Crafts

Everyone who loved the original 500 Handmade Books will eagerly dip into this visually dynamic follow-up. Offering 500 stunning new creations by an international roster of artists, it showcases the unlimited creative possibilities of books as objects and as sculptural pieces. Along with traditional, richly embellished volumes, boundary-pushing works unfurl, scroll, and flip; feature improbable materials like metal, fabric, wood, and glass; and include lush, handcrafted papers.

Bring more color into your crochet with these 35 bright and beautiful patterns.

Imagine you are in the yarn store or searching for supplies online--do you instinctively go for the reds and pinks, naturally veer towards soft blues and greens, or head to the dark side of grays and blacks? The relationship between colors and our state of mind is well established, but we don't often consciously notice how much different colors affect us or understand why we favor some over others. Emma Leith is known for her colorful crochet, and has designed 35 projects that will bring you the psychological benefits of working with different shades, along with the enjoyment of creating beautiful items for the home and to wear. There is a chapter for each season, to reflect the colours of nature in spring, summer, fall, and winter, and then a chapter of four seasons designs, showing you how to mix shades from different times of the year. With notes on the color therapy benefits of different patterns, and suggestions for switching shades to suit your own preferences, you will soon be crocheting in full color.

Make 16 beautiful crocheted animals with Liberty fabric additions in calming pastel colours.

Enter into the whimsical, crocheted world of Aleksandra, from the site Eleonore & Maurice. She is a talented designer who blends pastel yarns with Liberty fabric to make truly adorable creations: plush animals with little accessories, as well as sweet cushions. The combination of the calming pastel cotton yarn and the delicate Liberty designs give very pleasing results. These crisp creations include a cat cushion, a bird family, a hedgehog, a rabbit and a reindeer.

The crochet patterns are clear and easy to follow and the sewing element is minimal, including items such as fabric bows, belts, ears, tails and collars. Make them for yourself or as gifts for family and friends. Everyone is sure to love these beautiful crocheted creatures. The soft colours and splashes of Liberty fabric make them perfect companions that children will love.

Now in paperback: the fully expanded, updated, and freshly designed second edition of the most comprehensive and widely acclaimed guide to domestic architecture: in print since its original publication in 1984, and acknowledged everywhere as the unmatched, essential guide to American houses.

This revised edition includes a section on neighborhoods; expanded and completely new categories of house styles with photos and descriptions of each; an appendix on Approaches to Construction in the 20th and 21st Centuries; an expanded bibliography; and 600 new photographs and line drawings.

If you thought origami was just about making peaceful cranes, flowers, and sailboats, you're in for a wicked treat. Horrorgami is a new and dark way to look at the once gentle art of paper folding.

Follow simple step-by-step instructions for creating 25 creepy creatures like evil witches, ghoulish goblins, sinister skulls, fearsome fangs, Frankenstein's Monster, and more. Also included is level of difficulty for each project, a glossary of fiendish folds and tips, paper-sourcing ideas, twelve 6x6-inch origami papers, how-to illustrations, and a fun full-color design throughout.

Make sanitizers, soaps, and all your personal hygiene needs to kill germs and keep you virus-free!

These days, dangerous viruses can suddenly become rampant, and bacteria can adapt to become antibiotic-resistant, so we must be extra-vigilant about our health. The Natural Cleaning Handbook keeps you clean, naturally, with homemade products that are healthy for you and your family. Start with the basics and work your way into every corner of your home . . . from tile grout to shower mold, how to clean lampshades to how to clean water bottles.

Germ-killing recipes for cleaning nearly every surface in your home from the carpet to stuffed animals include:

Hand sanitizing spray, gel, and foam

Antibacterial hand and surface wipes

Air purifying spray

Liquid hand soap

And so much more!

You'll also learn storage and organization secrets to keep your home clutter-free, how to manage your time and budget, and why some old-fashioned remedies are still the modern organic ways to keep home. Now is the time to get started.

Although there are other books about renovating old houses, this is the first that prioritizes the identification and preservation of the historic, character-defining features of a house as a starting point in the process. That is the purpose of this book: to describe and illustrate a best-practices approach for updating historic homes for modern life in ways that do not attempt to turn an old house into a new one. The book also suggests many ways to save money in the process, without settling for cheap or inappropriate solutions.

