November 2008 Archives

Use colorful odds and ends to crochet these easy bows and give your gifts a natty finish.

Hold lengths of ribbon or metallic thread with your yarn for more bling.

Dress up a basic sweater or tee with a bunch of easy lazy daisy stitches. This tutorial  tells you how to, with clear pictures showing every step of the embroidery.

The last week was very wet. Our part of the world was hit by a zinger of a cyclone. Caught out on the streets during the first deluge, I decided I would not venture forth until the whole thing passed and the sun came out to dry up the world.

This helped me to get a good, early start on one of the commissioned single quilts. After some debating, I settled on waterwheel and star blocks. Twenty 9", 9-patch blocks each.

I decided to speed piece and paper piece the patches. The 3" half-square triangles- 80 of them - took me about two hours to do, including printing out the templates for speed piecing and rotary cutting the fabrics (I cut an extra half inch around which helped in pinning it to the template). The 80 3" strip-pieced blocks took another 2 hours, including pressing them out.

Oh my, the cutest little turkey softie! This easy puppet can be sewn up by hand too.

Ever wondered what to do with the wishbone in your turkey? This tutorial tells you how you can use it to create charming jewelry.

And for vegetarians - you can use synthetic bones instead.

Satin stitch is the one thing that drives many a fine needlecrafter to tears. A perfectly done patch is rhapsody.

Check out these tips to get every stitch in place, every time.

If you thought that beads were all about summer, take a look here. A fantastic collection of beads - festive, wintery, and icily delicate, to add that special touch to your jewelry or accessories.

An exquisite collection of Santas.

One more idea for a great handcrafted holiday gift, especially if you have tile left over from a patio project.

You can also get the kids involved in making these stamped tile coasters.





 

Temari is a folk art form that originated in China several centuries ago, and was later taken to Japan by Buddhist monks.


Temari, which means 'hand ball'  in Japanese, began as a simple needlework craft making an embroidered toy thread ball for children to play.  Today the lovely thread-wrapped balls are given as tokens of good luck, the brilliant colors and threads symbolic of wishing the recipient a brilliant and happy life.



In the beginning, the balls were made from the remnants of old kimonos. Pieces of silk fabric were rolled up to form a ball, and then wrapped with strips of fabric. As time passed, traditional Temari balls became an art, with the functional stitching becoming more decorative and detailed, until the balls displayed very intricate embroidery.


With the introduction of rubber to Japan, the balls went from play toys to art objects, and were very popular amongst the Japanese upper class and aristocracy, and noble women competed in creating increasingly beautiful and intricate objects.At times they added "noisemakers" to the inside to delight the ear. They incorporated designs from Japanese crafts as well as other Asian embroidery designs, like the chrysanthemum, and they copied the colors of nature around them. 


A stitched Temari ball  can be displayed on a stand and enjoyed as a striking embroidered puzzle.

Temari opens up a whole new dimension for artists and crafters. Stitches can go in any direction because of the random wrapped thread surface of the ball. They are not limited to up and down, side to side and diagonally as with traditional stitchery. It is a craft of recycling - bits of yarn and thread from other projects can be used to create your own balls. Other supplies needed include a darner needle, a bit of soft yarn, some thread for wrapping, and craft thread or perle cotton embroidery thread for stitching the design.



Start exploring Temari with these free instructions. Have a look at this book by Barbara Suess which includes directions for making and embroidering temari with the kiku design, trefoil, spindle stitch, squares, triangles, and many combinations of these stitches.

Source: Kiku Designs. Special thanks to Barb at Japanese Temari (www.japanesetemari.com).

A bad carpenter blames his tools, but a good quilter can work wonders with a properly stocked tool chest. While most of us have our own personal favorites, one quilter shares her secrets here.

Rosemary Travale has a fantastic construction project up, using salvaged cardboard,white spray paint, and some brown card stock.

I can picture this one as part of a Nativity scene, or painted silver to hold boughs of green holly and red berries!

Next in the sew-your-own-clothes series could be a poncho - you can make up one or several to keep warm through the cold days.

You can also use a purchased trim or lace around the edges for a different look.

