Lotta Prints, I heart the Jansdotter you know.







Sew U Home Stretch, stretch sewing is something I know very little about. Read a review over at Angry Chicken for more about it.







Waiter Rant, I've been reading the Waiter Rant site forever, I'm so thrilled to see his book appear.







The Beauty Brains, another book from a site I've been a reading for a long time. I love the straight talk about products and real recommendations vs. hype.







Things I Learned About My Dad (In Therapy), put together by Dooce and including chapters by Defective Yeti and Mighty Girl? Yes, please.

I've talked about this before but it's worth mentioning again, Lauren Bacon and Emira Mears's site The Soapbox was one of the very first websites I read on a regular basis. I remember reading with keen interest that they ran their own web design firm, Raised Eyebrow Web Studios, which they started after realizing that they could be their own bosses. Lauren and Emira's book, The Boss of You, is officially out and the back of the book says something I love: "This is the business book they wish they'd had."

The book goes through all the aspects of starting a business, the things you know and the things you don't know that you don't know, working through them in a conversational tone. Each section has examples from real life experiences, either from Lauran and Emira or a bunch of people they interviewed while writing the book. Full disclosure: I was one of those people and I'm am phsyched to see my name in the back of the book.

They cover both aspects of business for those who will be making an actual thing, and those who will provide a service. They talk about what you should do when your business grows to large for you (raise your prices!). And they work you through all the processes of setting up pricing, billing, and the dreaded business plan. It's a great resource for anybody setting out to start a business, whether you plan to grow it large or keep it small. Laruen and Emira are Canadian, the resources they list include both US and Canadian sources, and I know a lot of people who will be thrilled to know this.

The Boss of You is on a blog book tour this week, and you can find all the details of what Lauren and Emira are up to on their website, which includes lots and lots of helpful business information. You can also read a sample chapter. They'll be on a book tour starting in Vancouver, uh, yesterday but they'll be here in Seattle on Saturday, May 17th at 4:30 p.m. at the Elliott Bay Book Company.

Congratulations Lauren and Emira! (And thanks for introducing me to Smoking Lily many years ago.)

This is just a quick note to let you know that the nice people at Chronicle Books have given me another copy of Apartment Therapy Presents to give away! If you'd like to enter your name to win one please leave a comment in the post from April 28th. Good luck! May the Random Number Generator chose you.

The new Apartment Therapy book is out and I'm happy to say that Chronicle Books would like to give one away to Not Martha readers. See below if you'd like to enter to receive it.

There is an upcoming event for this book at the Brooklyn Designs show, here is the information:

Potluck Picnic at Brooklyn Designs May 10, 1 p.m. - 3 p.m. with a signing immediately after in the Tobacco Warehouse, Brooklyn Designs in the Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park

Please feel free to invite friends. RSVPs to justine@apartmenttherapy.com by May 6.

Lucky New York dwellers, etc, etc...



Apartment Therapy Presents: Real Homes, Real People, Hundreds of Design Solutions is a collection of 40 fabulous apartments, many of which you might recognize from the Apartment Therapy site, information on how the owners designed and furnished the space and resources for where they found furniture and accessories.



The pictures are lovely, yes, but these are not uber-expensive spaces of perfection and as such provide a lot more inspiration for what I might be trying to do with my own home. Each profile has a survey including things like Biggest Challenge, Proudest DIY and Biggest Embarrassment that are equal parts helpful and reassuring.



Each profile also includes a floor plan and the spaces range from normal house sized to the very small 325 square feet, including AT founders Sara Kate and Maxwell's Gourmet Shoe Box at 265 square feet.



Each picture gives me a glimpse of a good idea or way of displaying something that I know I'll want to refer to as I continue to settle more deeply into my own home.



The winners have been contacted, thanks for entering! If you'd like to win the book please leave a comment with this entry before 8 a.m. PST on May 1st. On the morning of Thursday, May 1st I'll let the Random Number Generator choose the winner. I'll then contact you to get a mailing address.

update: The kind people at Chronicle Books have decided to give away TWO copies in stead of one. Everybody's chances of winning just doubled, yay!

fine print:

- You don't need to leave your real name, but do leave a valid email address. I'll be the only one who can see your email address (just don't put it in the actual comment box as well). I'll write to get a shipping address when you've won.

- If you have never left a comment here before I'll need to approve it before it publishes so don't worry if your comment doesn't show up right away. That said, you might not end up being the comment number you see so know that if you want to say "lucky number 351!" you might not be comment number 351. I don't know why it works that way, and I'm sorry, there is very little certainty left in this world and this isn't helping any.