Scott Hanson is a historic-building preservation professional and has 40 years' experience rehabilitating historic houses. He has illustrated this authoritative book with hundreds of step-by-step photos, illustrations, charts, and decision-making guides. Interspersed throughout are photo essays of 13 restored historic houses representing a range of periods and architectural styles: Italianate, Victorian, Queen Anne, Federal, Colonial, Colonial Revival, Greek Revival, Ranch, Adobe, Craftsman, Shingle, and Rustic. With interior and exterior photography by David Clough, these multi-page features show what can be achieved when a historic home is renovated with a desire to preserve or restore as much historic character as possible.

Featuring 28 projects based on George Lucas's epic film saga, Star Wars: Knitting the Galaxy is the ultimate guide to creating stunning projects inspired by Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, Rey, and a whole host of droids, ships, and aliens from a galaxy far, far away.

Bring the power of the Force to your needles with the first official Star Wars knitting pattern book. Featuring 28 knits pictured in gorgeous full-color photography, Star Wars: Knitting the Galaxy includes patterns for toys, apparel, and home decor inspired by your favorite movie moments, characters (both human and alien), droids, ships, and more. Projects range from simple patterns like the Ewok Hood (sized for both children and adults!) to more complex projects like the Darth Vader Pullover. It even includes patterns for knitted replicas of a few iconic costume pieces, such as Luke Skywalker's cropped flight vest from Episode IV A New Hope and Rey's vest and arm warmers from Episode VIII The Last Jedi. With projects for knitters at all levels and a variety of techniques to practice--including stranded colorwork, double-knitting, and lace knitting--Star Wars: Knitting the Galaxy is the perfect book for knitting fans across the galaxy.

Over 40 adaptable sweaters to knit for your littles ones, based on the classic, minimal and quietly stunning jumpers of Dutch fishermen.

Based on the original designs shared by families and discovered in archives, Stella has created recreations of these historically important garments for our contemporary life that ooze classic style with modern minimalism. With these designs, you are offered not only a chance to pay homage to the women who lovingly knitted the jumpers and to share in a beautiful Dutch tradition, but also give something for your child to treasure for years to come.

The sizes of the ganseys run from 2- to 14-years old, but can easily be adjusted to any child's size by following Stella's straightforward measuring instructions in her chapter on knitting know-how. With a wealth of fascinating background information and historical photos of the original designs alongside every design, this is a unique and inspiring book for the ambitious knitter looking for unique, classic knitwear, and a brilliant read for anyone interested in craft, culture and heritage.

Between approximately 1875 and 1950, Dutch fishermen wore sweaters with characteristic knit and purl stitch patterns, sometimes cable. These jerseys, known as ganseys, became an intrinsic part of the identity of the Dutchmen who wore them. Many of the children in these fishing families wore ganseys too, and numerous photos have been discovered in recent years of schoolchildren dressed in the knitwear seen on their fishermen fathers.

Now, based on her popular Dutch Traditional Ganseys (2013) and More Traditional Dutch Ganseys (2017), Stella Ruhe returns with over 40 sweaters to knit from 30 different Dutch villages - this time, for your little ones to wear and ramble in.

A fast-paced account of the year Clara Parkes spent transforming a 676-pound bale of fleece into saleable yarn, and the people and vanishing industry she discovered along the way

Join Clara Parkes on a cross-country adventure and meet a cast of characters that includes the shepherds, dyers, and countless workers without whom our knitting needles would be empty, our mills idle, and our feet woefully cold. Travel the country with her as she meets a flock of Saxon Merino sheep in upstate New York, tours a scouring plant in Texas, visits a steamy Maine dyehouse, helps sort freshly shorn wool on a working farm, and learns how wool fleece is measured, baled, shipped, and turned into skeins.

In pursuit of the perfect yarn, Parkes describes a brush with the dangers of opening a bale (they can explode), and her adventures from Maine to Wisconsin ("the most knitterly state") and back again; along the way, she presents a behind-the-scenes look at the spinners, scourers, genius inventors, and crazy-complex mill machines that populate the yarn-making industry. By the end of the book, you'll be ready to set aside the backyard chickens and add a flock of sheep instead. Simply put, no other book exists that explores American culture through the lens of wool.

Take the first step toward becoming an expert crocheter!

Master the craft of crochet with the help of this comprehensive book. Illustrated step-by-step instructions demonstrate the stitches and techniques, while 15 easy projects allow you to practice your skills and build your confidence. By the end of the book, you will be able to crochet beautiful items to gift or keep--from a colorful plant pot cover to a chic blanket and a cute cuddly toy.