The Archives
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12.03.08Book Review: Seams to Me by Anna Maria Horner[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="360" caption="Anna Maria Horner's first book, Seams to Me, is exactly what you'd expect from this popular fabric designer. "][/caption] One of the sewing books that I'd really looked forward to much of this year is Anna Maria Horner's Seams to Me: 24 New Reasons to Love Sewing, which was released by Wiley in October. Anna Maria is one of my favorite fabric designers--I love the highly artistic graphics she utilizes in combination with vibrant colors. The result is a rich, bold and distinctive aesthetic that's modern and fresh. When Seams to Me arrived in our mailbox, I ...
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11.07.08Book Review: French General Home Sewn[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="Cover of Kaari Meng's French General Home Sewn, published by Chronicle. "][/caption] Chronicle Books' latest sewing offering, French General Home Sewn: 30 Projects for Every Room in the House, is a unique sewing project book from Kaari Meng, owner of the well-known store in L.A., French General (you can visit her blog here). (I figure it's pretty well-known, since I've actually heard of it.) Part tour of the vintage French aesthetic, part sewing book, this is an appealing book for folks who are Francophiles or fabric collectors, in addition to those looking for unique designs for sewing ...
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10.29.08Interview: Chika Mori, Co-Author of Zakka SewingZakka Sewing is a new book--it came out last month--that is the first zakka book aimed at English-speaking crafters. As you know, we love our collection of Japanese craft books, and it turns out that they've become something of a phenomenon. The co-authors of Zakka Sewing, Therese Laskey and Chika Mori, recognized this trend and have brought anauthentic Japanese craft book experience--the worked with zakka makers in Japan to develop the projects--to the American audience. If you're interested in Japanese crafting, but are intimidated by, or don't have access to, the books from Japan, Zakka Sewing is a great introduction. ...
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09.09.08Book Review: Printing by Hand by Lena CorwinLena Corwin's book "Printing by Hand: A Modern Guide to Printing with Handmade Stamps, Stencils and Silk Screens" (published by Stewart, Tabori & Chang, the same folks who brought us the beautiful Alabama Stitch Book) caught our eye when it was featured on Design Sponge earlier this summer. Her aesthetic is very interesting---rather minimalist, yet bold and printed. It's an interesting juxtaposition. The book is a comprehensive overview of all three major printing techniques (stamping, stenciling and screening) and their different applications using a variety of inks and printing surfaces. One of the most valuable aspects of this new book ...
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08.18.08A Giveaway!(Note: Comments are now closed. We will announce the randomly-drawn winner shortly.) But you gotta work for it a little bit. Remember The Alabama Stitch Book that I reviewed back in June? The one that I used to make the skirt that I wore to that get-together with some old friends? Well, the lovely folks at Stewart, Tabori & Chang sent me a copy to review as well, so I have two copies. So, looks like I need to get rid of one of them... I think that whomever gets the copy of this book will really enjoy it. There are lots of ...
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08.12.08Book Review: Amy Butler’s Little Stitches for Little OnesAs you probably know, I'm a huge Amy Butler fan. I so appreciate that she has built a brand that has succeeded in encouraging newbies to sew, while also meeting the needs of experienced sewers/sewists. It's a winning combination. One of the things I appreciate most about her new book, Amy Butler's Little Stitches for Little Ones: 20 Keepsake Sewing Projects for Baby and Mom, is Amy's acknowledgments on the first page of the book, This book is dedicated to the sewing community at-large. Without your enthusiasm and spirit, the fine craft of sewing would not be as vibrant. I was really ...
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07.13.08BlockedWe got the book Lotta Prints by Lotta Jansdotter (who also wrote the very-popular Simple Sewing book) when it first came out. As you know, Josh has gotten really interested in printmaking, especially screen printing, so this book had perfect timing as an impulse buy. We're not going to bother to review the book, since both Average Jane Crafter (aka Rachel) and Diane (of CraftyPod fame) wrote great reviews already, but we thought we'd share the first results from a project in the book. This was Sarah's first attempt in, oh, seventeen years or so, at printing using a linoleum block. ...
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06.04.08Book Review: Alabama Stitch BookWhile at The Best Bookstore Ever (aka Powell's here in Portland) this spring, Josh spotted the beautiful Alabama Stitch Book, written by Natalie Chanin of Project Alabama fame. (Josh has a real eye for design and aesthetics, so it caught his eye because it's such an attractive book.) This is the book that inspired the purple skirt I wore to a party with some old friends last weekend. To be completely straight with you, I really bought the Alabama Stitch Book because it was "neat looking." Which it is. It is an absolutely beautifully designed book, from beginning to end. ...
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05.27.08Book Review PreviewThis is just a quick preview of a book review I've promised I'm going to write---the fascinating Alabama Stitch Book. I buy a lot of sewing books (and more recently lots of print making books, too), but I hate to review them until I've actually made something out of the book. Looks of books are lovely to look at (such as Amy Butler's In Stitches)---which has lots of merit as inspiration, but it takes a special one to be truly useful (such as Sew What! Skirts). In order to really know if a book is useful, I just need to ...
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10.15.07Book Review: The Collection by Gioia Dilibertofrom sarah the sewist Taking a brief break from our regular programming here at Sewer-Sewist… If you're in need of a good read, but don’t want to break away from the sewing completely, take a look at The Collection by Gioia Diliberto. There aren’t a lot of books around that actually feature sewing as a plot device. (In fact, if you can think of any, particularly any that are actually good, let us know, and we'll compile a list.) Not only is sewing central to the plot, it’s truly the catalyst for the story, with the first line in the book being, ...
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09.08.07Cat-tastic!!!We don't have a cat. In fact, both of us are horribly allergic, and our dog thinks that cats are extremely suspect. So, no cats for us. However, we've got a lot of kitties in our extended family. Since we're beginning to embark on our Great Making Everyone's Christmas Gifts Odyssey, we decided that Josh's dad's cat, Lieutenant, really really needs a Kitty Tunnel from Amy Butler's In Stitches book. (We'll review the entire book soon---promise.) Not only that, Lieutenant needs, really needs, a funky-fresh, Miami Vice-style lime green flamingo print Kitty Tunnel lined with hot pink fluffy fur. This is ...
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07.30.07BOOK REVIEW: Sew What! Skirtsfrom sarah the sewist A few months back, I had tendonitis in my right index finger and basically couldn’t do a whole lot involving my hands---including sewing, knitting, opening doors, that sort of thing. Around that time, to compensate for the fact that I was totally and completely bored, I went on a book-buying binge. One of those books has been some fun inspiration and helped me indulge my love of oh-too-cute cotton prints. That book is Sew What! Skirts, which is, as the title indicates, a book of skirt styles that you can create using different techniques that result in a unique ...
recent posts
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- Snowed In
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- Book Review: Seams to Me by Anna Maria Horner
