Hi, I’m Johanna Buschmann. I’m Amy’s cousin and for the summer I’m her intern as well. Im living in Takoma Park with her, learning all that I can about knitting, crochet, and how to blog like a pro. Amy’s letting me do some reviews, so finally I am getting a chance to tell the world all of my thoughts and opinions!
When I heard about swimsuit designer, Ashley Paige’s new book “Sexy Little Knits” I thought ” there’s a knit pattern that wants me to put mohair where?” Well, although I still think that a pair of mohair panties is fairly impractical, this book is full of plenty of great designs.
The designs are fun and summery with a strong 70’s vibe. And despite the title, the book does not just boast teeny-weeny bikini’s (although there are several). Some of my favorite designs are from the chapter “Sunshine, Good Vibes” I love the Little Mermaid Strapless top, a long, form fitting tube top with a crocheted ruffle on the edge. Another fave is the Heart Babydoll Halter Dress, which boasts row of cute knitted hearts.
The patterns seem fairly straightforward perhaps a bit challenging for a novice such as myself, but definitely doable. One aspect that is really great about this book is how the designs are not strictly knit or crochet. Of the 24 designs six are crochet and what’s even cooler for all of you crochet lovers out there is that most of the designs actually combine both knit and crochet. All in all I’m really excited about this book, sure there are some patterns that are a little too sexy and impractical, even for an adventurous fashionista such as myself, but I definitely see some cute bikini tops and cool summer dresses in my immediate future.
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Amy and I picked up the first issue of a great new magazine from the folks at Vogue, called “Adorn: the crafty girl’s guide to embellishing life.” This magazine is great. It is full of ideas for embellishing everything from your clothing and accessories to your pillows and plates.
As a textile artist I loved that the magazine featured an article that shows how to transform a plain white dress into a stylish, blue, Calvin Klein knock-off with a cool spray dye called Simply Spray soft fabric paint. Uh-oh, I smell a project in the future, actually, Amy’s already bought a couple cans for us to try out, so we will report on it soon.
Of course, one of the things we really loved about the mag is that it dedicated an entire section to crochet! The projects that it shows feature a simple circular crochet pattern that they suggest you can put on anything from your earrings to your sandles. It includes basic crochet instructions and clear illustrations. I think that this article alone garuntees that we will be buying the next issue.
Not only does “Adorn” have some good DIY projects but it also features several interesting/crafty books and cool craft stores around the country.
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crochet, knitting, book, fashion, vogue