Peer is a new collaborative limited edition coloring book, which features 25 artists and their self-portraits. Here's your chance to see if you can still color within the lines.

Most of us have a favorite art and craft resource book, and some of us may have thought of sharing our work and techniques in one.

Crafty Pod's Dianne talks to two enterprising crafters, Christina Loff of Chronicle Books and literary agent Kate McKean, to find out what it takes to publish a craft book.

Many informative links, and some inspiring interviews you can listen to as you work.

No more spray paint cans - enter yarn and knitting needles. The very latest in chic urban graffiti.

A while back, I had a post on Rocky Hauri, a stuntdriver who loved embroidery.

Coming from a family where the men love needlecrafting as much as the women, I am happy to see there are lot of guys out there who ply the needle for fun. Flickr has a pool where they share their amazing work.

Thanksgiving is almost on us, and turkeys are waddling out of the woodwork.

Here's one to crochet and one to machine embroider.

Mark Lauckner, artist in glass, has created these delightful slugs that would look great among your plants or just sitting around.

Take a look at how he makes them.

l have two portable sewing machines. One comes in a little box, the other has a cover with an opening for the handle to go through. Most often they both sit on the table uncovered. Of course this means that they get pretty dusty, but I do so hate having to fiddle with handles and latches and stuff when I'm rushing to get started on my sewing.

So I'm going to make one of these cute cozies and solve my problem.

A quick and easy tutorial will help you stitch one of these cards for everyone on your list.

I always start my quilting classes with a little project where students learn the basic hand-quilting stitch. To make things more fun, I ask them to embellish this with beads, sequins, embroidery, whatever.

Here's a neat tip that makes embellishing a snap.

A rolag is a roll of fiber generally used to spin woolen yarn. Cleaned fiber is brushed and then prepared into rolags. A well-made rolag will be uniform in width and distribute  fibers evenly, making it easy for spinners to produce quality yarns.

Traditionally, wool and other animal fibers were used to create rolags, but nowadays spinners use many different fiber materials, including manufactured and plant fibers.

Felting is the latest favorite finishing technique, but for those who can't knit or crochet, or are strapped for time, it might not have been an option.

Not any longer. With this tutorial for Mercury's Slippers, you may end up making several pairs.

I've always wondered why people post pictures of their work with their pets in the frame. Now I know. Boy, it's impossible to move them!

Here are two baby quilts commissioned from me, vetted by Moo Chin.






Ladybug Trot - 36" x 48" - hand appliqued, embroidered and quilted












Kids On the Block - 36" x 54"- foundation pieced, machine quilted.

Recycling is not just for the environmentally friendly anymore, it is trendy too.

If you are a crafter who makes up Christmas gifts, do try to recycle/reuse wherever you can. AND you can enter Dabbled's Holiday Contest. This year's theme is recycled items.You enter by posting your finished item into their Flickr Pool and then watch and wait.

Quilting has come a long way with all the new state-of-the-art tools available. The rotary cutter is probably the one that has made the biggest difference. To be able to cut so many pieces at a time, rapidly and with great accuracy - aaaah!

However, rotary cutting can also be a very frustrating affair unless you know how to use it right. Chris of Online Quilting has a video tutorial for newbies, demonstrating the basic tools and techniques for accurate, efficient cutting in an easy-to-follow format.

Gasp! What an accusation! and leveled at one of the greatest artist's of all time!

Wait, it's not quite what you think it is.

Original Composition is a subject that has created much angst for artists over time - innovation is held to be the primary element of creativity.

Three Paris Museums have collaborated on "Picasso and the Masters",  showcasing the artist's predilection to rework themes, compositions, techniques and color schemes from other artists.

Read Picasso: The Fine Art of Theft, for more on this. And learn how to learn from the Masters from a Master himself.

Crafting is not just for grannies any more. In the last decade, young girls and (gasp!) guys have started playing too.

Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood writes about stuntman and expert embroiderer Rocky Hardcore. Don't miss the video clip where Rocky talks about his art.

Here's a chance to have a brand new one of a kind quilt on your bed. Click over to Simplify and have a shot at winning one made up by Camille Roskelley. Be sure to enter before November 24.

