Alabama Stitch Book Swing Skirt Finished, Alabama Studio Style Camisole Dress to Begin

 

 At the beginning of the new year I posted about my resolution to craft for at least 10 minutes a day and about one of my first projects of the year-- the Beaded-Applique Swing Skirt from Alabama Stitch Book. Well, I managed to work on it for at least 10 minutes a day for most of January and then to finish it, I think I worked on it for about 10 hours on Saturday and Sunday. Unfortunately, I don't have anyone around to take a photo of me wearing it and my attempts at photographing the whole skirt as a still life were disappointing (to put it midly), so to show you that I finished and as a placeholder, here is a detail. I'll post a pretty photo of the whole skirt as soon as I have one.

I put some pressure on myself to finish the skirt because last week the kit for the Spiral Applique & Beaded Camisole Dress from Alabama Studio Style arrived and I really wanted to start it but felt compelled to finish the skirt first. In fact, when the box arrived I opened it and carefully pulled out the fabric, thread, and beads, then put everything back inside. I placed the beautifully stenciled box where I could see it, so it would continue to inspire me to focus on the skirt. Now I just need to get all of my work done today so I can reopen the box and start working on the dress tonight. Photo of the contents of the box to come soon (I hope).

Quilting for Peace in Haiti

After writing my last post I decided to Google "quilting Haiti" and immediately found a link to Peacequilts.  According to its website, this organization works to relieve poverty in Haiti by establishing and supporting women's quilting cooperatives. Members of Peacequilts were literally at the airport getting ready to board a plane to Haiti when the earthquake struck and the flight was cancelled. On the Peacequilts website you can learn more about what is happening in Haiti right now and how you can support Haitians by getting involved in their efforts (including sending donations, fundraising, and/or purchasing beautiful quilts made by the women of Haiti.)

Quilting for Peace--About the Cover and Getting Involved

We looked at a lot of cover variations before we chose a design for Quilting for Peace by Katherine Bell. We knew we wanted the cover of this book to be related to the cover to the first book in the series Knitting for Peace, but didn't feel like it needed to be identical. More than anything else, we wanted the cover to catch people's attention so that they would pick it up, and then feel inspired to quilt for good causes.

The cover above (a runner-up) features the Sawtooth Star Quilt, designed according to the guidelines of Quilts of Valor, an organization devoted to making quilts for veterans.

This multi-image cover (another runner-up) features (from left to right) a detail of an Easy, Striped Baby Quilt adapted from a pattern by Binky Patrol Founder Susan Hinch; the Sawtooth Star Quilt (see above); Mirabel the Owl, a softie made following a design by Softies for Mirabel founder Pip Lincolne; and a Recycled Sleeping Bag adapted from the Sleeping Bag Project pattern.

This is the cover we chose. It features the Preemie Pinwheel Quilt, adapted from a Quilts for Kids pattern.

 To see a few interior pages of this book, click on the book cover in the right margin. To learn about STC Craft's Quilting for Peace campaign, click here.

My Winter Strategy

I'm one of those people who tends to get down during the winter, but I have a strategy for dealing with it that really does help. Here's what I've got going on inside my house right now.

 

 

 

These flowers don't make more sunlight, warm up the temperatures outside, or take away bad news, but each time I look at them, I pause for a moment and feel some goodness. Today I decided to take some photos in hopes of spreading some goodness around.

A Custom Knits Sweater for My Son / Finding Time to Knit

I know it doesn't look like much yet but this is the start of a Classic Top-Down Raglan Sweater for my son. Instead of following a pattern, I'm using the formula Wendy Bernard gives in her book Custom Knits. When I bought the yarn I was really motivated to get going but I haven't ended up working very quickly. This would be fine except that my son is growing fast, and I need to get this done while he can still wear it.  The yarn is Swan's Island Worsted, an amazingly soft and beautiful organic merino. I'm posting about this project and planning to post updates as a way of putting some pressure on myself (though, honestly, I don't really need more pressure in my life). This project is part of my resolution to spend at least 10 minutes each day crafting that I posted about here. (The skirt is coming along nicely albeit slowly.) To make some time for myself, I got a dishwasher last week (that will save me at least 10 minutes a day.) But I'm still finding it challenging to find/make free time. I'm a very efficient person but, like so many other people, I have way too much to do. If anyone has any great efficiency techniques they want to share, please leave a comment. Because life is definitely better when there's more time to craft.

