Wednesday, June 9, 2010

New Books!

I bought my first crafting books in Japanese yesterday! There is such a wide variety of crafting books here that it was a difficult task narrowing down my buys to just 2.

Book number one.

Yes, cross stitch. I've been wanting to dabble in some old-school cross stitch for a bit, and when I saw this book, I knew it was calling my name. I did some cross stitching as kid but never really thought about getting into it until recently. Every now and then I'll see a cross stitched piece and want to recreate it. Namely, my grandma's wall hanging of the 1859 poem, Overheard in an Orchard.
This book has some really lovely designs, some even look Scandinavian. I think I'll try to make a runner, perhaps with a combination of these patterns below:
Book two.


As I mentioned before, I want to work on my embroidery skills. I thought this book had some really fun, creative ideas that you could use to spruce up some onesies or kid's t-shirts. Even though it's in Japanese (which I don't speak a lick of) there are detailed pictures explaining each stitch. There's even a few pages at the end of iron-ons!

Here are few of my favorites from the book:




The wolves just make me laugh. And the octopus and penguin, how cute are they?





9 comments:

  1. thanks for visiting my blog and leaving a comment; i'm happy to discover your blog too!

    great choices on craft books, i really know the feeling of be overwhelmed by the wonderfulness, and also inspired.

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  2. love it!! i love how crafty you are, even in japan!!!

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  3. Thanks for the comments everyone! I can't wait to dive into the new books! :)

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  4. Hi Kathryn, your blog is so lovely!!!! :)
    May i know where did you get that Japanese cross stitch book?

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  5. I lived in Japan last year and bought it at a popular bookstore there called Kinokuniya. If you live near a "little Tokyo" in your city you can see if they have one of these stores, I know they do here in LA. There are also quite a few etsy sellers who sell Japanese crafting supplies, you could try messaging them to see if they could locate and send one over for you. Good luck!

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  6. Kinokuniya, cool! Thank you Kathryn. :D

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  7. Hey Kathryn, it's me the Anonymous from yesterday. :) I couldn't find this book from Kinokuniya UK so i had to order it from esty. Not sure if you have already got the book "Made in France" thought you might like it. http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1741963869/ref=oss_product

    I just got it delivered, simply charming. :)

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  8. Hi Sigouy, I'm glad you found a way to find it! I think you'll enjoy it! :)

    I just checked out "Made in France" and it looks darling! I just might have to add it to my Christmas list! :)

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