It's often tough deciding what to give a fellow crafter. Here's a "novel" idea.

If the person is a bookworm as well (as most crafters seem to be), you could use an old hardback version of their favorite book.

You can have a tree in every room this season -  and move them in to decorate the table at Christmas dinner. Try different color schemes and sizes.

Betz White's no-sew felt-rose Christmas tree is a great weekend project that the kids can be in on too.

Bakerella has a fantastic tutorial for these gobblicious yummies. 

When my mother finished her first cross-stitched picture (a horse worked on matty), she went all the way across town to get it framed at the best framing store in town. The frame was great, but alack and alas, the work was not mounted properly, and the matty had stretched out of shape so that the straight line borders were wavy in parts.

Lesson learned. Needlework needs to be mounted and framed just right to bring out the beauty of your efforts.

Embroidery-methods.com has some great tips for you.

Judy of FREEBIES, etc.! brings two historic traditions together - she has transposed some lace patterns to needlepoint, and has a bunch of ideas on where to use them.

The handkerchief has probably played a greater part in the history of this world than any other piece of cloth. Today's generation has almost lost this precious square to disposable alternatives.

Looking at Chris De Rosa's collection makes one hope for a revival that is eco-friendly as well.



Printed hankies by Chris De Rosa is on at artroom5, Adelaide (Australia) 19 to 26 November

Image: Chris De Rosa, hankies - found and printed on, 2008, Photo: Michal Kluvanek

Not all of us may be able to bend glass like Dale Chihuly, but you can follow this easy tutorial to
make a lovely piece of fused glass.

Everyone loves a gift. Especially if it's nicely wrapped up. Make up some of these flowers to use when you are wrapping your gifts.

You can make larger flowers by starting with longer lengths of ribbon - 1" to 4".  You could also place flowers of different sizes and colors together to make a large luscious bloom.

A great way to use scraps of ribbon and fabrics.

The holidays are always busy season for crafters. It is the time to make gifts, pretty up the house, and get all you party gear ready.

Well, it's almost Thanksgiving - time to move into high gear.

Amy Butler has an easy project up -  Sash With Beaded Fringe. All it takes is a bit of fabric, some gorgeous trim, a little sewing and great attitude and you have a versatile accessory that can make any outfit fabulous!

Halloween has come and gone, but Frederik Peeters deftly captures the spirits in his quirky cartoons.

Kristin of Craft Leftovers is sharing her original needlepoint pattern for a lovely snowflake ornament with two intricate sides.

Fresco is painting on plaster on walls or ceilings. The word comes from the Italian  affresco, meaning "fresh"), of Latin origin. It was a common painting technique in Gothic art and during the early Renaissance. It was a favorite technique for painting enormous murals on church or home walls.

In fresco, artists first spread wet plaster onto the wall. Then, while the plaster is still wet, the artist applies the pigment directly onto the plaster, mixing and spreading it quickly. Fresco artists must paint quickly--once the plaster dries, the paint becomes part of the wall and the painting cannot be changed. 

A lot of people ask me if I can teach them to make their own clothes.

I have made all my own clothes since I was twelve, and most of my children's. This in a country that still boasts of a "tailor" at every street corner, where even those on very low budgets have their clothes custom-sewn.

Somewhere over the past couple of decades, pret-a-porter became first the vogue, and gradually the norm in our garment searches. Unfortunately, except for a handful, most pret available nowadays is poorly sized, if at all, badly styled and sewn, and inconsistent in quality and price. This is probably what drives many back to bespoke. Unfortunately, very few true dressmakers remain, and those who are around are temperamental divas who will hold one at their mercy.

Hence the quest to learn to make one's own clothes. In this search, I have come across several easy and practical tutorials in cyberspace, and would like to share some that help in building a basic wardrobe. With a few hand and machine sewing skills, you can start whipping up clothes in no time at all.

Let us start with the simple skirt. Amy Karol 's 5-minute skirt is a good place to start - easy drafting, clear sewing instructions and handy tips that anyone can follow. If you are more ambitious, you can throw in some embellishments - lace, a ribbon trim, embroidered, appliqued, beaded or painted accents...