- If I have not heard from an initial winner by May 7th I will choose another winner.

- The winner will be picked by the cold, unfeeling random number generator.

Bead Simple is out! It was written by Susan Beal, who I originally knew as Susan Stars back in (if you go by internet time) the olden days.



I was particularly excited to see this book because I know absolutely nothing about making jewelry. The book starts with the basics - types of wires, clasps, findings, beads and tools. It takes you through the techniques for securing beads, making jump rings and hooks and bead stitching.



Then it jumps right in with chapters for basic to elaborate projects for earrings, necklaces, bracelets, brooches and fun embellishments like handbag charms, card decorations, sunglass cords, a beaded belt and holiday ornaments.



The projects come from a bunch of outrageously talented crafty people like Natalie Zee Drieu of the fantastic Craftzine and Craft Magazine, Diane Gilleland who does the podcast Craftypod, Leah Kramer the creator of Craftster, Faythe Levine of Handmade Nation, Kathy Cano Murilla, whom you might know as Crafty Chica, Torie Nguyen of Totinette, Shannon Okey of Knitgrrl, and Jenny Ryan of Sew Darn Cute.



In addition to Susan Stars Ms. Beal also has the site West Coast Crafty. She co-wrote the book Super Crafty with of the PDX Super Craft group and she contributes projects and writes columns for a whole lot of magazines. You can keep up with the book events at beadsimple.com. Congratulations Susan!

What practical uses, besides roadside service, have you used your AAA membership for? at Ask Metafilter

20 Questions For Women Who Aren't Us, hee hee hee, at The Park Bench

I just had my eyebrows waxed for the first time ever last week. How long should I wait before I get them waxed again? Also, what kind of maintenance should I be doing in between? at Ask Metafilter

Favorite paper airplanes (and other flying diversions)?

Where can I take a vacation for epic stargazing? at Ask Metafilter, I have long wanted to visit a Dark Sky Preserve just to stargaze.

How I Conquered My Cystic Acne, In (Just!) 17 Painful Steps at Jezebel. Yikes, skincare.

The Slot Car Wall Sculpture by Pete Nidzgorski at Swiss Miss

I'm looking for some funny and smart fiction books, along the lines of "A Confederacy of Dunces" and "Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal." at Ask Metafilter

I'd like suggestions for interesting activies/missions that can be done in, say, less than 3 hours. I'd like to fill my time with non-boring experiences... the kinds that stories are made of. at Ask Metafilter

Grass vase at Charles & Marie

When I jog, my heart rate goes to 195 beats per minute. Is that bad? at Ask Metafilter

What is that thrift store smell? at Ask Metafilter

"Tumi Ishi" wooden blocks at Happy Mundane

English Grammar: "There is" vs. "There are". There is a banana. There are two oranges. There (is / are) a banana and an orange? at Ask Metafilter

What stock banter lines do you keep in your back pocket? at Ask Metafilter

Recommend a replacement for the Think In Ink, Inc. notebook? at Cool Tools

Michel de Broin’s Mirror Sculpture: Strange, Very Sci-Fi Chic! at Neatorama

Ryan Molenkamp’s 17 Place from The Stranger's Currenly Hanging

Myoung Ho Lee's Tree #2 at Swiss Miss

What do you look at/notice, as you wander through the world, that I probably ignore? at Ask Metafilter

Help me find a bridesmaid dress that doesn't suck! at Ask Metafilter, this is fun if you like shopping for somebody else. I have to recommend everybody to look for a dress that will cover a standard (ie comfortable and flattering) bra.

the Waiter Rant book! You can pre-order at Amazon.

the Beauty Brains book! is up for pre-order

Flexible hangers holds difficult to hang clothes at Popgadget

36 days of New York Sky at Swiss Miss

What is this cute little succulent and where can I get one? at Ask Metafilter

How much weight could a healthy adult gain in one indulgent weekend of overeating? at Ask Metafilter

I have two copies of Knitspeak to give away! I love this book, and wish I'd had it when I was learning to knit. Knitspeak gathers together all the terms and abbreviations new knitters encounter, and explains them concisely, giving illustrated instructions along the way. Best of all, they explain why some things are done, something I really appreciate.



The book is compact, and set up in dictionary format with letter tabs along the right-hand side of the pages. Illustrations are hand drawn, and very clear.



The back pages contain reference charts for anatomy of knitted items like sweaters and socks, how to read a yarn label, substituting yarn, abbreviations at a glance, yarn weights to lengths and care instructions. The back cover even includes ruler markings for inches and centimeters should you need to check gauge or quickly convert a measurement.



