Faithful readers already know that I went pretty nutty when the English versions of the Aranzi Aronzo books started coming out. I've long been a fan of Japanese cartoon characters (starting with Little Twin Stars when I was wee) and I think the Aronzo characters are pretty cute. So, I liked The Cute Book and The Bad Book (which feature little keychain size crafts) and loved the Cute Dolls and Fun Dolls books even more (full sized softies). Now they've come out with another, Aranzi Cute Stuff which features more useful items like bags, book covers and just about anything else you can embroider Aranzi characters on.
The book follows the same kind of format as the others, with wacky Japanese instructions and cute little captions. Again, the patterns are better as idea generators than proper sewing instructions -- you've got to kind of know what you're doing. Though, hardcore sewers probably won't need this book at all -- the projects (drawstring bags, simple totes, pouches, etc) are pretty simple and it doesn't take a genius to think of adding the Aranzi characters to them yourself.
If you already have the templates for them, of course. Anyone who is attracted to these little guys, but doesn't have the previous books will probably find the stuff book pretty useful. There's templates for the bunnies, kitties, bears, and of course, the Bad Guy and The Liar. So, this is ideal for anyone who likes the Aranzi style but wants to make something a little more practical than a doll. I'll probably crank out a couple bags for Ruby to cart her stuff around in before too long. Stay tuned.
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And, in other news, Happy (belated) Canada Day; Happy (belated) Birthday to Quebec City; and Happy Fourth Of July. We had a great long weekend here, though I've been suffering from laryngitis and haven't been able to talk all week. But, I'm on the mend and will have some crafty stuff to share next week.
2 comments:
Regarding 'cute stuff' and you writing it seems to be geared toward people who already know what the yare doing..... Is the book primarily for hand sewers as I have no sewing machine. I saw 'cute stuff' at the bookstore and at a quick glance and it seemed beginnerish. I am quite good at embroidery and wondered if that would help me out with the 'cute stuff' book. How do you feel about the 'bending the rules sewing' book? Is that more appropriate for a beginner hand sewer?
I just got the book yesterday I must say some of the projects are slightly dumb but the appliques are amazing. The projects in the book are small enough where you don't need a machine and is very beginner friendly
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