Craft it Now, Anyone?

Craft It Now, edited by
Shannon E. Miller, KP Craft,
2014, list price $22.99,
available on Amazon here

Happy Fee-Fi(ber)-F.O. Friday, everyone. I'm thrilled that I can (finally!) blog about my included designs in F+W Media's Craft if Now book (I didn't receive my copy until this past Monday). I find it's always better to write when the publication is in hand.

Edited by Shannon E. Miller, Craft it Now is a general craft book encompassing a wide variety of crafts. The goal? To provide a compendium of quick projects anyone can make in a few hours or a few days. Shannon knows that a crafter always has long-term projects on the go - this book aims to fill the oh-I-need-to-make-something-right-now! gap. Most projects have no more than 6 steps from start to finish, and only one or two of the more than 100 projects have more than 7 steps.

Some of the projects (like my two designs) are made with new materials. Other projects, however, utilize materials already in hand that you may be looking to upcycle/repurpose. I find this one of the strengths of Craft it Now. I especially like the Polka Dot Coasters as well as the Broken Jewelry Pendant project (p. 51) for precisely this reason. Additionally, there are several great card projects that would not only be great projects on their own, but also springboards for a DIYer's further creative ideas. And finally (before I get to my designs!), there are two different polymer clay button projects that, if you're a button fiend like I am, you will definitely want to try.

The Weekend Scarf, p. 33

There are several knit and crochet projects in the book, of which two are mine. The first, The Weekend Scarf, is a light, ethereal project that can easily be made in a weekend. The two-row pattern is easily memorized, and made in Rowan's Kidsilk Haze Glamour in the trance colorway. The subtle bling and fringe make this scarf elegant - a perfect gift.

And, speaking of gifts, my second design is a pair of Thank You bags. Again, these are made with an easily memorized pattern and luscious yarn (Neighborhood Fiber Co. Penthouse Silk in the Victorian Village colorway) and, topped with seed beads, are bound to make the recipient ooh and ahhh. These are also great stash-buster items - they can be made with almost any weight yarn and would be perfect to have on hand for wrapping that last-minute gift.

Thank You bags, p. 114

I'm thrilled these designs are included in this collection. There's something here for just about everyone (including projects you could make with the tweens/teens in your life), so I hope you'll seek out Craft it Now.

Definitely head on over to Andrea's at Wisdom Begins in Wonder to see what's up on the farm. Wishing all the mothers out there a great Mother's Day!

Don't forget, the blogging madness that is Knitting and
Crochet Blog Week V starts this coming Monday! Go to
www.eskimimimakes.com for the daily prompts and tags.

All Fiber All The Time

Hello my fibery friends - so sorry I haven't been around for a few Fridays, but what's a designing gal to do? Play with all the fiber, of course! So here's a round-up of news on the Voie de Vie designing front:

Initially, here's the fiber I've been playing with on several recent projects:

 

There was a ton of sunlight when I took this cell phone photo, but the colors are not too washed out. I can also tell you that beads were associated with this project. :)

I absolutely loved working with this 100% flax yarn. It's got a very rustic quality to it and lots of "bite." I definitely will use this yarn again (and aren't the colorways fantastic?).

I cannot wait for everyone to see what I made with all of this loveliness. Despite the high acrylic content (which is saved by the balance of cool cotton in the blend), Berroco Weekend is a dream - it's got great texture and the colors are saturated and gorgeous.

Additionally, this luscious Lion Brand yarn + beads are about to be whipped up into a fun little project for charity - Knitting for Gold, a childhood cancer awareness project. It will be completed for an e-book to be published this coming September (which is, of course, childhood cancer awareness month). All proceeds from the publication will be donated to a charity that specifically does childhood cancer research. Kellie Huffman is the whirlwind behind all this - and her daughter is currently waiting on a heart transplant list. Many knitters and hookers have donated projects to this e-book, and Kellie's receiving great help with publishing this project, most notably from Twist's Kate Gilbert. Stay tuned, because I will be looking for testers once this project is completed.

Finally, earlier this week, I had a wee little surprise hit my inbox - here's the cover of the lastest F+W Media book containing two of my designs! It's slated to hit bookstands everywhere on or about April 16th. All of the projects in this book (and there are a whole lot of them between these covers!) are meant to be made in an afternoon, day, or weekend. I'm pretty excited to receive my copy - who knows, I just might try a new-to-me craft (like, I don't already have enough on my plate).

Now do make certain you head on over to Andrea's blog at Wisdom Begins In Wonder to catch up on the latest doings with everyone else. And I promise I won't be a stranger for so long again.