There are crafts for all tastes at Wellington City Libraries this month. Our selection includes books about using clay to model figures and produce ceramics. Also, we have material about beading and wire jewelry with projects from contemporary artists. And there is an extensive range of items about crochet, quilts and knits for the whole family. For instance, check out Sexy little knits : chic design to knit and crochet which is far from your average knitting book! You can find out more about our selection in this month’s Craft Recent Picks.

Short of ideas this month? Look no further than this month’s Design Recent Picks!

HKDA awards 07. Vol.2! Design, no junk food, wrap up your fresh stuff now showcases the winners of the 21st HKDA Awards - chosen out of 2,700 entries from all across Asia. If you’re needing inspiration this should be your first stop! Also this month… Design and the elastic mind presents the latest show at the Museum of Modern Art and asks whether the scientific advances of the last decade have opened the way to more innovative visual delights? Read and let us know what you think. The one show interactive. Volume 10. Advertising’s best interactive and new media celebrates the qualities that go into engineering a successful ad campaign or design. Piecebook : the secret drawings of graffiti writers features bold and beautiful works from graffiti history’s most important sources or seeds and presents a dizzying array of techniques. The big book of illustration & ideas 2 presents the best illustrators from all over the world, found together in one place along with all their contact information. And finally, When space meets art / when art meets space focuses on space design - essential to the overall experience of an event or exhibition. Read more about in this month’s Design Recent Picks and discover other design books new to the library!

(Book descriptions from Amazon)

In this month’s Crafts Recent Picks, you can learn all manner of crafts, from popular prints to beautiful beads and buttons. Lotta prints : how to print with anything, from potatoes to linoleum shows how easy it is to print patterns on all sorts of surfaces, and Beads & buttons : 25 simple jewellery projects to instruct and inspire presents a collection of must-have jewellery projects. Plus, cross-stitching is re-invented in Stitch graffiti : unexpected cross-stitch with projects like a cross-stitched fly swatter, and Textile surface decoration : silk and velvet introduces the reader to techniques used to decorate silk and velvet. There’s even something for the mischievous with AntiCraft : knitting, beading, and stitching for the slightly sinister in which you’ll find craft ideas never seen before such as the “Curse Your Boyfriend” sweater, and the “Snowballs Chance in Hell” arm warmers.

It’s almost all about jewellery in this month’s Craft Recent Picks. Whether it’s creating your own beads using metalwork techniques - or making jewellery using crystals, pearls or other treasures - there are plenty of projects to keep you busy these cold autumn days.
If jewellery’s not your thing - we have new knitting, crochet and quilting books to round out the selection.