Meeting Kaffe Fassett--And a Sneak Peek at His Newest Book

Back in the early 1990s, I was working as a freelance writer and editor and got the idea that I wanted to focus on crafts. I started seeking out and pursuing opportunities and was lucky enough to be invited on a trip to the Shetland Islands in order to write articles for a few different magazines. One of the featured guests on the trip was Kaffe Fassett, so I made arrangements to interview him. A short version of the interview was published in Fiber Arts magazine and a longer version in the Rowan magazine. I remember being nervous about the interview but, when it was over, thinking it had gone pretty well. I found Kaffe to be warm and friendly and was impressed by the articulate, clever, and poetic way in which he described the beautiful landscape surrounding us. I must have made a decent impression on him because I am now proud to say that, all these years later, I am the editor of Kaffe's upcoming book Kaffe Fassett's Simple Shapes Spectacular Quilts. In SSSQ, Kaffe demonstrates how basic geometric forms--squares, rectangles, triangles, diamonds, circles, and quarter-circles--found in natural and manmade environments inspire his quilt designs. During our interview in Shetland, Kaffe said this to me: "I spend my life wanting to stand up and yell 'Hey! Look, we're passing through Paradise.' But everyone's too busy reading newspapers." Today he might say people are too busy texting or checking their email. SSSQ is definitely a wakup call. I guarantee that once you experience it you'll feel inspired to look up from your newspaper or whatever screen is absorbing you to see the beautiful shapes and colors around you. If you're a quilter, you'll likely want to incorporate that beauty into your quilts. But even if you're not a quilter, I think you'll still be inspired. SSSQ will be in stores in March. Today I'm happy to offer you this sneak peek.

Reversible Knitting by Lynne Barr--How We Chose the Cover

All of us at STC Craft were excited and intrigued by the response to our Reversible Knitting cover post. Over 550 of you shared your opinions about the cover we chose and the three runner-ups. So, for today's post, as part of the Reversible Knitting blog tour,  I'm going to explain to you how we made our decision.

All of the covers and the interior of the book were designed by Sarah Von Dreele, with photographs by Thayer Allyson Gowdy. For several weeks Sarah and I collaborated on the cover design in preparation for the meeting at which I would present the choices to the cover committee (a group composed of our CEO as well as individuals who hold key positions in sales, marketing, publicity, and editorial). The cover committee makes the final cover choice.

Top left: Everyone loved this cover because of the great texture of Wenlan Chia's Winding Path sweater and because of the way it shows the two sides of the knitted fabric, plus the swatches of course. The cover committee was concerned that we might not be showing enough sweater and didn't like the model looking down (away from the customer). The Traveling Path sweater can be worn as shown on this cover as well as inside out and upside down (see bottom left cover and the gallery).

Top right: Graphically, this cover (like the others in this format) works beautifully, however no one felt that Lynne Barr's Two-Tone Vest was as eye-catching on the cover as the other options. One of the cool aspects of this vest is that it can be worn with either side of the fabric right side out and with either side in front or back (check out the gallery to see what I mean).

Bottom left: This cover, showing Wenlan Chia's sweater worn with the reverse side of the fabric outward (compared to the way it is being worn in the top left cover), was never a serious contender because it didn't show the swatches (such an integral part of the book) and because the color and graphic design seemed dull compared to the other options. That is why when I read everyone's responses, I was so surprised to find out how many people thought this was the best cover of all. I'll definitely keep this reaction in mind as we work on covers for future books.

Bottom right: This was the cover committee's top choice because it is colorful, shows a beautiful garment with a reversible cable (Reverse Me designed by Norah Gaughan), plus the swatches, and because the model looks friendly and approachable. Overall, this is the cover that everyone believed said "Pick up this book and take a look inside" most boldly and that, of course, is a cover's main purpose.


Thanks to everyone who commented . The winner of a copy of Reversible Knitting will be notified after the contest ends at 11:59pm on December 21, 2010. Meanwhile, if you have a few minutes, check out this fascinating Q&A with Lynne Barr here.

