Craft Time

So, I have been searching for little fun projects to do this summer. projects that will both enhance the new place and fun for me to do. Apart from BUYING Martha's new book on sewing and fabric crafts this project looks fantastically useful yet surprisingly easy! I cannot wait for April 1st to be here and I cannot wait to buy some new white dish clothes to experiment with!

New Sewing Book Giveaway!: "

As Silke and Blake have explained, we are all looking forward to the launch of Martha Stewart’s Encyclopedia of Sewing and Fabric Crafts on April 1st. Yesterday I finally had the chance to look through a copy of the book, which I know is the result of so much hard work on the part of Silke, Nick and the staff of our books department. I’m the first to admit I have limited sewing skills compared to many in our office, so I feel I’m in a good position to attest to how truly inspiring and accessible the book is. There’s so much information, and beautiful images and illustrations on every page. I swear I learned five things I didn’t know just flipping though it. (eg. in the fabric glossary – I never actually knew what ‘chambray’ was, nor what is correctly called ‘raw silk’…) As Silke says, there are many different kinds of fabric projects included, printing (my favorite!), dyeing (soon to be my favorite?!), many kinds of embroidery and dozens of sewing projects for all skill levels.

Each of us will be posting about a project we love in the book, and after some deliberation I’ve chosen Batik, which I’ve never even tried, but I’m so inspired by this section that I think I’ll make it a spring project… I love how it combines printing (in wax) and dyeing, I can’t wait! I think I’m going to make some fabric and sew a simple dress from it- using this pattern, which I’ve always admired. (also in the book, of course!)