With expert instruction in the use of hand-dyed yarn, this pattern book gives knitters and crocheters the edge they need to stitch with confidence. Working with artisan hand-dyed yarn opens a world of possibility for a crafter, but problems can arise if the patterning is accidental, inconsistent, or unattractive. The author shows how to analyze the dye skein and reveal its color repeat, allowing the crafter to employ stitch gauge and stitch count to intentionally pattern the finished work. As a contrast, further strategies and stitch choices are shown that blend the colors to overcome unwanted pooling and create more gentle gradients. With 40 patterns for a wide variety of projects, this manual will have crafters constructing vibrant scarves, shawls, kimonos, and more.

Instructs knitters of all experience levels on simple solutions to common problems associated with variegated yarns, explaining how to make the most of garments that may be affected by unexpected pattern results. Original.

Our Maker Life—the beloved knit and crochet collective that has become an engaged movement—presents a much-anticipated volume of patterns and stories to tempt their thousands of followers and makers everywhere The Our Maker Life (OML) community consists of knitters, crocheters, yarn dyers, makers, business owners, pattern designers, bloggers, and social media influencers who are dedicated to creating handmade items. What began as an idea to hop offline and meet up in person has grown into an international community of makers passionate about the fiber arts. Their mission? Join together to network, connect, inspire, and make. There’s a growing desire for more content from the Our Maker Life community, and the group has become a household name in just four years. After self-publishing two story and pattern collections, OML is building on their success and speaking to a wider audience with this first book—drawing attention to the potential that exists among the makers of the world. OML has big ambitions and it’s their motivation that makes them such an exciting and aspirational group. Their book offers, firsthand, the joy and fun of creating work by hand, and it will inspire readers with its empowering message of embracing creativity for a better everyday life—and a better world.

The central pieces in this collection show what makes Jane Slicer-Smith designs different, with a masterful use of colours, fabrics that move and shapes that flatter. With clear instructions that highlight options in design, construction and colour this title empowers knitters.

Resurrecting the art of applique--a technique in which pieces of fabric are sewn onto clothing, bags, quilts, and other creations--this enlightening resource provides today's generation of "sewists" with a technique that can be combined with embroidery, beadwork, buttons, ribbons, and more to imbue works with a creative and personal style. Ideal for those with some sewing experience looking to break away from the restrictions of traditional patterns, this guide offers the details for both hand and machine applique techniques, as well as a history of applique and how it was rediscovered in the fiber arts. Featured are 20 modern, stylish sewing projects ranging from aprons, skirts, pillows, and totes to a duvet cover, wall clock, blouse, baby quilt, and scarf. With step-by-step instructions, color photographs, and comprehensive how-to embroidery instructions, this is an all-in-one resource and guide.

Cultivating the Empty Field is a modern translation of the core of Chinese Ch'an master Hongzhi's Extensive Record. First to articulate the meditation method known to contemporary Zen practitioners as shikantaza ("just sitting") Chinese Zen master Hongzhi is one of the most influential poets in all of Zen literature. This translation of Hongzhi's poetry, the only such volume available in English, treats readers to his profound wisdom and beautiful literary gift. In addition to dozens of Hongshi's religious poems, translator Daniel Leighton offers an extended introduction, placing the master's work in its historical context , as well as lineage charts and other information about the Chinese influence on Japanese Soto Zen. Both spiritual literature and meditation instruction, Cultivating the Empty Field is sure to inspire and delight.

With Yarn Pooling Made Easy from Leisure Arts, anyon can join the fun of using variegated yarns to crochet awesome planned color pooling patterns. A pioneer in discovering the secrets of this popular crocheting technique, Marly Bird shares her simple instructions and a variety of crochet projects with eye-catchingarglyle patterns. Designs include full scarf; cowl, wristers, and hat set; zig-zag scarf; car seat cover; baby cocoon; hooded scarf; children sweater; and poncho with raglan yoke. All are for easy skill level using medium weight yarn. --Amazon.

How to design a world in which we rely less on stuff, and more on people. We're filling up the world with technology and devices, but we've lost sight of an important question: What is this stuff for? What value does it add to our lives? So asks author John Thackara in his new book, In the Bubble: Designing for a Complex World. These are tough questions for the pushers of technology to answer. Our economic system is centered on technology, so it would be no small matter if "tech" ceased to be an end-in-itself in our daily lives. Technology is not going to go away, but the time to discuss the end it will serve is before we deploy it, not after. We need to ask what purpose will be served by the broadband communications, smart materials, wearable computing, and connected appliances that we're unleashing upon the world. We need to ask what impact all this stuff will have on our daily lives. Who will look after it, and how? In the Bubble is about a world based less on stuff and more on people. Thackara describes a transformation that is taking place now—not in a remote science fiction future; it's not about, as he puts it, "the schlock of the new" but about radical innovation already emerging in daily life. We are regaining respect for what people can do that technology can't. In the Bubble describes services designed to help people carry out daily activities in new ways. Many of these services involve technology—ranging from body implants to wide-bodied jets. But objects and systems play a supporting role in a people-centered world. The design focus is on services, not things. And new principles—above all, lightness—inform the way these services are designed and used. At the heart of In the Bubble is a belief, informed by a wealth of real-world examples, that ethics and responsibility can inform design decisions without impeding social and technical innovation.

Become a fabulous quilt artist - the fun, easy way! Popular quilting expert Ricky Tims presents an imaginative, new piecing technique that quilters will adore! Convergence quilts feature two or more fabrics cut into strips, sewn together, then cut and pieced again. Nothing could be simpler - or more magical! Ricky offers lots of creative guidelines but no hard-and-fast rules, so every Convergence quilt is a unique work of art. • 4 projects walk you through the steps of making Convergence quilts • Quilts look complex but are fun, easy, and, best of all, creative to make • Use any fabric from commercial prints to hand-dyed • Add decorative touches such as appliqué to dress up your projects • An infinite number of looks from one ingenious technique

"Chess gets a hold of some people, like a virus or a drug," writes Robert Desjarlais in this absorbing book. Drawing on his lifelong fascination with the game, Desjarlais guides readers into the world of twenty-first-century chess to help us understand its unique pleasures and challenges, and to advance a new "anthropology of passion." Immersing us directly in chess’s intricate culture, he interweaves small dramas, closely observed details, illuminating insights, colorful anecdotes, and unforgettable biographical sketches to elucidate the game and to reveal what goes on in the minds of experienced players when they face off over the board. Counterplay offers a compelling take on the intrigues of chess and shows how themes of play, beauty, competition, addiction, fanciful cognition, and intersubjective engagement shape the lives of those who take up this most captivating of games.