Happy Sewing!

Light is perhaps the most factor when it comes to creating. And natural daylight is the best kind of lighting.







Daylight globes, which you can fit into your regular lamps, are a great way to get good lighting.

The top photo on the left shows regular incandescent lighting, with a yellow cast.The bottom photo shows lighting by a daylight globe, with its natural coloring.

Before you start casting on for this winter, take a peek at these inspiring knits.

Never did I think that I would ever have a chance to learn the art of Far Eastern Brush Painting. Imagine my delight when I had a chance to do this recently, hardly a five-minute walk from home!

The first class was humbling, to say the least. Apart from dealing with the huge brush and the long strips of extremely uncooperative paper, I was told that I must also worry about the spaces and focus on the shapes - all done standing up for three hours on a Sunday afternoon, when most people in this part of the world enjoy a gentle snooze.

My kids thought I was crazy, my friends were impressed (after all, I am an "artist", and everybody knows they are a crazy breed). Eight weeks and as many classes later, I am proud to share some results with you.

Btw, my teacher has informed me that, maybe after another month, I may have learned a little.

Halloween candy finds a place at Thanksgiving Dinner!

This great idea from One Pearl Button would make great little gifts and stocking stuffers.

Use brand new bangles or give old ones you may never wear again an updated look.

And for a truly unique and personal touch? - print out photographs and use them in your decoupage.

Intarsia is a crafting technique that juxtaposes individual blocks within a single design unit. The term 'intarsia' comes from the Latin word 'interserere' meaning "to insert".

Originally, intarsia was developed as a woodworking technique in Siena, Italy in the 13th century. Inlays of ivory or wood were inserted into wooden wall murals, tabletops and other furniture.

Today, intarsia is uses different types of wood, allowing the natural grain patterns and colors to create the values in the pattern. Each piece of wood is individually cut, shaped, and sanded before being assembled into the main design. Sometimes, areas of the pattern are raised to create more depth. Finally, a layer of finish is applied to complete the project.


Marble intarsia has colored stones inlaid in white or black marble.  This method gained popularity in the 15th to 17th centuries in Florence and Naples, where it was used to create ornate and complex flooring.  

Nowadays, intarsia is also a popular knitting technique used to create patterns with multiple colors. Fields of different colors and materials appear to be inlaid in one another, but are in fact all separate pieces, fit together like a jigsaw puzzle.

Unlike other multicolor techniques, there is only one "active" color on any given stitch, and yarn is not carried across the back of the work. A separate piece of yarn is used for each of the areas of color, land linked together while working across the row. This frequently leads to a vast number of pieces of yarn dangling from the work, and loose ends are woven in at the end.

Intarsia is most often worked flat, rather than in the round. However, it is possible to knit intarsia in circular knitting using particular techniques.

Common examples of intarsia include sweaters with large, solid-colour features like fruits, flowers, or geometric shapes. Argyle socks and sweaters are normally done in intarsia, although the thin diagonal lines are often overlaid in a later step, using Swiss darning or sometimes just a simple backstitch.

Knitting in intarsia theoretically requires no additional skills beyond being generally comfortable with the basic knit and purl stitches. Materials required include multiple colors of yarn, standard needles, and bobbins. Bobbins serve to contain the inactive yarn and help keep it from getting tangled.

The simplest intarsia pattern is for straight vertical stripes. After the first row, the pattern is continued by always working each stitch in the same color as the previous row, changing colors at the exact same point in each row. To make more elaborate patterns, one can let this color boundary drift from row to row, changing colors a few stitches
earlier or later each time.

Intarsia patterns are usually given as charts that look like needlepoint patterns.

Even a beginning needlecrafter can sew up these lovely little pictures.

Look here for more tiny motifs you can use in your frames.

It's not just about platinum or diamonds anymore. A few handy findings, needle and thread are all that you would need to add bling to your bling.

A true fabric artist would suffer pangs at having to cut a length of cloth. And would never be able to part with the trimmed-off selvedges.

This is what one creative stasher did with her collection of selvedges.

