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I'm coming a little late to the "best of.." posts, but 2008 was a year of some fabulous craft books. I've gone through my own acquisitions, choosing several that I'm truly glad I own, then filled out the list with books I haven't yet purchased, but that have gotten lots of buzz or are on my wishlist. (ht to SisterDiane for helping with that list).
#1. Handmade NationNot only the first, but by far the best book of 2008. Faythe Levine documented the rise of DIY Craft, criss-crossing the nation filming Handmade Nation (the documentary coming this year). She and Cortney Heimerl selected 24 crafters and 5 essayists to discuss their roles in the DIY life. This books shares their thoughts, their processes, their websites and blogs and is an inspiring peak into these artists' minds. Cannot.Wait.For.Movie!
My Love For You found the this book so inspiring:
i've carried it everyday with me to and from work pouring over the pages, thinking of all i want to make and the many craft nights i want to plan. the book is beautiful. it's vibrating with color, craft, D.I.Y., creativity and so many great spotlights of people who are out creating and following their dream (so many of our favorites). kate bingaman-burt drew all the illustrations and lettering for the book.
i just can't say enough good things about this book. i am so inspired by faythe levine, one of the co-writers behind the book (and the lady behind the documentary of the same name), her drive and incredible ability to pull all of this together is hands down AMAZING. she's a dynamo for sure.
After reading the book, Herzensarts wondered what great craft fairs existed in Germany. Looking at her crafty items, she needs to find one soon!
#2: Knitting for Good! A Guide to Creating Personal, Social, and Political Change Stitch by Stitch.
SuperNaturale wrote:
Betsy Greer. No competition for the #2 spot on this list, either. As hard as it might be to imagine, a knitting book heavy on text, light on photos/projects is still the best knitting book of the year. Betsy takes us through her personal journey from knitting as therapy (knitting as meditation anyone?) through knitting in the community and finally knitting for the world. The projects included in the book can be applied to each type of outreach knitting.
Finally...here was someone who not only believed in the revolutionary power of DIY, she actually wrote a Master's thesis on it and runs a website devoted to the discussion of what she calls 'craftivism' (craft + activism). And what's more, Greer has recently wrapped her warm, straightforward philosophies into a motivating soft-cover book. . . . In it, she makes a case for using knitting (and other kinds of craftwork and DIY) as a practical, tactile, effective way to make the world a little bit nicer for everyone.
Knithropology believes that:
people who haven’t quite made the jump from knitting as hobby to knitting as a gateway to all sorts of ideas and insights, this text really could be quite galvanising (sic). I was especially touched by the sidebars sprinkled throughout the book, each written by people Betsy finds inspirational; the sidebars bring perspectives that accentuate and compliment Betsy’s own views and add to the overall impact of the book. After reading some of the sidebars, I was ready to take on the world - if these folks could do it, why can’t I? Whenever I need a kick up the brain, I’ll definitely read through those again.
#3: Complete Embellishing: Techniques and Projects by Kayte Terry. I do not own this book (yet), but many crafters have been talking about it since it's release last summer. Terry, a former designer for Antropologie, brings simple ideas for embellishing and personalizing our wardrobes and our surrounds.
Physically, the book is fantastic. It's large, hard covered and has a spiral binding (hoorah for spiral binding!). It almost feels like a text book for a very cool textile class. The full color pages are yummy and easy to read. The photographs are beautiful (a few are repeated in the book) and the step by step writing is clear and easy to follow.
About the first half of the book is illustrated step-by-step instructions for a whole slew of embellishing techniques. You can see potato printing here, but there’s also: embroidery, crochet,
