Showing titles in Crafts & Hobbies

Blending memoir and nature writing at its finest, Ingrained is an uplifting meditation on the challenges of working with your hands in our modern age, on community, consumerism, and the beauty of the natural world – one that asks us to see our local trees, and our own wooden objects, in a new and revelatory light.

From the political storytelling of the Bayeux tapestry's anonymous embroiderers and Mary, Queen of Scots' treasonous stitching, to the sewing of First World War soldiers suffering from PTSD and the banner makers at Greenham Common, Threads of Life stretches from medieval France to 1980s America, from a Second World War POW camp in Singapore to a family attic in Scotland. It is as much about identity, protest, memory and politics as craft and artistry.

In this moving account, Peter Korn explores the nature and rewards of creative practice. We follow his search for meaning as an Ivy-educated child of the middle class who finds employment as a novice carpenter on Nantucket, transitions to self-employment as a designer and maker of fine furniture, takes a turn at teaching and administration at Colorado's Anderson Ranch Arts Center, and then founds a school in Maine: the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship, an internationally respected nonprofit institution.

Throughout my life, I have encountered fear and I know how much it has stopped me in my tracks. I want every woman to be able to move forward, to feel empowered at every stage of their lives. This manual includes all the advice you might expect. Whether you need help with how to dress, defining your style, finding out the colours that suit you or understanding the right beauty routine for the skin you have now, FEARLESS contains it all.

Like golfing, fishing, and gardening, knitting is an obsession. It's an activity fraught with guilt, frustration, over-optimism, sly deception, and compulsion, along with passionate moments of creative enlightenment - not to mention heaps of yarn you really think you'll knit someday. The first step toward recovery is getting help - and having a good laugh at your compulsion. At Knit's End is a wicked and wickedly funny fix for any knitter.

The Vulcan, the second of the three V bombers built to guard the UK during the Cold War, has become an aviation icon like the Spitfire, its delta shape instantly recognizable, as is the howling noise it makes when the engines are opened for takeoff. Vulcan Boys is the first Vulcan book recounted completely firsthand by the operators themselves.

At age five, Esme was asked to write in her notebook, but instead, she filled it with drawings—the only way she knew to express herself. At seven, when it was discovered she was partially deaf, she found refuge in her sketchbooks. Shortly after, Esme made her first garment and a passion for sewing and designing was born. As a teenager, she made her way to London where her creative journey truly began.

What we wear matters. It matters because looking, and therefore feeling, like yourself is essential. Clothes can be the difference between a good day and a bad day. Clothes have the power to make your mood ten times worse or one hundred times better. Clothes should give you confidence, and never make you doubt yourself. Whether you already have a go-to look or feel overwhelmed by choice, How to Wear Everything covers where to start, what you need and what you absolutely do not - whatever your age, body type or budget.

John Scott has lived a varied life, but whether it's behind the scenes of a regional theatre, working on costumes for Hollywood movies such as Interview with a Vampire or Four Weddings and a Funeral or presenting TV shows like This Morning with Richard and Judy, his love of sewing and the humble needle and thread has run, like a rich seam, through everything he does.

Penguin presents the unabridged, downloadable, audiobook edition of The Man Who Made Things out of Trees. Robert Penn cut down an ash tree to see how many things could be made from it. After all, ash is the tree we have made the greatest and most varied use of over the course of human history. Journeying from Wales across Europe and Ireland to the USA, Robert finds that the ancient skills and knowledge of the properties of ash are far from dead.

In The Yarn Whisperer: Reflections on a Life in Knitting, renowned knitter and author Clara Parkes ponders the roles knitting plays in her life via 22 captivating, poignant, and laugh-out-loud funny essays. Recounting tales of childhood and adulthood, family, friends, adventure, privacy, disappointment, love, and celebration, she hits upon the universal truths that drive knitters to create and explores the ways in which knitting can be looked at as a metaphor for so many other things.

The audiobook is more of a motivational program than instruction manual discussing the themes of minimalism according to a relatable context. It breaks down 50 ways of reducing clutter within your life, grouped according to four categories.

Born out of a desire to know and understand the mysteries of this material, the spiritual and practical applications of clay in both its micro and macro histories, Clay: A Human History is a book of wonder and insight, a hybrid of archaeology, history and lived experience as an amateur potter.

A hilarious, heartfelt romp that will bring you home to yourself. You don’t have to be a knitter to fall in love with this book - any person who’s ever made anything with their hands will dive joyfully into these minutes and come back up renewed and ready to create. Honest, funny, and full of warmth, Herron’s tales, each inspired by something she knitted, will speak to anyone who’s ever loved (or lost). From her very first sweater (a hilarious disaster) to the yellow afghan that caused a breakup (and, ultimately, a breakthrough), every chapter has a moving story behind it.

You have started your own candle business; everything is going well...you’ve nailed down the perfect recipe and your candles are ready to sell. Then disappointment looms. No one, except family and friends, buys your candles. You never anticipated putting so much time and effort for no sales. Here’s the problem: If you don’t market your business properly, no one will buy from you, simply because they don’t know you exist. But with an array of digital and offline marketing strategies, you could exponentially increase your sales every month.

Part guide to the best practice in every aspect of working with this renewable energy source, part meditation on the human instinct for survival, this definitive handbook on the art of chopping, stacking and drying wood in the Scandinavian way has resonated across the world, with more than a million copies sold worldwide.

In tales from 21 knitters, Clara Parkes examines a subject that is irresistible to us all: the yarn stash. Anyone with a passion has a stash, whether it is a collection of books or enough yarn to exceed several life expectancies. With her trademark wry, witty approach, Parkes brings together fascinating stories from all facets of stash-keeping and knitting life - from KonMari minimalist to joyous collector, designer to dyer, spinner to social worker, scholar to sheep farmer.

Do you wonder why you look forward to the holiday season as a magical time, but also dread it as a time of stress and anxiety? Me too! The Christmas of my dreams was a chic and simple affair full of joy and fun things, but the reality wasn’t nearly as much fun. It was stressful!

Creating unique pieces of art comes easy to some people. Knowing the ins and outs of actually selling arts and crafts can sometimes be a little tricky. This book is designed to help those of you who want to sell your creations online or offline. It may be much more fun to create things than it is to do all of the research required to get you on the way to actually selling your arts and crafts.

When Jenny Simpson returns to the seaside town of Borteen, her childhood home, it’s for a less than happy reason. But it’s also a chance for her to start again. A new job leads to her working for Carver Rodgers, a man who lives alone in a house that looks like it comes from the pages of a fairy tale - until you see the disaster zone inside....