Did you guys have a nice weekend? I had a cold, but think that my doses of EmergenC may have kicked it to the curb, I felt rotten on Saturday and much better on Sunday, go figure.
I received some new books for Christmas, and gifted myself a couple as well (it is cold and rainy/snowy, after all, and I needed something to read).
The Liberty Book of Home Sewing. I was sent a review copy of this book before the holidays, but didn't have a chance to do more than flip through it until now. This book has an assortment of 25 sewing projects for the home, all using the undeniably classic and beautiful fabrics of Liberty of London. There is much beauty in this book. For one, the end papers and chapter division pages are beautiful, full-bleed images of Liberty of London fabrics, I would have bought the book for those pages alone. The projects are divided into Essentials, Organization, and Accents, and there is a Sewing Basics section at the back of the book. The projects are photographed and styled beautifully in lovely dark gray environments. Some I have discussed the book with commented that the rooms used in the photographs seemed dark, but this feels very fresh to me, and really makes the Liberty prints pop. Plus I just love gray anything these days.
Another part that stands out most for me are the gorgeous watercolor illustrations of the project steps, done by Richard Merritt. These beautifully explain what the written instructions are saying, making any of these projects easy to follow. Just lovely. To be honest, I don't know that I myself would make any of the projects as they are in the book, but they do inspire me in my own work. (For example, there's an apron project. I know what I do to aprons, and I would never use such Liberty fabric to make something I would cook in. But for you? I'd make you one.)
Nomad: A Global Approach to Interior Style by Sibella Court- This is one of the books I gave myself (or rather, I handed it to Peter and said "You're getting me this for Christmas"). I do not have Sibella's first book, Etc, but have looked at it many times. I wanted this book a little more because it seemed to focus less on significance of objects and more on creating an environment with travel objects and important trinkets. This is something I always struggle with in my own home and books like this inspire me to think about displaying the important little material things I have (special shells from special beaches, little things my kids give to me) in different ways. In Nomad, Sibella travels to five countries, gathers all kinds of inspiration, creates a 10 color palette based on each trip, and styles interior vignettes based on all this inspiration. The book is printed almost like a scrapbook or travel journal, with things sometimes randomly, yet completely covering each page. I love this book for what it is, a style unlike my own, yet one that makes me think in new ways.
Found, Free, and Flea: Creating Collections from Vintage Treasures by Tereasa Surratt. This one's title and front cover got me right off the bat and I put it on my Christmas list. Tereasa and her husband purchase the rundown summer camp he attended as a child and set about restoring it. They created one of a kind collections, full of nostalgia, based on what they found at Camp Wandawega, and what they cobbled together with a limited budget.
First of all, how did they know I would love to own a summer camp!? (Well, okay, maybe not a whole camp, but I do have dreams of a cabin one day). Its a lovely story, lovely history, and full of lovely collections, photographed nicely.
There's more books, but they will have to wait. Today, I am working on finishing up my crochet project, and a small dollhouse project.
And you?
