by

Lori Ihnen

This step-by-step technique reference introduces and thoroughly explores several styles of knitting that involve color/yarn changes to create intricate patterns and designs. With Colorwork for Adventurous Knitters, you'll delve into exciting methods including striping, slipstitch, mosaic, stranded, and intarsia knitting and duplicate stitch and embroidery embellishment. This volume is an inspiring addition to any knitter’s library.

Lori Ihnen is a professional fashion designer of both hand-knit and sewn clothes, with a degree in clothing design from the University of Minnesota. She specializes in designing intricate stranded designs, often inspired by nature, and her hand-work is so intricate and precise that it is often mistaken for machine-produced knitting. She lives in Mounds View, Minnesota.

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Next up, try your hand at this contemplative sketchbook exercise from the book:

 

Cultivating Your Creative Life:
Exercises, Activities, and Inspiration for Finding Balance, Beauty, and Success as an Artist

(Click for the Amazon.co.uk link)

by

Alena Hennessy

This book takes you where creativity and wonder intermingle to show you how to live a creative and balanced life while moving toward your goals. You’ll find ideas for keeping your creative well full, an illustrated guide to healing herbs and plants, basic yoga poses and breathing exercises, and tips for moving your artistic career forward.

Alena Hennessy is an artist who has long been fascinated with nature and the outdoors. After art school, Alena did an independent study in Florence, Italy, where she began to get down to what she loved in art and in life: simplicity, stillness and a sense of little things relating to one another, all peaceful and quiet. Since that time, Alena focuses on what she loves best, making art and thoughtfully designed products available to people everywhere, everyday. Visit her online at http://www.alenahennessy.com.

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If embroidery is your thing, you'll want to check out the tutorial on how to applique and machine embroider tea towels with fun words and Sycamore pods (templates included!) from the book:

Knot Thread Stitch:
Exploring Creativity through Embroidery and Mixed Media

(Click here for the Amazon.co.uk link)

by

Lisa Solomon

Knot Thread Stitch presents a modern, experimental, and creative approach to thread and embroidery projects. You'll find fun and surprising project ideas, a unique artistic approach, and unconventional mixed-media materials such as stamps, paint, sequins, paper, and shrinky dinks.

Profoundly interested in the idea of hybridization (sparked from her hapa heritage), Lisa Solomon’s mixed media works revolve thematically around domesticity, craft, and masculine and feminine triggers. She is drawn to found objects altering them conceptually so that their meanings and original uses or intents are re-purposed. Visit her online at http://www.lisasolomon.com.

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If you enjoy felting, try this technique for attaching cords and spikes to a project from the book:

The Complete Photo Guide to Felting

(Click here for the Amazon.co.uk link)

by

Ruth Lane

This is a comprehensive reference for various felting techniques, including needle felting, wet felting, and nuno felting. With these easy-to-follow, step-by-step directions and hundreds of full-color photos, you’ll be able to explore these easy projects that provide fun opportunities for you to try the techniques. Galleries of unique felted designs and creations by renowned fabric artists act as beautiful examples and inspiration to pursue the hobby yourself.

Ruth Lane is a self-taught fiber artist who loves to “play” with a wide variety of materials, including wool, silk, fabrics, yarns, and threads. Creating one of a kind fiber art pieces to share with the world fulfills her creative passion. She lives in Kalispell, Montana. Visit her online at http://ruthsfiberphotos.blogspot.com.

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Love knitting? Knit a Sami hat with this tutorial featured in the book:

Swedish Handknits:
A Collection of Heirloom Designs

(Click here for the Amazon.co.uk link)

by

Sue Flanders

and

Janine Kosel

This is a beautiful collection of patterns for sweaters, hats, scarves, mittens, headbands, and bags, all inspired by the historic textiles housed at the American Swedish Institute in Minneapolis, Minnesota. You'll find vintage photographs of Swedish immigrants, recipes, and photos of the artifacts that inspired the designs, along with a short history of knitting in Sweden. Bohus, twined knitting, and Swedish mittens are some of the many featured techniques.

Sue Flanders' knitwear designs have been published in many magazines and books over the years, including Knitting In America and Kids Knitting. She lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Janine Kosel has been knitting since her mother taught her as a young girl. Both reside in Minneapolis, MN.

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If time with a hook pleases, try this beautiful Windflower Shawlette project from the book:

Crochet 101:
Master Basic Skills and Techniques Easily through Step-by-Step Instruction

(Click here for the Amazon.co.uk link)

by

Deborah Burger

Written with the absolute beginner in mind, this engaging book teaches all the basics for learning to crochet with step-by-step instructions and photographs. Crocheting skills are learned by working on projects, beginning with something very easy and getting progressively more difficult as the reader works through the book. New skills are explored in depth as they are introduced. This is the most comprehensive beginner’s book available!

