Inspiring Crafting Books

Image of the cozies from Sewing for All Seasons book

Happy National Craft Month everyone :) I enjoy doing a variety of different crafts because it is fun and a good way to add personalized decor in our home or give as gifts. I also like learning new ones, and have been curious to do quilting and needle felting. I have done some projects that closely fall into quilting, but never did the full process of placing the batting etc. I checked out some inspiring needle crafting books 1 2 3 Quilt and Sewing for All Seasons, which has wonderful projects to get us started. I also got the Woolbuddies book to learn and try the hobby of needle felting. 

1 2 3 Quilt by Ellen Luckett Baker is a book that will shape up our skills with 24 stylish projects so we can make table runners, handbags, clothing and accessories. The book teaches basic techniques that we need to begin quilting such as using paper piecing techniques, sew appliqués and make patch working with some quilters' shortcuts. 

The chapters are separated by quilting square, rectangle, triangle, hexagon, circle, flower shapes and diamond. One thing I missed were step-by-step colourful pictures, although the written instructions were clear.

Sewing for All Seasons by Susan Beal has 24 projects to stitch fun things like headband, apron, quilt, throw, cozies and more. The projects are separated into seasons with each 5 to 6 projects for each season. There are patterns in the back of the book that we can enlarge and print, I wish there are measurements instead of using the photocopy machine to enlarge. It was a little hard to follow without step-by-step pictures, especially for beginners. Nevertheless the book has inspiring ideas and I am planning on quilting a 7" patchwork potholder using left over cloth and batting.

Woolbuddies by Jackie Huang has 20 simple needle felting projects that look cute. If you are not familiar with what needle felting is, it is a process of shaping raw wool with special barbed felting needles. When the needle is pushed through the loose wool the needle's barb catch and pull the fibers, which tangles and binds to make matted felt fabric. 

I haven't done felting before, and am looking forward to try it. This book is perfect for beginners as it introduces the hobby and explains details about the tools, materials, and techniques. The book is separated to simple, moderate and challenging Woolbuddies.

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