Monday Morning Book Club

I have been thinking about reviving the Baby Boudoir Monday Morning Book Club for a while now as it’s a really good way to share and recommend good books. In fact the one I’m going to tell you about today was mentioned by the gorgeous Kate who writes Foxes Lane blog a long long time ago and I’ve been dying to get my hands on a copy ever since. So after sitting on my christmas wish list for two christmas' I ordered it from Mr Amazon and now I’m left wondering why oh why did I wait so long!!!

Sewing Clothes Kids Love has completely and utterly inspired and consumed me ever since it arrived a couple of weeks ago. It’s given me a fresh approach to my sewing and I’m loving it......and it's all about indulgence.

The contributing author Sabine Pollehn started out like many of us using op-shopped recycled cheap fabrics to create unique practical clothing for her kiddiwinks. And I love the fact that still now as an enormously successful designer, her clothes manage to maintain that unique thrown together mismatched style. For me, this book reaffirms two golden rules of design in sewing; you can never over embellish and you should always mismatch.

The way she mixes colours, patterns and textures is truly inspirational. And the way she incorporates ribbons, braids, trimmings, buttons, applique and graphics gives you the confidence to dismiss nothing for fear of not matching.

Sabine’s daughters online shop Farbenmix that I posted about before here, sells these exceptionally cute ribbons which I think give garments that little bit of extra charm. They are very reasonably priced and easy to buy online, arriving in Australia from Germany in just over a week.

Anyone making clothes for kiddiwinks really should get a copy of this book (ISB no 5294401747). It contains all the patterns you'll need to produce an entire handmade wardrobe. Including lovely basic patterns for leggings, skirt, trousers, l/s & s/s tops, hoody, jacket and a dress. Thank you so much Nancy J. S. Langdon and Sabine Pollehn for this super brilliant book. I will treasure it forever and look forward to passing it onto Maggie-May one day. Apparently there is a second one too.

I really want to revive the Monday Morning Book Club as it’s such a good reference point for anyone looking to buy a new book. But I can’t manage it alone. Whilst there are many wonderful craft books out there I generally don’t stumble across a new one each and every week. So this is where you come in. If you’ve got a book you'd like to tell everyone about or have recently discovered a book that has truly made your fingers fidget for the fabric, please write a post titled Monday Morning Book Club and share the love using our friend Mr Linky. Maybe someone could review the second Sewing Clothes Kids Love book.

PS. The monday morning thingy is more a title than a rule, born out of an old habit of mine.

Monday Morning Book Club

It was my birthday on Saturday and I received several beautiful books including this one which I will share with you today. All you fans of upcycling, reforming and refashioning will love this book. The book is called Free-Style Handmade Bags and Skirts, but it's the 'free-style' bit that stands out when you look at this book. It's so much more 'urban street cool' than others I've seen which tend to go for either that 'home-spun' or 'pure organic cotton' look. This is different, it's more New York than New England, more hippy chic than shabby chic......are ya gettin me?

There are 50 projects for bags and skirts with easy to follow instructions. The first chapter - Sewing and Pattern Making Basics is particularly good in this book and helpful for anyone attempting their first project.

Monday Morning Book Club

This week another of my favourite inspirational home decor books. I love the way this book combines old and new, modern with traditional, country with ethnic, functional with impractical and the colours......oh the colours.......they are as striking as a belly dancer in the souks of Marrakesh:)

Whilst I have always treasured vintage trash and op-shop finds, I am very picky about what I do and don't like, particularly in my home. And over the years I have realised that it all comes down to colour. I just gotta have bright colours in my life. Look at this gorgeous chair, wouldn't it be great to stumble across one of these.

I often find myself looking at 1970's pieces because of their shape/design, but they are often diarrhoea brown/yellow and burnt orange so I pop them back on the shelf as I consider them to be sombre and dull. I think that 's why this book appeals to me so much. It reminds me how important colour is. I also love this green chair and beautiful print cushions.

I recently had a comment on my blog that made my day as it described Baby Boudoir as "Retro but modern". It's always been my quest to make patchwork modern, to move on from that typical 'home spun' look. This book has a couple of gorgeous patchwork pieces.

And oh my goodness, wouldn't we all like one of these for our precious things.

It's such an ecclectic mix and that's why I love to be inspired by it. What books inpire you? Do you have a favourite style you attempt to replicate? Can you describe your style?........I find this really hard to do as I love so many different things, things I don't even know about yet:) Have fun discovering the things you love.

Monday Morning Book Club

Not so much as a recomendation this week than a reminder, to fill your life with books. Buy, beg, borrow or steal, do whatever you have to do to get those you see you like. I went to a book sale at the weekend and despite initial 'can't really be bothered' rummaging because it was all just chaotic randomness, I ended up bringing home a couple of Spanish educational childrens books with the most beautifil illustrations. Circa 1969, published in Santiago, Chile.

 

I really love the faces, the cute little outfits, the eyes, the hair, the red shoes and blue tights.