This book would be perfect for both new knitters who haven't yet read Elizabeth Zimmerman, and intermediate knitters who are tackling more complicated patterns but might need some quick reminders as they go along. It will help establish a clear foundation of understanding that learning off scraps of information from, say, the internet cannot quite achieve. I point at myself here -- it took me ages to put together that invisible, tubular, and grafting were all words used for the same basic technique.

Note: This is not a book for the person who wants to learn to knit, rather it's a reference for the person who is just getting started knitting and knows the basics of casting on, knitting, purling and binding off. It does explain all these things, but it does not walk you through knitting your first square.



I have two copies of the book to give away! Please leave a message in the comments for this post if you'd like to win one. update: The winners were contacted and the books have been mailed off!

Fine print:
- I'll choose the winner on Thursday night, December 20th at 8:00 p.m. PST. I'll ship the books as soon as I can, this might depend on working off-hours postal machines.
- You don't need to leave your real name, but do leave a valid email address. I'll be the only one who can see your email address (just don't put it in the actual comment box as well).
- If you have never left a comment here before I'll need to approve it before it publishes so don't worry if your comment doesn't show up right away.
- If I have not heard from an initial winner by January 3rd (I'm assuming some people will be away during the holiday break) I will choose another winner.
- Winners will be picked by a random number generator.

Chronicle Books is currently having a Friends (that's you!) and Family sale. Enter the promo code FRIENDS at checkout and get 30% off and free shipping. It's running through November 28th so you've got a week.

Here are some of the books that catch my eye, and these are just the ones in the Craft section: Softies, Amy Butler's Sew-It Kit, Amy Butler's In Stitches, Lotta Jansdotter's Simple Sewing, Sublime Stitching by Jenny Hart, and her Stitch-It Kit, Subversive Cross Stitch, Denyse Schmidt Quilts and Craft Inc.

When Shauna asked if I would be a part of the virtual tour for her book Gluen-Free Girl she gave a few ideas for framing the entry. I decided eating gluten-free for a day would be the most fun. Of course, when my chosen day arrived I was completely unprepared.

Before I start - much of the day below takes account of what I wasn't able to eat or do. This was irresponsible on my part since Shauna's book is not about what living gluten-free means one has to give up - it's about entirely, joyfully, the opposite. I recorded my day before I read the book (again, completely unprepared, irresponsible of me) and I'm sure her intention was for me to discover what I was not missing out on. I apologize to Shauna for very probably getting the point all wrong. Here is the thing though, I learned an amazing amount from cutting this one thing out of my life for 24 hours and trying to interact will all of the stuff I'm surrounded by. I wouldn't give up this learning experience.

Had I read the book before I set out on this day I would have known the answer to every question I asked during my day. While the book informs, it does it through telling her story which is moving and entertaining. Recipes are included in each chapter, recipes that I've bookmarked to make for myself. And at the end is a love story that brought tears to my eyes while I was sitting on my couch, next to Scott, who was playing Resident Evil 4. And even though I'd come across many of those stories on her site already, not even the big spiky monster could get me to look up while I was reading those pages.

My gluten-free day gave me a much richer understanding of what avoiding wheat gluten means to those with celiac, and Shauna gave me a much richer understanding of what avoiding wheat gluten doesn't have to mean.

If you don't know about it already, I insist you go visit Shauna's site, Gluten-Free Girl, her stories and recipes always bring a bit of shininess back into my day. If you have celiac and don't know already, Shauna's husband is the chef at Impromptu Bistro and he's made the restaurant gluten friendly with the option of gluten-free pasta and strictly contained areas for preparing gluten foods so you don't have to fret over any detail.

Ok, here we go. I wake up and...



8:ish a.m.
Oh god I hope there isn't gluten in my Folgers coffee. (more...)

This book made me happy in two and a half pages. No, that's not quite right, this book made everything right with the world in two and a half pages.

I was supposed to be reading this book while travelling through the sunny growing regions of Washington and Oregon last week, but I forgot to pack it. So instead I had time to contemplate just how unqualified I am when it comes to food. I grew up in a suburb with two working parents who made meals hastily at a time when low fat and low sodium meant healthy, so the food at home was not exactly inspiring. The biggest restaurant event in our town was when an exotic place called Chi-Chi's opened. I didn't eat Thai food until I was 23 years old. I have a great fear of undercooked meat. I require extreme hand holding while working from recipes. I have no point of normal to work from and I find it all very frustrating.

