Sewing with Lola Nova

I am sure that the blog Lola Nova - Whatever Lola Wants needs no introduction, but if you have yet to visit, you are in for a treat. And so was I in for a treat today, when the truly beautiful book, Simple Sewing with Lola Nova appeared on my doorstep (it is not out officially in the US until the spring, but wherever you are you can get it already from The Book Depository, who will ship worldwide).

A surprise in the post

I was lucky enough to win this in the giveaway held by Lola Nova (aka the very talented Alexandra Smith) - it's not often that you win a book that is already on your wishlist, and exceedingly wonderful not to have to wait for Christmas to get a peek inside.

And I have to say that it is a really lovely book - quite different from your average sewing manual. The projects are different and individual, and the Lola Nova style shines through. So often when you read craft books you feel that you have seen it all before, but this book is full of projects with a difference, and there are lots that I want to try.

Things to make and do

The photography by Yuki Sugiura is really atmospheric, and the design as a whole really conveys the Lola look. I love the way that the sections are called Boho, Natural, Vintage, Eclectic and Whimsy, which really give you an indication of her individual take on crafting - this really is crafting with a difference, and with a very definite and unique sense of style.

Sweet dress

The range of projects runs from things for children to wear to adornments for your house and office and even some beautiful stitched and embellished notecards - things for you to make for yourself and for you to give as presents.

Pretty skirt

There are very clear step-by-step photographs and instructions to get you through any tricky bits, together with templates for all the patterns, and each project is labelled with the skill level required.

Multipurpose

I am rather pleased to see instructions for a Lola-style multipurpose Hook Book, and also a rather snazzy bag, both of which I have admired on the blog and in the Lola Nova Etsy shop before now, and am also planning to make some Everything Baskets. The Artist's Pouches would be good to mass-produce for Christmas presents (Princess Bunchy already having placed an order for presents for friends).

Snazzy bag

 So all in all,  I can genuinely highly recommend Simple Sewing with Lola Nova by Alexandra Smith - thank you Lola Nova and well done!

Anxiously and impulsively covering up

I fear that this post may be in the nature of a confession, a baring of the soul which reveals a deeper truth about my nature. Or then again it may not, but that is for the reader to decide.

So I take a deep breath and reveal that I have a penchant, perhaps it may even be termed an addiction, certainly a compulsion, for filling my life with notebooks. And please note the plural - this is not one modest little notebook deep in the recesses of my bag; this is notebooks lined up on my desk, a notebook by my bedside, a large notebook in my filing tray, and spare notebooks waiting, in case of emergency, on my shelves.

In the past I have been quite free and easy in my choice of notebook, and was particularly attracted by pretty covers, but then in a fit of sophistication I moved onto a flirtation with black Moleskines in the hope that I would benefit from the Chatwin/Hemingway association. However, I began to find the weight of tradition, not to mention the weight of the notebook in my bag, a little oppressive.

Then I discovered the Moleskine cahier, and such is my enchantment with the wonder of the Moleskine cahier I am sure that I am not exaggerating if I term it an obsession.

Their infinite variety is most beguiling: they come in three different sizes (small, large and extra large) which I find a useful correlative to purpose. And with lines or squares or plain pages, depending on whether one feels literary, mathematical, or artistic - needless to say that I have dallied with all three. Cahiers also come in packs of three, which is strangely comforting (rather like having those mega packs of loo roll in the cupboard, it means that the chilling prospect of running out in an emergency is averted).

A nice little pocket at the back

But I must admit these notebooks have one drawback - the buff cover has a sort of minimalist, even scholarly, appeal, but they do not look quite a pretty as I would like when lined up on my desk.

Pretty

Luckily Michelle and her patterns have come to my rescue - Michelle does a pattern here (called a Swatch Book Cover) which is for a really easy to sew cover for the small and large sized Moleskine cahiers, and I have been running up pretty covers for all and sundry (it is an excellent pattern for last-minute presents it is so quick to make up).

You don't need a lot of fabric, so it is a great way to use up fat quarters, or left-over pieces from other projects.

And Michelle has also put me out of misery at my uncovered extra large cahier - she has just released a pattern called an Idea Pouch which fits the extra large cahiers (as well as iPads, but sadly I don't have an iPad) and joy of joys, it has pen slots and buttons on the front. You will not be surprised to hear that I have bought this pattern and am in the process of making the all-important fabric decisions. But first my Book of Recipes for a Frugal Housewife needs a cover - I feel that this combination looks suitably culinary. What do you think?

And before I go I will just leave you with a very deep thought. A renowned French philosopher and cultural theorist by the name of Jean Baudrillard took it upon himself to write about the significance of covers in the domestic interior. He uses the word redundancy, and sees such 'overworking of signs of possession' as indicating not only the 'intention to possess, but to show how well one possesses' in 'an anxious compulsion to sequestration'.* As I anxiously go to count my doilies and refold my tablecloths, I wonder at what point domestic coverings become redundant. Are patchwork quilts allowed, or is it irredeemably bourgeois to sleep under anything but a solitary, scratchy grey army blanket? I feel sorry for Mrs Baudrillard - I bet she wasn't allowed flowery notebook covers on her desk.