A sarape is a long, brightly-colored shawl worn by the people of Mexico.

Traditionally, sarapes were made  near the city of Saltillo in north-eastern Mexico. The Saltillo sarapes and blankets are of a dark brown or black, banded with yellow, orange, red, blue, green, purple or other bright colors.The ends are usually fringed.

Berroco continues their Global Gifting series with this colorful Sarape Shopper.

Name: Linda Misa

Nickname:  none that I am aware of!

Snail-Mail Address: 938 Pateena Rd, Longford, Tasmania 7301, AUST
 
Location/Business:  Longford

 
Website:  www.picturetrail.com/linda38

www.tact-ilse.blogspot.com

 
Patterns Type/Style Available:  elves, fairies, angels, mermaids, woodland series, on-line doll classes

Books Published: in 5oo handmade dolls

Please tell us a little about yourself. Wife, mother, artist in any given order on any given day! Born in NZ with 4 brothers and a creative mother and a teacher father. Moved to Australia in 1985 and studied clothing design and beauty therapy in Sydney. Met and married my NZ husband. Traveled to Europe and spent a year traveling around before settling in Tasmania and having 3 children.
 
How long have you loved art and have been creating? Since I was a small child - got my first sewing machine at age 7.

What started you off? Watching my mother started my journey and having my daughter moved me into the direction of doll making.

What is your favorite creation? My children LOL!  Followd by my doll called "for my children" which is made with lots of recycled items.

What is your favorite type/style to design/make? I love to create characters that evoke a sense of "knowing" when you look at them. I like to work from a theme or a word that has meaning to me.

What is your favorite media to work with? Why? Paperclay would be one of my favorite mediums. It is so forgiving to use, easy on the hands and very versatile. Sculpting a face is an exciting part of the creative process for me. I see the creation come alive in my mind and it helps me decide what colours and shapes I need to use in the rest of the doll.

Do you have a background in art? I guess I would answer that by saying my life has always included art and craft. Formally I have attended many study courses and really enjoy learning new things but I feel that most of my learning has come from reading, watching, lots of practicing and the desire to learn more and get better with each thing I create.

Do you teach classes/workshops or do Trunk Shows? Where?
On-line workshops are my main focus at the moment. I have classes with http://www.dollstreetdreamers.com/

www.classheaven.com

www.fabricaddictions.com

I am also available to travel to teach workshops!!!!

Who is your favorite designer? There are many I admire greatly including my friend Susie McMahon and Akira Blount.

Do you have a favorite pattern? Not really, but I love great hands and toes on a pattern.

What artists/people/places inspire you or where do you get your
inspiration? Inspiration is all around me - I live in a beautiful place with magic natural beauty. I draw a lot from nature - flowers, trees, leaves - colour, form texture. I just look in the garden or at my children and I am inspired. I guess I also use the power of words to evoke an image in my head. The desire to create is so strong with me that I can find inspiration in most things. Needless to say my head holds more ideas than I will ever be able to recreate!

Where is your favorite place to work/design/draw? In my beautiful studio - with lots of windows looking out across the gardens and countryside.

What was the first piece you ever sold? As a child I used to make various things that I sold in craft shops to make pocket money. I learnt how to make what was called a Chinese lantern out of plastic drinking straws. You split the straw and fold it up into this odd shaped "bead" that is then stitched together to form a 3D star shape. Sold quite a few of them too !

Do you name your creations?  If yes, how do you come up with
the names? Yes I do name the dolls. Name usually comes from some image/idea I had when I started creating the doll. Or sometimes it is from a person who is special to me.

Do you have a favorite tool and/or product? My sewing machine.

You are a great believer in recycling. Can you tell us about some of the strangest things you have successfully recycled?

 Absolutely, I encourage it in all my classes and patterns. Often it is the start of a design - some odd object that I have kept because I knew it would make an interesting look. For my Children is all about recycling. She is made over a broken lamp base, has a hat made out of a computer monitor internal part, clothing made from scraps of fabric felted together on the needlefelting machine. An old watch, tea strainer, marbles, electrical wire, shells. Around her base are the words " gathering up bits of the world and putting them in an order so that my children can understand." She represents my role as a mother  - encouraging my children to recycle, to make sense of this world.