I was still thinking about these things when we returned home to find a dark and rainy weekend. The only food we had was frozen, but we couldn't use our oven because two weeks ago we managed to start a fire in it after a session of making too much brown sugar bacon and we need to scrub it out before it can safely be turned on again. Going to the store felt impossibly difficult. The rain continued to fall. I opened the book even though I figured it would only make me feel more pathetic with how easy everybody else seems to find this food thing.

Adam starts with talking about a few recipes gone wrong in his kitchen and on page three he writes, "This will happen to you. If you cook, I promise, this will happen. You will fail. Over and over again you will fail and then, even when you get better, you will fail some more. For those of us who come late to the kitchen, this is how we begin -- we begin as miserable failures." (more...)

I have never made a softie, but glancing through Softies, Simple Instructions for 25 Plush Pals by Therese Laskey (Softies Central) reassures me that I certainly could.



The beginning of the book goes through material (fabric, filler, embroidery floss), sewing techniques, dealing with curves, takes you through a bunch of hand stitching and talks about how to use the patterns inside. The patterns are tucked neatly into a pocket in the back of the book.



Each project is photographed well, gives a list of materials and what stitches you'll need to use and has hand drawn illustrations where they are needed as well as an artist bio. The project steps are laid out clearly and the finished size of each object is given. All of the projects are adorable and will have you longing to pull out some materials and thread. The projects are arranged from easy to difficult in the book. While many are made from that favorite material for softies, felt, there are a few which are crocheted, machine felted or needle felted, with instructions on those techinques as well. There is a list of resources in the back of the book including sources for materials and inpspiration.



The book is spiral bound so it's easy to keep open in front of you as you work (a feature I love in craft and sewing books, and Chronicle Books is really great for making books like this). It also has an elastic loop to keep the book shut, and perhaps keep your place. The tone and photos are friendly while proving clear instruction.



There are projects from names you'll likely recognize if you follow along with the softies or plush movement such as Teresa Levy of Sewing Stars, Alicia Paulson of Posie Gets Cozy, Heidi Kenney of My Paper Crane, Shawn Smith of Shawnimals, Drissy Harris of Bigger Krissy, Lizette Greco, Hillary Lang of Wee Wonderfuls, and the book has a foreward by Leah Kramer of Craftster.



And hooray!, I have three copies to give away! If you'd like one please leave a comment for this entry with your email address (which I'll be able to see even though it won't show up when published).

Small print: You have until noon on Wednesday, September 5th. I'll use the random number generator to pick three people, whom I'll contact via email. If I don't hear back from one of the winners by Wednesday, September 19th I will choose another random number.

Good luck!


update: Congratulations to the winners Lilfish and Elizabeth!

Wow, a whole lot of you put your names down to win a copy of Craft, Inc. I was stunned by the number of comments left. You all certainly impressed Chronicle Books and the author, Meg Mateo Ilasco, who was kind enough to send along three more copies of the book which she signed!



The random number generator picked six winners whom I have contacted and whose names will be added to the original post when I've heard back from a few more. (I'll give people a couple of weeks to respond just in case they are away on vacation.)

Thanks to everybody, it was really exciting to see all those names line up. Later this week I've got a few copies of a another book to give away. It's also from Chronicle Books, don't you just love them?

I've done my time with small business books. When I started thinking about opening a small business I sought out various how to publications with titles like Doing Business in California, How to Start a Crafts Business and various Nolo publications. All of these things seemed to touch on setting up a workspace and pricing for wholesale without actually giving me any clear picture of the world I needed to learn about, and most of the books were published before people were selling things on the internet so there was a whole chunk of options not covered. Craft, Inc. is the book I was looking for back then, and it's a book I'll clutch tightly as I grow and expand my business.

If you are considering starting a business Meg Mateo Ilasco works through all the the things you didn't know you needed to know about, giving you a clear picture of what you need to do. She takes plenty of time to talk about how to protect your creative property and what you need to do to become official, marketing plans, financing, all the things that can be overwhelming when jumbled in your head are covered in an organized manner and with a clear voice that makes everything seem so much less terrifying. She addresses businesses that are a single person working in a spare room, through hiring publicists and outsourcing production. How to set prices, how to sell wholesale, when to attend trade shows, and when to show at them, what the heck Net 30 Terms are, and how to sell online. There is lots of talk about websites, online communities, how a blog might help your businesses with tips from Grace of Design*Sponge.

Throughout the book there are interviews with business owners that I was eager to read - Jill Bliss, Rena Tom, Lotta Jansdotter, Jonathan Adler and Denyse Schmidt are just some of the names. It's fascinating, and quite soothing, to hear about how they got started and grew their businesses.

