Thursday 19 May 2011

Crafty McCraftsome

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:
Freaky 1970s square toys

I really want to give the kite a go

I used to have this as a child and found it on Deptford Market last weekend.  I love the illustrations.

Another one I found on Deptford Market that I used to have as a child

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?

3 comments:

  1. 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.

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  2. Me too - I like to just flick through - imagining my hands fashioning them!
    OOoooh 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!

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  3. 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.

    One 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.

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Thanks for your comment - it's always wonderful to hear from others :)