What is your most favorite part of creating? The process, the "doing". If I get a good end result - that is the bonus!

What is your least favorite part of creating? Cleaning up afterwards!

What's your secret for overcoming a creative block? Go into the world and look - inspiration is all around - the sounds, the colours, the smells of life. Have a coffee in town and watch all the faces passing by. I just love faces. No matter what face you sculpt - there would always be someone who looks like it!

What is your best art tip? Practice, do it again and again. Enjoy the journey, impart some of your soul into each thing you make and be grateful that you can.

What advice would you give a beginning artist? If you want to be good at something - you have to do it over and over again. Love the art of creating and learning and the journey will be a totally enjoyable one and that love will shine through in the art you create.

In today's frenetic pace of life, the holiday season is when most of us pause to share our blessings.

Take a look at Mama to Mama, a new site started by Amanda Blake Soule devoted to crafting for charity. 

Art knows no boundaries. Never has this been truer than in the age of the Internet.

QuiltCampus offers wonderful online classes for quilters and crafters around the world. Their special chats and free classes are a real gift to anyone with access to a computer, no matter where you are in the world .

Enjoy their delightful free penny rug Christmas ornaments , with classes beginning November 18th and 19th.

Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and so is the traditional Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Take an inside look at what goes into designing a float for the parade.

I quite like Mondays. Maybe because I am lucky enough that my work is my favorite pastime. Although I do not follow the traditional work week or regular working hours, Monday always opens up a vista of possibilities and challenges.

I rarely start anything new on Mondays. Sunday afternoons or Tuesdays seem less rushed and more convenient to begin a project, and luckier too - any venture embarked upon then gets done as planned and on schedule.

Yet, after a weekend of family, friends and fun, I look forward to Mondays.

Have a great Monday, everybody.

The Washington Post Food Section just crowned  Georgetown Cupcake the best of all cupcake shops. With each delicious offering an artistic creation, it's no wonder they won. 

History is made by people. This is the focus of the exhibits at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington.
The Gallery presents the wonderful diversity of epoch-making personalities who have made a mark on history. From George Washington to Martin Luther King, Babe Ruth and Marilyn Monroe, the museum showcases  individuals of the past,  present, and future. For anyone fascinated by famous Americans and their stories, the National Portrait Gallery is a must-visit destination.
The Gallery is housed in one of Washington's oldest public buildings, alongside the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
Starting November 7th, the Gallery highlights the "real" Lincoln.

Sunbonnet Sue is a favorite any day - so why is she trying to get away?

CC of Lace 'n' Ribbon Roses blog is sharing another in her series of embroidery patterns. 

Gesso is the Italian word for "board chalk", and is a powdered form of the mineral calcium carbonate used in art.

This calcium sulphate compound was traditionally mixed with animal glue and used as an absorbent primer coat for panel painting with tempera paints. It provided a permanent and brilliant white surface when used on wood or masonite. As it was rather brittle and susceptible to cracking, it was not suitable for priming canvas.

Modern acrylic "gesso" is actually a combination of calcium carbonate with an acrylic polymer medium latex, a pigment and other chemicals that ensure flexibility, and ensure long archival life. It is sold premixed for both sizing and priming a canvas for painting.

The word "gesso" originates from the Greek "gypsum"

Deanna Hogan has a free pattern up for this cute pattern! Stunning yet simple. these folks would make great gifts or stocking stuffers. 

If you love the look of needlepoint, but don't have the time to fill up the canvas, try Janet M. Perry's fantastic new technique. This tutorial guides you to use sponge and paints to create vibrant backgrounds for your needle point motifs.

Use this method to create other scenes - butterflies in a garden, fish in the sea, stars in the skies...

Copyrighting artwork is one of the most complicated issues around. With quilts, this problem takes on humongous proportions.

Magdalen's lucid piece on Copyright and other legal issues for quilters is a good place to start tackling the subject.

When working with a thick medium of paste or gel, use a sponge applicator to minimize brush strokes and get a smooth, even effect.