Meg Mateo Ilasco certainly has the experience - her custom wedding invitation business grew out of side works he was doing while in grad school and she now has a shop full of amazing stationary, books and textiles. She has a blog called Designer's Library and has written two previous books, The Space Planner: A Home Decorating Design Workbook and You Can Wear It Again: A Celebration of Bridesmaids' Dresses. She's also the person behind the Mod Economy sales that occasionally make me wish I'd stayed in San Francisco.

The book is designed well, with the transitions into interview sections or lists clearly defined. The pages are laid out cleanly and reflect the friendly but informed tone of the book. The list of resources at the back is full of sites I know about (craft fairs, crafting communities) and sites I need to know more about (societies, trade shows, outsourcing).

You can read more reviews of the book: by Ahn-Minh, Home by Sunset, Oh Joy! and a very thorough review at Venus.

You can buy the book on the Chronicle Books website, and also at Amazon.



Lucky you, I have books to give away! The excellent people at Chronicle Books gave me three shiny new copies to give out. If you'd like one please leave a comment with your email address below.

I'll use the truly random number generator to pick three people. The cut off date will be this Friday, August 24th, at noon Pacific time so, 3 p.m. on the East coast, and I'll announce the winners on Monday, August 27th. (Small print: I reserve the right to move the entry cut off date earlier if I get a whole lot of entries or if anything gets strange. But I don't expect it to. Scott will act as a completely biased but uninterested third party to keep me honest. If you have not commented on this site before I'll need to approve your comment, so please don't fret if it doesn't show up right away. Check back at the end of the day and it'll most likely be there.)

Good luck!



update: The winners have been chosen by the random number generator. Congratulations to Letty, Shannon, Carrie, Kim, Leanne and Sarah!

Amy Karol's book Bend-The-Rules Sewing comes out today, congratulations Amy! I was lucky enough to get a copy a little early, and I'm very glad I did. This book is for those who are completely new to sewing as well as those who know how to sew but could do with being a little bit more relaxed about it all. Amy really wants you to love sewing, and to come to have a fun and relaxed time sewing.

The first chapters start with the basics and tell you all about what you can expect and what supplies you might need (and what they are for) in a friendly and chatty tone, it's really like a friend is telling you how it's done. I appreciate all the care given to explaining things in a way that gives you the norm - what size sewing machine needle to use if you have no idea what you might need, how to find and understand the markings on the end of a bolt of fabric, what kind of thread to choose, what fabric widths are normal, what exactly "right sides together" means, how to sew a seam.



She takes time to talk about sewing machines, what you want to look for, where to buy them. (You can read about what machines she uses in the FAQ on her site.) She covers some things that made me cheer - why she doesn't like interfacing and what to use instead, very detailed instructions on inserting a zipper, making your own bias tape (which will look way better than what you can buy in an average fabric store) and that it's ok to stitch two things together without pinning them first. Amy covers everything else you might need as well, hand stitching including closures and tidy decorative stitches. She also talks about fabric paints and creating patterns using freezer paper. Instructions are accompanied by clear hand drawn illustrations.





The projects are are small and charming, all things you want for yourself and would make fantastic gifts. There are a bunch of bags - a zip pouch, basic tote (with interior pocket), wallet and three handbags. Dog collars and a kitty bed for the pets. Projects for the home include coasters, napkins, placemats, a tea cozy, table runner and two kinds of curtains. There is a lap quilt that looks like a lot more work than it is, and a pillow three ways. Amy is big on aprons, and appropriately there is a section on aprons including basic (from a tea towel), vintage and a section on making apron pockets.



The book includes a bunch of adorable things to make for children, my favorite being a puppet theater with a matching case. A smock, bib, woodland elf hat, simple jacket and soft turtle are all cute but not cutesy. All the patterns have hand illustrated instructions and include color photography of finished products. Those projects that need a pattern have easy to photocopy pages in the back with increase percentages included.



As someone who has studied sewing I love the relaxed nature of the projects. And I have to say, I'd give this book to someone new to sewing well before I'd give them a sewing reference book.

Wow Dishwasher Pete has a book, titled neatly enough, Dishwasher: One Man's Quest to Wash Dishes in All Fifty States. I think I have a few issues of his Dishwasher zine around here somewhere. If you don't know who Dishwasher Pete is you can read about him in this Wikipedia entry: Dishwasher Pete. I'm most familiar with the stories he has done on This American Life, my favorite is about his (non) appearance on David Letterman.