mark making | Mr X Stitch

Beat the blues with Batsford - Five ideas for your library! Okay, so during this time of uncertainty, we may be in 'Lockdown' at home. Will we use our time wisely? Over the next while we will be posting articles on things you can do to get out of the 'oh my goodness what's happening?!' rut. For this first article, lets take a look at five lovely books, published by Batsford which we can get our eyes into...a break from the news!.... Mark Making through the Seasons by Helen Parrott No matter what is going on in the world, we can all still appreciate the seasons - come on people, it is SPRING! This book covers all the things we will notice nature wise though the year. So on your daily allowed walk, if that is something you are able to do in your area - check out what is around you! Then come back, get inside and get your craft on. We reviewed this book last month, so check out the review here. Hot Textiles by Kim Thittichai Looking for something to take your frustrations out? Why not use craft as an excuse? This book has great ideas how to use your household iron and older heat tools, for more than your everyday shirts and sheets. (If you are anything like me, the ironing got done last week with having to be at home, thus the iron is ready to be used....for something else!) This is also a book with techniques to engage those without much prior skill, all the ideas are well explained and are exciting to do...so get our your crisp packets and start melting! We reviewed this book last year, so why not read our full review here? Textile Landscape: Painting with cloth in mixed media by Cas Holmes Front Cover Textile Landscape, Cas Holmes Fancy getting your paints out, for collage materials and maybe some photos of all the places you have been and can't wait to see again? Then this is the one for you. If you have kids jumping at the bit at home, why not get them involved? Its a book perfect for stay at home days, keeping our minds active and distracted. Plus once we have tried a few of the techniques, we will feel like we really have achieved something! Textile Folk Art by Anne Kelly Are you a home bird? Love the folk style art which can be traditional as well as modern? Quirky and unusual image are pasted throughout this book. Ideal as an ideas starter for your own projects! We reviewed it last year...take a look! Contemporary Applique by Julia Triston and Rachel Lombard What is applique? Well, you will find out when you read this one. Ideal for those who are bored of traditional ways of working and want to have a bit more of an artsy look at a technique. Its not just the authors work illustrated in this one, loads of other artists are mentioned, so there will be something for us all to be inspired by! Why not read our review of this book from a little while back too? And remember, your copy is a simple click away!