Monday 9 May 2011

Magazine addiction

I believe I started my last post by telling you I'm addicted to crochet, well, I'm starting this one in a similar way.  I'm addicted to craft magazines!

I subscribe to the following:

Making (UK)
Crafts Beautiful (UK)
Simply Homemade (UK)
Mollie Makes (UK)
Homespun (Australia)
Handmade (Australia)
Crafts 'n' Things (USA)

I also buy Homestyle Sewing whenever it's available.   I started with the subscription to Crafts Beautiful.  I'd been buying it for a while so decided to subscribe.  The very next issue they started their "card promise" and now it's essentially a card making magazine with a couple of patterns for other crafts shoved in the back.  I'm going to cancel my subscription as soon as my year is up.  I subscribed to Homespun as everyone seems to talk about it.  I do enjoy reading it and made the wonderful sewing machine cover a couple of times.  There are other projects in there I'd like to make.

By far my favourite is Handmade, what a fab, fab magazine.  All my copies of the magazines seem to arrive over the last week in the month, I flick through each and put them aside to read through later.  I'd been a bit disappointed  with the month's haul at the end of April, nothing really struck me in any of them.  Then Handmade arrived.  Wow, so many projects I want to do.  I flicked through, then set to work straight away on one of the projects, I'm now midway through the second from the same issue!

So, what is it I made?


This recipe book cover.  My friend loves purple and love cooking healthy meals as well as baking cakes, so I thought this was perfect.  I really enjoyed making this and it came together so quickly.


There was just one problem.  It would appear that A5 is a different size in Australia as it is in the UK.  I didn't think to check against the A5 notebook I had when I'd cut the pieces and it was only when it was all finished that I discovered it's about 3 inches too short for the book!

I headed off to Staples with the cover, but nope, they're all pretty much the same size.  Luckily I have a Bind-It-All and so made a notebook to put inside, that took me as long as it took to make the cover!  I want to make more of these but I'll have to amend the size!
 

The recipe book needed something to go with it so I whipped up a quick tea towel.  I pieced some 3inch squares from scraps of the fabric then drew a larger cupcake onto Bondaweb, ironed it to the fabrics, cut them out and attached to the fabric, finishing off with a zig zag stitch round the edges and for the cherry stalk.


I added a hanging loop to the top.


And here they are together (minus the notebook which hadn't been made at that point), I think they make a nice little set.

So, any magazine recommendations for me?

10 comments:

Sheila said...

I can relate, I'm addicted to magazines as well. Not enough time or do I have enough hands to do all the things in them. I love all the UK issues but don't subscribe due to the cost of getting them here in the stated, but do pick them up when I can find them, Your finishes are very nice.

Nancy Lee said...

I love magazines. Sew Hip, Homestyle Sewing, Somerset Life, Stitch, Quilting Arts, Cloth,Paper, Scissors. The Australian ones you mentioned. Gosh, I've had to learn to look through the index. If I see something I like, I think about it for a bit, and try to talk myself out of it. Sometimes it works ;-) Love the book cover. It's frustrating about the different sizes of books, but making your own was a smart plan. Look at you, Miss Clever Clogs. Well done!

RobynLouise said...

Great little set for the kitchen and the fact that you had to make the book makes it even more personal.

Joysze said...

I love the recipe book cover. I think I would be heartsick to use something like that just in case I get it dirty.

Allie said...

I used to be addicted to magazines - until I moved, and ended up only keeping all my copies of Mary Engelbriet's Home Companion. Glad I did, as it doesn't exist any longer. Homespun is my all-time favorite magazine, but Handmade runs a close second.
DARLING towel and recipe book cover! But what a bummer about the size!

Tammy said...

Very cute. Too bad about the size of the notebook. You did a great job!

Karen Lewis Textiles said...

how funny that we both blogged about our addiction this week! I haven't heard of that Aussie mag Handmade so am off to check it out. Thanks for the heads up ;-)

Sandra :) said...

Definitely a lovely set - they'd make a great Christmas gift!

My favourite magazine is Quilts and More, but they don't sell it by subscription yet - I'd sign up for it in a heartbeat! Lucky me - when I go to Miss Nancy Lee's house I get to poke through all of HER magazines, LOL!!!

Anonymous said...

Your projects as always... beautiful!
Magazine addiction!!!??? ;-) As you know I'm a book junkie, not a magazine one... yet ;-).
Handmade publishes a nice variety of projects. I'm not subscribed however I am able to get those that get my attention at a local big chain fabric store.
Have you checked this magazine out?
http://craftzine.com/magazine/

Unknown said...

This is absolutely darling! Thanks for sharing at Make Something Mondays!

~ Sarah