*Jean Baudrillard, For a Critique of the Political Economy of the Sign (1981)

Winners at last

Now I am very conscious that you have all been sitting on the edge of your seats anxiously waiting for the big prize draw - and that I have been very tardy about conducting the event, my only excuse being the ludic interlude that is half term.

The bird training did not go well so I decided to resort to the usual suspects, the Little Stranger and Mad Dog.

As is usual the wind started whistling around the garden just as I ventured out, bowl in hand, so I am afraid that I stayed very close to the back door, hence the tasteful grey backdrop to the pictures.

You will see quite a contrast in the attitudes of the participants.

We have Little Miss Pushy, and I Am Not At All Enthusiastic About This, And Far Too Polite to Elbow My Way In.

In fact, Little Miss Pushy is so pushy that I had a problem in actually getting close enough
 to take the photo of the winners before they headed off across the garden.

But she means well, and is very willing to join in the fun.

Her only trouble, and one which I put down to her youth, is that she has difficulty in knowing when it is time for the fun to stop, and pieces of paper to remain in the bowl.

But we got there in the end, and here are the first three to land on the concrete:

The Liberty Book of Cross Stitch will be winging its way to Angela, Jan Eaton's 1000 Cross Stitch Motifs to Indigo Blue and Jane Greenoff's 100 Cross Stitch Patterns to Mix and Match to Felicity. Please could you all email me with your address for posting.

And commiserations to the rest of you - I hope the deprivations of Lent don't overcome your sense of good cheer. I have given up chocolate, cakes and sweet biscuits in the hope that the midwinter spare tyre will detach itself from my midriff, and am feeling slightly appalled at the thought of six weeks without such carbohydrate comfort, although I have great hopes for the substitute that I have found for my nibbly moments (the first one is free, and I have to say absolutely delicious) but will I be able to confine myself to one a day? I'll let you know how I get on . . .

A stitchy giveaway

I think that we are all in need in a bit of cheer on a cold weekend so here at last is my long-promised giveaway.

As I told you it is one of a stitchy nature, just the thing to keep your shivering fingers busy as you sit by the fire warming your pot of gruel.

Those lovely people at Search Press sent me these three very pretty books before Christmas, and in all the flurry and bustle of seasonal excitement (not to mention the depths of my misery at having to take a sewing break) I forgot all about them until I did my little sort-out and tidy-up the other day and found them in my embroidery drawer.

As you will see from my pet stork, I have had a bit of a penchant for cross-stitch. I stitched his ball and chain on one very foggy holiday on the isle of Lundy, all the while convinced that I was rapidly losing my sight. It wasn't until I returned home that I realized that a higher than usual stitch count, not to mention a gloomy fogbound cottage and poor lighting were the cause of all my difficulties.

The books I am giving away are all very tempting. The first is the Liberty Book of Cross Stitch, which is a feast for the eyes.

There are a series of pattern and instructions for all sorts of items from home decor to baby to accessories, with a mixture of sewing and embroidery.

Then there is Jan Eaton's 1000 Cross-Stitch Motifs:

This is a wonderful cornucopia of charted designs on every subject that you could possibly need, with a whole range of individual motifs, as well as borders and pictures.

And last but not least there is a book from one of the doyennes of the cross-stitch world, Jane Greenoff, entitled 100 Cross-Stitch Patterns to Mix and Match.

This has a clever split-page format so that you can swap about and have two different pattern pages open at the same time. I think the range of different alphabets is particularly useful.

So there you have it - to spread the blessings further, I will pick three winners, rather than sending all three books to one person.

If you already have one of the books, or are only interested in one, then say so in your comment, but those who have no preference obviously have more chance of winning.

Being a Follower gives you your first entry in the draw, and if you put me on your blog sidebar or engage in any other social media promotion then you can get further entries - please do a separate comment to tell me about each of these as it makes it easier for me when I do the draw.

[And No-Reply Bloggers - please note! If you don't have your email address listed on your Blogger Profile page (just look at my Profile here to see what I mean - my email is on the top left under Contact Me, and you can make sure yours is by using the orange Edit Profile button on the top right of your Profile page), then you can't win because I can't email you. (If I have never replied to one of your comments, chances are you are a No-Reply Blogger). If you are not on Blogger, then please make sure you put your email address in your comment.]

I'll leave the giveaway open until early next week - I am wondering whether I can persuade one of the robins and blackbirds lurking on the table outside my window to do the draw this time. They are very keen on picking bits of food out of bowls - perhaps I could rub the comment slips with bacon fat . . .