So what will I do with them? Who knows.......but my point is whilst they sit on my kitchen table I'm having fun learning some spanish at mealtimes, I'm enjoying being inspired by the little girls cute bonnet and I'm realising and learning how easy it is to draw those beautiful faces. Surely that alone is worth the $1 I paid for them. This is why it's good to fill your life with books. Then one day, sometime in the future, they'll be perfect for that special little project :)

Monday Morning Book Club

Hamish the Highland Cow is Maggie's favourite book. I've been reading it to her since she was only weeks old. She loves poor old Hamish who is scared of going to the hairdressers but is forced to go by his freinds who are fed up of his "stinky, dirty, matted hair". "You see, Hamish loves eating toffee - sticky gooey, chewy toffee and the pefect place to keep his toffee treats is in his long tangly coat". I won't spoil the ending other than to say that if you have a child who is in need of a haircut but is a little afraid of the hairdressers, read this book to them and share the joy of a trip to the hairdressers.

Monday Morning Book Club

In my pantry I have a big bag of cardboard boxes, bottle tops, toilet rolls, string, etc which I collect ready for the day when Maggie-May is old enough to start making things like cars, dolls houses and model villages....... I just can't wait! Already she has her own basket of beads, buttons, 'bubbles' (as she calls them), material & paper scraps, fabric flowers, trimmings and boxes which she happily plays with when imitating me sewing.

Art/craft is so important to children in excersing their creative brain.  It stimulates their imagination, is a great form of self expression, improves motor skills and encourages them to be independent in decision making, problem solving, experimentation and encourages perseverence, thus increasing their confidence and self esteem.

So start collecting bits and bobs now and order yourself a copy of this book from your local library or book shop and start creating with your childen. There are 35 step-by-step projects for you to choose from that use natural, recycled and found materials. The projects are mainly suited to older children (3+) but the 'pumpkin animals' and 'cardboard sandals' could be fun for you and your toddler. My favourites are the peg dolls, the pom-pom caterpillar and the dolls house.

Monday Morning Book Club

For those of us that seem to collect and treasure other peoples 'junk', this book has heaps of inspiration on how to use and arrange that 'junk' in a way that gives your home that ecclectic, shabby, boho style look that makes a house a home. Whilst I was born into a home that really did have books propping up my bed, where empty Perrier water bottles were more an inconvenience than a design feature, I now find myself loving this 'lived-in' look. I love a home full of things that tell stories, where people inquisitively pick things up and ask "where did this come from?" This book makes you ask this question time and time again, and the answer is usuallly the same "this op shop" or "that junk yard". This book proves that you don't have to shop in expensive high street department stores, buy the latest design pieces or the newest style furniture to make your home look attractive. It's just a case of working with what you've got and can easily find. Think laterally and explore what's available to reuse and upcycle. Enjoy.

A very wet day in Bampton in Somerset, England where I found a set of Alfred Meakin dinner plates, side plates and desert bowls.....Happy Days:)

Monday Morning Book Club

Better late than never hey! First on my list of things to do upon my return from a very wet weekend at Marrawah for my brilliant husbands surf comp is to do my Monday Morning Book Club blog - see I have my priorities very right indeed:)

I suppose this book should really have been No.1 on my 'must have' list of books for fellow crafters. This book sits besides my sewing machine and doesn't dare move. I refer to it as often as the pope refers to his bible. You know when you're working on a project and you just can't quite work out how to do this or should I do this before I do that, well this baby has all your answers. It's what Mrs Beeton is to coooking or a good housekeeping manuel is to the desprate housewife. It covers everything; equipment and supplies, how to get the best out of your sewing machine, explains all about different fabrics, methods and sewing techniques, using patterns, projects, decorative touches, mending, tailoring, home furnishings.....it's got the lot with step-by-step pictorial instructions. This one is circa 1972 but there are many out there in charity shops, all very similiar. So grab yourself a copy today from your local Vinnies for about $2.

Hmmm now to tackle the mountain of wet sandy washing and a very messy campervan.

Monday Morning Book Club

Books, books, books......I love them almost as much as I love fabric. When I first decided to take this sewing thing to another level and start Baby Boudoir I couldn't get enough of sewing books. I would walk into a bookshop or a library and pass many an hour sitting on the floor leafing through the pages of the craft /design and sewing books. I seem to be as happily consumed doing this as I am going to a Vinnies or a haberdashery shop. All of a sudden I wanted to learn correct techniques, take tips from the experts and be inspired by colours and designs. Whereas previously I had been happy to just make it up as I went along and muddle my way through my sewing projects.

So I've decided to start a Monday Morning Book Club where I'll share with you those books that I love and maybe you could share your favourites too.

There is no other place to start but the holy grail of quilt designs that is Material Obsession. Thank you so much Kathy Doughty and Sarah Fielke for your inspiration. These books are stuffed full of the most amazing quilts I have ever seen - and I've seen alot all over the world!! I aspire to one day produce a quilt like these. I love the way they magically combine colours, patterns and shapes and the appliques are like something out of a children's story book. Both books also contain fantastic tips and techniques for beginners, as well as detailed instructions which are easy and exciting to follow. And the photographs are just so 'now'. Buy these books if you are an enthusiastic but timid sewer, or a 'lifer' of sewing and I guaratee you will not be dissatisfied.

I would love to hear your comments to my book review or receive book reccomendations so please leave a comment..................and don't forget to sign-up to follow me over on the left of the page.  See you next week for Monday Morning Book Club.