A Lifetime of Rug-hooking


Book Description

Canada's East Coast has a unique craft heritage that has seen generations hooking rugs during the long winter evenings. Hooked mats and rugs were originally intented as functional pieces--a place to wipe dirty feet at the back door, or a cover for drafty floors. But at some point aesthetics crept into this process, and those simple mats have evolved into the wonderful folk art rugs we see today. Nova Scotia's Doris Eaton has been hooking rugs for nearly 50 years and is one of the region's most well-known rug-hookers. A Lifetime of Rug-Hooking features over 80 of Doris's colourful and lively rugs and the inspiration and materials behind her art. Doris also shares some of her tried and true techniques, including her famous "Eaton Edge" for finishing a rug. With a foreword from fellow Nova Scotia rug-hooker and artist Deanne Fitzpatrick, A Lifetime of Rug-Hooking is a marvellous visual tour of the work of an influential East Coast folk artist.




Modern Rug Hooking


Book Description

An artist’s guide to the craft, beauty, and utility of punch needle rug hooking. Discover the simple art of rug hooking with this colorful guide that includes both instructions for beginners and innovative ideas for those wanting to go further. Rose Pearlman’s abstract designs use modern color, composition, and texture to bring this traditional fiber art to life. The 22 projects featured here start small and simple as you get used to the process and move on to a range of unique objects—for kids, to wear, for the home, and utilizing alternative materials. From purses, crib pockets, slide shoes, and rugs to wall art made from recycled plastic bags, this beautifully photographed book showcases punch needle rug hooking as an incredibly versatile—and stylish—craft.







Punch Needle Rug Hooking


Book Description

Learn to make beautiful punch needle hooked rugs with veteran instructor Amy Oxford. A complete "how to" photo essay walks you through every stage of rug making. A question and answer section, interviews with professional punch needle rug hookers, and photographs of work from some of the field's most innovative and inspired craftspeople make this book a must for any textile lover.




A Life's Work


Book Description

Multi-award-winning author Rachel Cusk’s honest memoir that captures the life-changing wonders of motherhood. Selected by The New York Times as one of the 50 Best Memoirs of the Past 50 Years “Funny and smart and refreshingly akin to a war diary—sort of Apocalypse Baby Now . . . A Life’s Work is wholly original and unabashedly true.” —The New York Times Book Review A Life’s Work: On Becoming a Mother is Rachel Cusk’s funny, moving, brutally honest account of her early experiences of motherhood. When it was published it 2001, it divided critics and readers. One famous columnist wrote a piece demanding that Cusk’s children be taken into care, saying she was unfit to look after them, and Oprah Winfrey invited her on the show to defend herself. An education in babies, books, breast-feeding, toddler groups, broken nights, bad advice and never being alone, it is a landmark work, which has provoked acclaim and outrage in equal measure.




Punch Needle Rug Hooking


Book Description

The queen of the craft Amy Oxford offers to beginners and advanced crafters alike a one-stop resource! This is the guide you'll keep at your fingertips while you learn, and throughout your punch needle adventures for years to come. Enjoy Amy's amazingly effective instruction, tips, inspiration, and in-depth info about every aspect of enjoying punch needle rug hooking. Create her colorful contemporary pomegranate project and gingko project, and learn to skillfully turn your work into long-lasting treasures like wall hangings, chair pads, rugs, cushions, stair runners, and whatever else your imagination can dream up. Enrich your work with fascinating info on things the other books don't include: the top secrets about the craft that beginners need, and careful step by step photo instructions for doing it right--from choosing your first project's materials, to creating a lovely result the first time, finishing techniques, mounting, adding complexity, and making your own designs. Enjoy the history of the craft of rug punching, gorgeous photos of works by today's biggest names, fun interviews with top makers, how to handle the unexpected, and much more.




A Life of Bright Ideas


Book Description

A secret tore best friends Evelyn “Button” Peters and Winnalee Malone apart. Now, nearly a decade later, a secret brings them back together. Nine years ago Button and Winnalee began recording observations in their Book of Bright Ideas, a tome they believed would solve the mystery of how to live a mistake-free life. Now it’s 1970, a time of peace, love, war, and personal heartbreak. Button’s mother is dead and her grieving father has all but abandoned his children. Quiet, thoughtful Button has traded college for a sewing job in her mother’s bridal shop to help her Aunt Verdella raise her whirlwind six-year-old brother. In Button’s free time, she writes letters to the boy she loved from afar through high school, hoping he will come to love her as more than a friend. Then, like that magical Wisconsin summer of ’61, Button is greeted with the wild, gusty arrival of Winnalee. Now a beautiful flower child, Winnalee is everything Button is not. She’s been to Woodstock and enjoys “free love,” but their steadfast bond of friendship is tested as Button begins to notice the cracks in Winnalee’s carefree façade. And then Winnalee’s mother arrives with a surprise that Button never sees coming, and the fiery determination to put things right in both families once and for all.




The Secret Life of Sarah Hollenbeck


Book Description

Becoming a Christian is the best and worst thing that has ever happened to Sarah Hollenbeck. Best because, well, that's obvious. Worst because, up to this point, she's made her very comfortable living as a well-known, bestselling author of steamy romance novels that would leave the members of her new church blushing. Now Sarah is trying to reconcile her past with the future she's chosen. She's still under contract with her publisher and on the hook with her enormous fan base for the kind of book she's not sure she can write anymore. She's beginning to think that the church might frown on her tithing on royalties from a "scandalous" book. And the fact that she's falling in love with her pastor doesn't make things any easier. With a powerful voice, penetrating insight, and plenty of wit, Bethany Turner explodes onto the scene with a debut that isn't afraid to deal with the thorny realities of living the Christian life.




Punch Needle


Book Description

Discover a fresh take on a traditional craft in this ultimate introduction to the art of punch needling. Giving this forgotten craft a modern twist is author Arounna Khounnoraj (aka Bookhou). One of Canada's most sought after mentors and creatives, she has caused a social media storm with her beautiful images and videos featuring her modern interpretation of this craft. In Punch Needle Workshop she shows you how to create your own floral and abstract designs, teaches the basic stitches and guides you in mastering punch needling through a stylish collection of 20 homeware and accessory projects. It won't take long to ace, as this is one of the most straightforward crafts to pick up – all you need is your hands, a ball of yarn, some fabric, and a punch needle. Discover how to create stunning cushions, wall art, bags, a blanket and an impressive rug with the help of illustrated step-by-steps, pattern charts and inspirational project photography. Each piece highlights Arounna's beautiful botanical and abstract pattern work, sense of color and combination of stitches, which bring this age-old technique bang up to date. Arounna also shows you how to develop and translate your own designs into beautiful pieces to feature around your home. So once you have mastered the basics, you can begin to design your own creations... the possibilities are endless.