Deborah Burger is a professional member of the Crochet Guild of America, teaching crochet and designing from Western North Carolina. She shares her ideas and sells her designs on Ravely as well as her own web site, Crochet: the Extraordinary Realm (http://cerdeb.googlepages.com). She also works as an educational consultant, speaker and author within the homeschooling community. She lives in Brevard, North Carolina.

 

Interview with Susan Schwake, author of Art Lab for Kids

One of the best parts of writing this here fancy-pants blog is all the cool authors I get to "meet." Today I have another interview to share with you. It is with Susan Schwake, the author of Art Lab for Kids: 52 Creative Adventures in Drawing, Painting, Printmaking, Paper, and Mixed Media-For Budding Artists of All Ages.

And COMING SOON in Spring 2013:

Art Lab for Little Kids: 52 Playful Projects for Preschoolers!

Developed for the younger set (4-6 years old), Art Lab for Little Kids is the perfect book for parents and teachers who are looking for unique and inspiring experiences to offer this age group. As in Susan’s first book, Art Lab for Kids, the labs can be used as singular projects, or used to build up to a year of hands-on fine art experiences. Each lab also features the work of a prominent artist for inspiration. Rather than “cookie cutter” end products, these open-ended lessons allow for fresh, new results each time they are used.

Susan is an avid teacher. If you like taking classes, she will be teaching an adult weekend workshop this September at the Teahouse studio in Berkeley, CA, in Playful Printmaking (printmaking without a press) and in October offering a workshop for kids at the Eric Carle Museum in Amherst, MA.

Read on!

1. What does your workspace/design space look like?

My working spaces are a mix of personal and public. As a teacher in my own little art school (http://www.artstreamstudios.com) I have space within my classrooms. Our painting studio is 1200 square feet within a 106 year old building set on a river in NH. Our north facing transom windows flood the whole building with natural light. The exposed brick, slumped glass windows and old beadboard walls give off a great vibe to everyone who creates here! It's large enough to have my own work going in my area and hold classes too. It resides at the back of the gallery (http://www.artstreamstudios.com) - so there is a ton of inspiration on the walls for everyone. I have a second personal studio inside our home for my mixed media work and painting. I love that it faces south and that even in the middle of a NH winter the sun shines through. Can you tell I love natural light?

2. Do you save your mistakes or designs you don't love right away - or ditch them?

I used to burn everything I didn't like! Now, I like to save the work which didn't quite make it and turn them into something else later - old works on paper have become bookmarks, collage papers, cards. I also revisit these pieces with a fresh eye and new insight - even months later - to work further on them to completion.

3. What's on your "next to try" list?

Letterpress. I am pretty excited to be taking a class this fall at the Canterbury Shaker Village!

4. Do you ever work with recycled materials?

Yes, often I do. I use old found wood for supports on my mixed media paintings. I also love vintage wallpaper, old German song books and letters from people I don't know.

5. What music do you listen to when designing?

I love the quiet nature of making art. I find listening to music an engaging activity and can't split my thoughts. Sometimes though I do turn on my own iTunes mix. I am partial to jazz (Billie Holliday, John Coltrane, Billy Cobham) from the 50s and 60s as well as an eclectic mix of punk and soul from the 70s and 80s (think Al Greene, Aretha Franklin and Jim Carroll).

6. How long does a design take you to create?

Some days the art moves quickly - other days it takes weeks. I rarely complete anything in less than a week.

7. How do you organize your supplies?

Ikea expedit, some custom built paper holding stacks, and reclaimed shelving from a factory not too far from here make up some of my favorite ways to hold my supplies. I also use tons of old jam jars, cigar boxes, wooden boxes and old stationary boxes for tiny items. I love a good container. It's kind of a sickness.

8. What books/magazines do you read?

Currently I am reading The Night Circus; I just finished Wild. Barbara Kingsolver and Charles Dickens are  my all time favorite authors though and I reread their works from time to time.  I love Uppercase and Anthology magazine!

9. How would you describe your personal style?

Minimalist eclectic. Is that a style? I love color but in little bursts. I am all about muted neutrals with pink, turquoise, or orange accents. In our home I love uncluttered cozy. Making or teaching art everyday keeps my wardrobe minimal so it's all about the bright accessories for me. Neons and paisleys are pretty exciting to me right now (again).

10. How do you determine what a design is going to be made with?

Often it is the last thing I noticed around me - a budding tree, a look from a stranger, something I just read, all point me in the direction to the right materials. Specific subject matter makes for specific material needs.

11. Do you have a collection of anything?

I have two collections. One is vintage beaded bags. Most of them were made by my great aunt in the 1920s. The other is artwork given to me by my youngest students over the past 20 years. They are charming and inspire me endlessly.

12. How did your book come to be made?

I was lucky I guess to find the right publisher who was almost immediately responsive to my idea of writing a book about making art with children. Thank you Quarry!

Thanks Susan for sharing!

