I want to be good at crafts I really really really do but I am SO ham-fisted (as my mum calls it) and so impatient. Most crafts I try my hand up end up looking as though they've been assembled by a one armed octopus in the middle of a tornado. That's not to say I don't enjoy giving it a go though :)
One of my junk market obsessions is finding crafty books. As a child we had quite a few and my mum and dad made a LOT of my presents. When I got my first Tiny Tears they made it a cot and bed linen. When I wanted a Sindy dolls house they balked at the ridiculous price of a plastic piece of tat and made mine - along with a Princess Di style wedding dress for my Sindy. Looking back, the best presents I ever received were handmade as they were made with love.
Ever since I started teaching I've always tried to keep the learning styles in mind for my students. I'm definitely a visual learner crossed with a physical (or kinaesthetic) style - after doing various tests etc. that we set the kids I come out strongly here. Which means that books don't always help me unless they have absolute step by step images to instruct me. So why the hell do I buy so many craft books? I have absolutely no idea.
Anyway I thought I'd share some of my crafty/ sewing books with you that I've picked up from various places:
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| Freaky 1970s square toys |
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| I really want to give the kite a go |
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| I used to have this as a child and found it on Deptford Market last weekend. I love the illustrations. |
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| Another one I found on Deptford Market that I used to have as a child |
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| I had to buy this simply because of the illustrations. |
If you click on the image you can read what I've said about the books.
When you go thrifting or junking - do you look for particular types of books?
Hah, I have a ton of craft books with very little I've actually, you know, MADE from them. I just find them soothing to read. I like vintage annuals, especially schoolgirl type stories with lots of 'golly' and 'gosh' and characters called Brenda and Janet. Otherwise anything with pictures which appeal, and I have a load of new recipe books by celeb type chefs which sit on my shelf not being cooked from.
ReplyDeleteMe too - I like to just flick through - imagining my hands fashioning them!
ReplyDeleteOOoooh yes, I have a few old annuals they are too funny :) You've just reminded me about a Daily Mail (yuck spew) Boys Annual one I bought a while ago - I haven't flicked through it yet!
Just looking at the first book, Soft toys to make for children, I am surprised to see that those 'naive' style toys, oh how to describe it..... geometric shapes with a face and a tail and big ears..., were being made back in the 70's. I don't remember them. But then I was never a soft toy lover - books were my thing.
ReplyDeleteOne sees those toys all over Etsy these days, and I thought it was a new and trendy way to depict animals. Shows what I know!
Perhaps I should pay more attention to the old craft books I see in charity shops. :) I usually look for fabric above all else.
I suppose I forget that there is nothing new and it's all a rehash of what has gone before, so it's good to be reminded.
Oh and thanks for stopping by my blog.