Now that winter's coming right up, we all need to get together our "stay warm" tricks. This rug will be perfect for your bedside or at your favorite creating spot.

Made with simple single crochet, this pattern is suitable for beginners too. You can also follow the instructions to use up all your leftover yarns for a colorful rainbow rug.

I am a few hours late checking in today, because, like a great many other people, I was glued to my TV watching history being made - Barack Obama has just been elected President of the United States. This moment is being heralded as epoch-making, the arbiter of change and a new tomorrow.

Change, the one constant. And this change is elemental to art. From the beginnings of time, humans have resorted to artistic expression to document change - to preserve the old and envision the new. Societies and cultures who have traveled a volatile roller coaster of change have been more nurturing of original thought and art. There is something abandoned about uncertainty and anticipation that gets the creative juices flowing.

Here's hoping that this change reaches out to all the World, and ushers in an era of artistic sumptuousness.

The glue gun is a handy tool for artist and crafters.

The electric glue gun uses a heating element to melt a stick of plastic glue, which can be squeezed out of the heated nozzle.  The glue is tacky when hot, but hardens and stops being sticky in a few seconds--a minute at most. Glue sticks are available in several diameters for use with different glue guns.

Be careful when using one of these, as the glue is initially hot enough to burn and blister skin. It may also be worth the extra cost to get a cordless version to avoid cumbersome wires.

The Japanese bring art into their lives with exquisitely crafted everyday items. Zakka Sewing, the new book from Therese Laskey and Chika Mori, helps you do the same.

Zakka means "household goods" in Japanese, and the term brings to mind simple yet beautiful hand-sewn items that are both attractive and useful. This book explores this culture and its traditions, presenting 25 one-of-a-kind patterns from Japan's best zakka creators. Projects range from a squirrel-shaped teapot cozy to simple felt flower coasters, and you can even learn to stitch up a pair of cozy slippers. The variety and quality of the projects will enchant and inspire you again and again.

Ahaa! So most of you may have noticed that Craft's Cool looks different today, That's because we are now using a new blogging system.

Ever since computers entered the field of design, it has become stunningly easy to change the look of things. Innumerable tools and options can be used to create complete makeovers, with the convenience to preview it all before decision time. And you can repeat the process any number of times.

I know several artists who get all this technology to work for them in their "real world" makes. Color, texture, and profile options can be worked out and compared easily with no commitment of materials. Once a satisfactory arrangement is arrived at, it can be executed with aplomb.

Hmmm, I would say we have indeed come a long way, baby!

Halloween's come and gone, but still left with bags of treats?

Brenda Ponnay shows us What to do with all that Halloween Candy.

Becky Nealis is a quilter who make purses and bags out of old fabric sample books. She gets the books from a local re-upholstery shop. Most of these stores just throw out their old or out-dated  swatch books. What a wonderfully creative way to reuse this wonderful fabric and make something that people can use.

Check out  this book to make one of these for someone who doesn't live in your house - or buy yourself some earplugs!

Spinning is one of the earliest crafts developed by Man.  Archaeologists have discovered the remains of  string skirts that are some 20,000 years old!

In ancient times, people began spinning without tools. They collected bundles of  long grass or animal hair and twisted the fibers between the palm of the hand and thigh of the leg to make  thread.  The  spun or twisted fibers were wound onto a stone or a short, straight stick. 

With the passing of time, in the Neolithic era, the stick was notched to hold the thread, and a weight called a "whorl" was added to hold the stick steady and give it momentum  as it whirled. The whorl was made of discs of clay, metal, wood, or a flat stone. The stick had a cleft or split in the top where the thread was fixed; later,  a hook of bone was added to the upper end. This was the hand spindle or drop spindle.

The distaff was short stick on which  the raw material was wound. The end of the distaff was held in the hand, under the arm or thrust in the girdle of the spinner.  One hand was left free for drawing out the fibers.

For thousands of years, fiber was spun by hand using only these simple tools, the spindle and distaff. Much later, the spinning wheel was introduced, and mass-production  arose only with the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution.

Hand-spinning remains a popular handicraft today.