New Kid on the Block: Crafty Magazine

I was recently sent a copy of issue two of the new UK magazine, Crafty, for review and wanted to share my thoughts.  There have been loads of new magazines springing up over the last couple of years, be they general multi-craft journals or more specific niche publications for sewing, knitting, crochet. So what sets Crafty apart?

Overall, I'm pretty impressed.  There is a wide array of projects included from the Leichtenstein cross-stitch and clasp clutches seen on the cover, the kitschy cowboy knitted bag, bottle garden, multi-media postcards, stamp pendants and typographical crocheted stool seen in the collage above, and others like knitted plastic bags, five projects using scarves and upcycled tart pan displays.  Not being a knitter or crocheter myself, there are some projects that are of less relevance to me personally but I can still doff my cap in appreciation of their application.   The two projects I am most likely to actually do:

I love the wall decal furniture upcycle and could totally see this working out well when I redecorate the kids' room.  The clutch purse includes three different potential projects (two sewn and one knit) and the frame was included with this issue.  Outside of projects, there are regular features like a news and trends section, a save the date calendar (covering fairs / concerts / festivals), book reviews, and walk-through of a place to visit (this issue is Maltby Street Market).  Finally, there are helpful features on taking good product shots and information on how to set up a pop-up shop.   Add that to a smattering of interviews of and columns by established  independant designers, and  I surmise that the demographic Crafty is wooing are independant designers (or those considering it) and their aficionados.  

The oeuvre of knitwear designer Gary Kennedy, taken from his interview

I think the picture above sums up the general aesthetic I got from Crafty; fun, irreverant, and modern but definitely on the hipster / geek side of the craft spectrum rather than the shabby chic / twee side.  Which suits me just fine, as that's the side I fall on. 

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Kangaroo cowl and yoga leggings pattern giveaway winner

My prints came yesterday so without further ado...


That'd be humblelearning! Thanks so much for telling me all of your favourite books. I've read quite a few of them, but picked up some good recommendations for ones I haven't. For me, my all time favourite book is:

Beautiful, beautiful book. Other favourites are The Lord of the Rings, the Millenium trilogy by Stieg Larsson, Cloud Atlas, The Book Thief, The Historian, Stone Junction, The Pillars of the Earth and The Tenderness of Wolves.

For those of you who have nothing better to do like to know everything about me, these are the ones I've read from your recommendations:

• 100 Years of Solitude (well 90% of it, two different times!)
• Cat's Cradle
• Twilight
• Christopher Brookmyre (all of them!)
• To Kill a Mockingbird
• Pride and Predjudice
• Atonement
• Killing Floor
• Perfume
• Margaret Atwood (all of them!)
• Behind the Scenes at the Museum
• The Sun also Rises
• Little Women
• Sense and Sensibility
• Hamlet
• The Five People you Meet in Heaven
• Tuesdays with Morrie
• Me Talk Pretty One Day (yes, super hilarious)
• The Secret History

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If found, please return to owner

Anyone seen my mojo? I've always found it hard to get back into things after a long hiatus, and it's no different this time. Despite being back in the UK for almost a week, my website it still down and all my shops are still shut. I haven't sewn in almost a month and I'm needing kick in the backside to get my momentum going again.

So let's do some navel-gazing. Here are the culprits for my inertia:

1. We brought back Series One on DVD and I'm hooked: But the tide might be turning, we only have a couple left and Steven was more interested in watching football last night than having another marathon. Perfect opportunity to sew, right?
   
   
2. Nope, I started reading this over the weekend: And stayed up to 3AM last night finishing it (thank you, jet lag). Awesome book.
   
   
3. So my nights might be full of vampires and Swedish thrillers, but surely I could still get my shops up and running again during the day, right? Step forward, needy children: After a month of at least one adult giving them their undivided attention all of the time, they've forgotten that they could play nicely independently or with each other for maybe 15 minutes or something. Don't get me wrong, I like Hide and Seek as much as the next woman, but two hours is pretty excessive when they hide in the same freakin' spot every time and Jamie tells me where to hide before counting.
   

I'm confident(ish) I'll get my mojo back, but what's going to be the first thing I make? Something like this is tempting:


But before I can overhaul my wardrobe with a Homesick t-shirt, I absolutely need to do something about my accessories situation. Yes, it is serious enough that it's now deemed a 'situation'. As you might know, I hardly ever sew anything for myself. I don't normally have the time, I don't want to 'waste' my fabric on me, and I completely lack the confidence to try to make what I see in my head. Or even recreate something physical, right in front of me.

No matter what Picked Weasel says, I'm not cool. But even I know the difference between shabby chic:

From Wheatie Bags on Folksy

And just plain shabby:


And the difference between distressed:
And distressing:


That's right, folks. Those specimens are my everyday bag, and my wallet. I've had them for about five years each and it shows. They embarrass me, they embarrass my husband. I tried to buy suitable replacements on Etsy, but in actual fact I want exact replicas. So I'm gonna have to make them myself. And I'm seriously obsessing about it. Any advice from bag or wallet makers? Or does anyone just fancy kicking me in the bum and get me moving again?

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If you like your sharks conceptual

I started (and finished!) my first book for awhile over the weekend, The Raw Shark Texts by Steven Hall. His debut work, the author has been hyped as one to watch and the book has already been added to the 'cult novel' lexicon by some pretty respected and influential people. Has anyone else read it? Because I really can't decide if it was good or not...

The story follows a man named Eric Sanderson, who wakes up in a flat with no memory of who he is or his life before that moment. He finds a note instructing him to contact the psychologist who was treating him before he lost his memory, and through her learns a bit about his previous life: this has happened before, and the original dissociative condition was precipitated by the tragic loss of his girlfriend four years prior. She instructs him not to follow any instructions the first Eric Sanderson may have pre-arranged for him to receive, which he ignores. And then it gets complicated.

The first Eric Sanderson tells him that he is being pursued by a conceptual shark, a Ludovician, that devours memories. Yes, I said conceptual shark. Not a real one, but a concept of a shark, made of words. But hell bent on eating him right up. Eric gains a guide in the form of Scout, who may or may not be his dead girlfriend. Or the concept of her. And they adventure through un-space (yep, I said un-space) in pursuit of the scientist who's an expert in the field of conceptual fish. Who lives in a cathedral constructed of phonebooks. I'll not give the denouement away because I don't know myself want to be a spoilsport, but it's a doozy.

The problem I have with this book (and a lot of 'cult' books) is that it's too clever by half. Or, if you really want to get into the spirit of things, it's probably too clever by π. The 36 'un-chapters' that aren't included in the book but are hidden in cyberspace or real world. Plot and logic sacrificed for hip post-modern references and visual special effect (40 page flip book of the word-shark's approach?!). It smacks of a house of cards. A conceptual house of cards, I mean.

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