building up my library

i'm building up my library of design, craft and inspiration books. whatever i may pass it off as, my Sydney holiday bags came home a tad bit heavier!
oh - we visited the most intoxicating bookshop, Kinokuniya. Sylve + i could have spent all day in there. i think we showed quite a good bit of restraint in our purchases. also, their prices seemed actually cheaper than i had anticipated.

i'm going to try and review them for you over the coming weeks, as i know i really enjoy having little insights into books from other artists and crafters. oftentimes seeing the cover (on Amazon, etc) isn't enough to let me know if a book will be as beautiful as i imagine. if there's one in particular that you are interested in hearing more about - do let me know and i'll write about it first.
if you happen to visit Sydney anytime soon, do visit Kinokuniya; but make sure you plan a few spare hours for the pleasure. and have lunch at the little cafe right at the exit; we had a delicious homemade soup with cheese and apple (very Japanese, serving us some apple pieces - a lovely and thoughtful end to a simple meal).

The Garden at Eichstatt (though mine is a different cover) - beautiful botanical prints.
corsage for weekday ... accessory for everyday - sweet little flowers and corsages broken into 'weekday', 'corsage for sweet lovers - date', 'sometime get dressed - party', 'saturday and sunday with sunshine - weekend'. The styling is just lovely. And the patterns at the back, while written in Japanese, are very easy to understand with well illustrated instructions.
Felt Work Fun - felt things - bags, necklaces, accessories, seat bags, carpet and other little trims and details. Has templates to photocopy or trace, and fairly easy to understand instructions (written in Japanese).
Happy Homemade vol 2 - clothing for children age 5 and up. i'll let you know how easy the patterns are to use, when i get started on them. Suitable for girls and boys
Start Walking - for boy and girl - clothing patterns for younger children up to about age 5. The instructions look very easy to understand, excellent illustrations.
Textile Designers at the Cutting Edge - this will be one that i use and love for the rest of my life (i'm assuming). A pretty pink ribbon ties the pages together. Many many hours of inspiration in this, i can tell.
Juxtopoz Tattoo (for Sam) - this looks like a very intricate and amazing display of some fantastic artworks - bodyworks. it's organised by each artist, which is a really good way to find a style or artist you particularly like, and follow their work. check out this link to see some of the images - it is very very mind blowing that people can draw/ink like this, and that people can withstand that pain.also in the pic is the newest MixtapeZine, issue 10, which was waiting for me when i got home. a bowl of random sewing things - pins, scissors, and assorted clutter. and my new toy - it's all mine and i don't have to share it with anyway. sweet little thing it is. and did you know that Mac has the greenest 'puty you can buy (or so their marketing literature says).