craft book quicky

Surely the whole of the Australian internet craft community know of the great and wonderful Pip Lincoln and her Meet Me At Mikes - store, blog and book. Plus, she runs Brown Owls, a crafty community who come together to make, eat, drink and be happy, of which I am a proud member. Pip is one of those community hubs, like the middle of a spider web, who connects so many people with each other. So it's no surprise that her first book is another example of her skill in that. It brings together 25 crafters from her community to share cute and easy projects for people to make.

Her project is a How To of granny squares, which she has been doing on her blog as well, and hosting the Granny A Day I was talking to her at a Brown Owls meeting a while ago and she was telling me that she set out to learn how to granny square for the book. That's commitment!

Of course, it was through Brown Owls and Pip that I learned to crochet, and thus made the rug I've just finished.

But back to the book. Although I have a number of pattern, tutorial and How To books, usually I only talk about the craft theory kinds of books. But Pip's book fits into my world view on crafts for her introduction, which jsut reiterates the fact that anyone can do it. And that's always been something that's attracted me to the craft world. It's so encouraging and supportive and is all about sharing tips, tricks and knowledge. Pip writes "Making is one of life's great joys. The sweet simplicity of producing something with your own hands is pretty unbeatable... You don't need lots of experience. You don't need to be an artist... You don't need to spend lots of money or have heaps of equipment either.(p7) And that's so true.

The project part of the book showcases crafty types such as Johanna Monte Aranez of One Red Robin, Shannon Lamden of Aunty Cookie fame, Gemma Jones of Kaotic Kraft Kuties and Totem artist Kirsten Doran and if you're looking for a project book of cute things to make, I'd suggest this one to be at the top of your list!