Our First Peek at 2010 -- Alabama Studio Style by Natalie Chanin

We will be releasing 5 new craft books in the spring of 2010. Above is a sneak peek at the cover of the first one, Alabama Studio Style by Natalie Chanin, the creative force behind Alabama Chanin and the author of Alabama Stitch Book. Click here to see a sampling of the beautiful inside spreads. I love hand-stitching--and wearing--Alabama Chanin clothing. Earlier this year I wrote about my experiences stitching a camisole dress and a corset.

Reversible Knitting Blog Tour, Contest, and Alternate Covers!

Lynne Barr's blog tour has begun! Follow her via the schedule below, and discover compelling reviews, gorgeous pictures from the book, new insights about Lynne and her work, and more! And, if you leave a comment about which of the scrapped cover choices below is your favorite (or how you think the chosen cover above stands up to these), you may just win a copy of Reversible Knitting to cozy up to during long, cold January!

Limit one (1) entry per person; be sure to enter your email address on the comment form. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. Open only to legal residents of the 50 United States and Washington, DC, who are 18 or older as of date of entry. Contest ends at 11:59pm on Dec. 21st. Note that if you leave a comment we will add you to our e-mailing list (unless you tell us within your comment, that you do not want to be added.)

Dec. 08  http://goknitinyourhat.blogspot.com - Review

Dec. 09  http://www.grumperina.com - Q&A

Dec. 09  http://www.purlbee.com – Interview/book feature

Dec. 10  http://www.knitandtonic.net - Review

Dec. 11  http://chronicknittingsyndrome.blogspot.com – Q&A

Dec. 11  http://www.sheepinthecity.prettyposies.com - Review

Dec. 14  http://aliciakachmar.com - Review

Dec. 15  http://boogaj.typepad.com - Project discussion

Dec. 16  http://knittingtoday.com/knews - Q&A

Dec. 17  http://www.ilgaleja.com/blog - "One designer to another" 

Dec. 17  http://retroknit.net/blog - Review / Q&A

Dec. 18  http://hookandi.blogspot.com - Review

Dec. 21  / - Special post

Dec. 22  http://needled.wordpress.com - "Stitch and size"

Jan.  tbd   http://houseonhillroad.typepad.com - Review

Jan.  tbd   http://the-panopticon.blogspot.com - Review

 

2nd Annual STC Craft Handmade Holidays Giveaway

Last year's Handmade Holidays Giveaway was so much fun for us that we've been talking about hosting another one this year ever since. Here's the deal: Answer our questions below in the Comments section and automatically you will be entered to win the book of your choice; you will also be added to our e-mailing list (unless you tell us not to add you).

*What types of handmade gifts are you making this year?

*Are you trying any new crafts?

*What is the title of one STC Craft book that you'd like to receive as a gift this year?

On Wednesday, December 9, at about noon (EST), we'll pick five names in a random drawing from all eligible entries received and send them email notification. We will then send them the books they requested. To see all of our books, click here (and be sure to flip through all 6 pages). Thanks!

Limit one (1) entry per person; be sure to enter your email address on the comment form. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. Open only to legal residents of the 50 United States and Washington, DC, who are 18 or older as of date of entry. Sweepstakes ends at 11:59:59am on 12/9/09. Visit http://www.abramsbooks.com/weekend_knitting_rules.html for full official rules. Void where prohibited.

(Sparkly Kiss Cap by Leslie Scanlon from Handknit Holidays; photo by Susan Pittard.)

Our New STC Craft Catalog

We just sent our new STC Craft catalog to the printer. It includes five new books for spring 2010--Kaffe Fassett's Simple Shapes, Spectacular Quilts by Kaffe Fassett; Alabama Studio Style by Natalie Chanin, Comfort Knitting & Crochet: Afghans by Norah Gaughan, Margery Winter, and the Berroco Design Team; Knitting 24/7 by Veronik Avery, and Knits Men Want by Bruce Weinstein; plus our beautiful backlist. For a sneak peak, click here.

Brooklyn Crafts: DIY Event Recap and Pie Bake Off Benefit!

I

 Thanks to everyone who attended the STC Craft and BurdaStyle Presents: DIY Design Day at 303 Grand's Perk Street Lounge (and to everyone who wished they could have attended!) this past Sunday in Brooklyn.

It was a great success! Thanks to online event promotion via the Daily News, Going, NY Post, Yelp, Time Out NY, 3rd Ward, New York Magazine, Etsy, and BurdaStyle, we had over 100 RSVPs, and about that many passing through the space throughout the day.

