Book Report

I should never wait until it’s this late to write my posts. By the time I get around to it I’m fighting to keep my eyes open while my computer rests on my lap in bed, and I type the most random stuff. This kindergarten-induced 9PM bedtime is killing me, and it’s a far cry from this time last year when I was happily working past 3 or 4AM most nights. I really miss working my night shift.
What does any of this have to do with books? Absolutely nothing. But when I’m this tired I have not so much control over what I write. Can you tell I like to ramble? Ah-yup.

I have this huge pile of crafty books next to my bed that I’m dying to read. The problem is, when I read in bed I get very tired… I need to develop a solution, because I really need some everyday motivation and holiday inspiration.

The Cute Book is put together so nicely, I love the layout of the pages ( if you click on the title you can see a small photo of an inside page) . And as the title states, everything in the book is so darn *cute!* Lots of little creatures to make. My girls loved looking through this colorful Cute Book.

I got D.I.Y. Kids for ideas of things to do with my little artist Anya. She’s already taken some of the ideas she got from looking through the book (without me) and made them into her own little projects. She used a roll of blue tape she took from her dad’s office and did “paintings” on paper, and made some nice drawings inspired by the book.

Now obviously, I have some experience with machine embroidery but I’ve never tried hand embroidery before. I’ve either been too lazy, or too intimidated – take your pick. But I love Aimee Ray’s book and am looking forward to trying some of the projects in here. Her illustrations are just my style, her color choices are fabulous, and I just really like looking at the pictures of the projects.
Cool side note – I’m working with Aeolidia right now on a website for the various Fussy brands (or rather, Aeolidia is working with me, yay) and Aimee Ray is one of the artists available for hire through Aeolidia. Such sweet images – check out her website.

Final book for the night (sooo tired) is Last-Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts, by Joelle Hoverson, the owner of Purl. I have only been able to glance through the book, but already I love it. Seriously. I will totally make the projects featured in the book, and I hope to get a chance to make some as Christmas gifts. That means I’ll have to sleep a lot less though…

I lied, I’m still typing. Just want to add that I always have Kathleen’s book (Entrepreneur’s Guide to Sewn Product Manufacturing, available for purchase through her website or amazon.com) nearby, it’s been surprisingly helpful in so many ways. I can’t recommend this book enough.
I also just got a book called Fashion Artist that got great reviews on Amazon.com, because I want to try and learn to sketch figures. I did a lot of sketching in college but most of the sketches were of buildings, straight lines, and orthogonal forms. And even then, I wasn’t very good. I’ll have to scan images from my sketchbooks sometime so everyone can make fun of me.