More about her book:

Art Lab for Kids:

52 Creative Adventures in Drawing, Painting, Printmaking, Paper, and Mixed Media-For Budding Artists of All Ages

by

Susan Schwake

Photographer:

Rainer Schwake

A refreshing source of ideas for creating fine art with children, Art Lab for Kids encourages the artist’s own voice, marks, and style. This fun and creative book features 52 fine art projects set into weekly lessons, beginning with drawing, moving through painting and printmaking, and then building to paper collage and mixed media. Each lesson features and relates to the work and style of a contemporary artist. Lisa Congdon, Megan Bogonovich, and Amy Rice are just a few of the artists included. It's the perfect book for creative families, friends, and community groups and works as lesson plans for both experienced and new art teachers. Children of all ages and experience levels can be guided by adults and will enjoy these engaging exercises.

   

How to make needle felted cord from the book The Complete Photo Guide to Felting

 

Today's inside peek is a cool tutorial on how to make needle felted cord featured in the new book The Complete Photo Guide to Felting. What a cool way to make custom cord that could be used in all sorts of projects.

Click on this page from The Complete Photo Guide to Felting to enlarge and read the full tutorial on how to make needle felted cord.

More about the CPi book:

The Complete Photo Guide to Felting

by

Ruth Lane

This richly illustrated how-to book is a comprehensive reference for various felting techniques, including needle felting, wet felting, and nuno felting. With these easy-to-follow, step-by-step directions and hundreds of full-color photos, you’ll be able to explore these easy projects that provide fun opportunities for you to try the techniques. Galleries of unique felted designs and creations by renowned fabric artists act as beautiful examples and inspiration to pursue the hobby yourself.

Ruth Lane is a self-taught fiber artist who loves to “play” with a wide variety of materials, including wool, silk, fabrics, yarns, and threads. Creating one of a kind fiber art pieces to share with the world fulfills her creative passion. She has been a member of the Felting Forum—an online forum of 2,500 felt makers from around the world—for four and half years and a moderator for three years. A longtime supporter of fine crafts, Ruth co-owns a fine craft gallery, The Purple Pomegranate, which represents  more than 180 American artists whose work includes jewelry, ceramics, metal work, mixed media, woodworking, glass art, fiber art, prints and paintings. She lives in Kalispell, Montana. Visit her online at http://ruthsfiberphotos.blogspot.com.

 

Postminimalism/Totalism art and music from The Daily Book of Classical Music

Today I want to share with you two terms you may not be familiar with: postminimalism and totalism. Read all about them from this page from The Daily Book of Classical Music: 365 readings that teach, inspire & entertain.

Click on this page from The Daily Book of Classical Music to enlarge and get a closer look at the cool art and get a fun musical suggestion.

More about the book:

 The Daily Book of Classical Music:

365 readings that teach, inspire & entertain

Learn something about classical music every day of the year! In these pages, you'll find everything from brief biographies of your favorite composers to summaries of the most revered operas. Interesting facts about the world’s most celebrated songs and discussions of classical music–meets–pop culture make this book as fun as it is informative. Ten categories of discussion rotate throughout the year: Classical Music Periods, Compositional Forms, Great Composers, Celebrated Works, Basic Instruments, Famous Operas, Music Theory, Venues of the World, Museums & Festivals, and Pop Culture Medley.

 

Sizzix die cut and book winners with your Monday crafty links

Congrats go out to Anita B. of the blog Anita's Craft Corner. She is the proud new owner of a bunch of the new Sizzix dies and a copy of Water Paper Paint: Exploring Creativity with Watercolor and Mixed Media.

And our Craftside prize package of a bunch of Sizzix dies and a copy of 1,000 Artists' Books: Exploring the Book as Art was won by Candace J. of Cool2Craft.

 

Monday Links:

RockPaperInk.com
Qian Qian

Lindsay Sews
A modern quilt guild shows how they pulled off an inexpensive and festive outdoor quilt show. Visit Lindsay's blog for some beautiful community quilting inspiration.

Mixed Media Artist
Cyndi shares her favorite method for giving a photo a sepia look...and then printing it out on fabric!

Carmi's Art/Life World
This week Carmi shares her cursed hexagon sewing project.

Craft Buds
Pinterest is a visual playground for crafters and DIY lovers, but there's always something new to learn. Check out these top Pinterest Tips for craft bloggers and handmade business owners!

CraftFoxes
From rummaging tools to craft store discounts, these Top 10 iPhone and iPad craft apps offer something unique to help fuel your crafting fire.

Crafty Princess Diaries
Tammy won another podcast contest and gives you the scoop on how these contests work and where to look for them.

Eileen - The Artful Crafter
Eileen missed the blog hop this year but went ahead and made blue jeans themed bracelets for the 7k Bracelets of Hope Campaign anyway. Note to self: watch for blog hop notice in January next year!

Green Solar Light Glass Sculptures
Cherie makes glass sculptures with lights for the garden.