 

We also raised $100 for the local non-profits BARC, Brooklyn's no-kill animal shelter, and Bags For The People, which hosts fabric-recycling, bag-making workshops, through our raffle and sale items:

Here's the lovely Carol of BurdaStyle, and the lovely Ellie of STC Craft, working the sales and info tables!

 
The first craft of the day was bag-making with Katherine Bell of Quilting For Peace, and Deanne of Bags For the People and I Jamaica.


Here are two ladies very happy with their wine bags...


 

 ...and folks in the thick of making the 30-Minute Shopping Bag from Quilting For Peace.

Thanks to Purl Patchwork in Soho for their donation of such gorgeous fabric!


Second project of the day was the Potato Printing with Heather Ross of Weekend Sewing. Can you believe her amazing potato stamps??!!

And finally, the last project was the Coffee Cup Cozy and Coater from Kata Golda's Hand-Stitched Felt!

Look Ma, I made this!

  

Alicia Kachmar, who donated a bunch of her adorable crafts for the raffle (and who you will meet in my next post,  the start of a series called "Friends of STC Craft", worked on this adorable "Safety Cone" cozy (work in progress)!

 Check out the adventures of her little Safety Cones and Kata Golda's little finger puppet friends here!


Stay tuned for my interview with Alicia, and the results of our raffle! Winners are being contacted now!

Thanks for reading!

P.S. If you are in Brooklyn this weekend, come to the 1st Annual Brooklyn Pie Bake Off Benefit for Bags For The People!
Our judges are heavily involved within the New York food and craft worlds, including our own Heather Ross (read her hilarious post about it here), Tracy Candido of Sweet Tooth of the Tiger, Julie Schneider, director of Etsy Labs, Chysanthe Tenentes of Brooklyn Based, and Tara Laruffa, marketing director of the Union Square Greenmarket.
Winners receive a Bags for the People bag filled with prizes: including a copy of the best-selling Baked cookbook (Stewart, Tabori and Chang), a copy of our best-selling Weekend Sewing book (which also features recipes!), and more! 
Best Overall gets all that, plus a pie feature on Etsy, and these fun things from BurdaStyle and Alicia Kachmar:

So come bake or just eat and be merry! Rules and info here: http://brooklynpiebake.tumblr.com

Design for a Living World

This video is part of the Design for a Living World exhibition on view at the Cooper-Hewitt Museum in New York City until January 4, 2010. Christien Meindertsma, featured in the video, is one of ten designers commissioned to develop new uses for sustainably grown and harvested materials in order to tell a unique story about the life-cycle of materials and the power of conservation and design. I find the video and Meindertsma's work (see more here) captivating.

V&A Patterns

I always love looking at books that showcase different patterns, so I was thrilled when I found out that that we (meaning Abrams, the company I work for and of which STC Craft is a part) would be distributing V&A Pattern, a series of pattern books from the publishers at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Each book includes over 65 pattern images, plus a CD with jpeg files of all of the images, ready to be viewed and manipulated for any non-commerical use. Below is a sampling of four of the patterns from each book. I love the idea of using these patterns to make customized stuff, such as gift wrap, note cards, notebook covers, screen savers, bookmarks, origami paper (or paper for nearly any paper craft), the list could go on and on. A few weeks ago my friend Hannah and I got together and made notebooks with patterns from the Fifties. I'll post a photo as soon as I take a decent one.

 

       
The Fifties      
William Morris      
Indian Florals      
Digital Pioneers      

Winner of the Kata Golda Hand-Stitched Felt Contest and Felt Photo Pocket Demo!

Congrats to Naomi, our lucky winner of a free copy of Kata Golda's Hand-Stitched Felt! Thanks to everyone who entered our contest. Stay tuned for Naomi's answer to the question: "What sort of adventures will your felty mice have?"

In the meantime, as a special consolation prize, here is the felt photo pocket demo that Kata did at the Etsy Labs in Brooklyn, NY.

This is a re-broadcast, in 2 parts, of the live webcast demo. There were some problems with sound, but hopefully these 2 videos will help fill in the gaps. Enjoy! I hope you'll be inspired to buy the book for friends and family (I plan on making nothing but felt gifts this year!)!

VIDEO LINKS:
• Felt Photo Pockets with Kata Golda (Part 1)
• Felt Photo Pockets with Kata Golda (Part 2)