Indygo Junction's Needle Felting: 22 Stylish Projects for Home & Fashion [Paperback]

Amy Barickman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 2006

Learn needle felting with 22 fun, vintage-cool projects.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Indygo Junction was founded in 1990, and has since become a world leader in the crafts and quilt industry. Their team of talented designers paves the way in using innovative techniques and materials. Amy Barickman is founder of Indygo Junction and is regarded as an expert in many crafting areas.

Product Details

• Paperback: 80 pages
• Publisher: C&T Publishing; 1st edition (September 15, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1571203796
• ISBN-13: 978-1571203793
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 7.5 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #421,259 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Amy Barickman (www.amybarickman.com), founder and owner of Indygo Junction (www.indygojunctioninc.com) and The Vintage Workshop (www.thevintageworkshop.com) is a leader in the sewing, needle arts and retail crafting industry. Her recent endeavors include authoring Hankie Style (published in 2009), as well as Amy Barickman's Vintage Notions: An Inspirational Guide to Needlework, Cooking, Sewing, Fashion and Fun, to be published in September 2010.

Amy grew up immersed in the sewing and crafting business, spending hours at her mother's creative arts retail store working and watching the business evolve along with the trends. What started as a sewing store ultimately grew into a multi-faceted business that included women's fashion, needlework, fabric, knitting and quilting, gifts and classes. The seeds of entrepreneurism took root in Amy, and she started her own business designing and marketing collectible teddy bears while still in high school.

After graduating from the University of Kansas with a degree in art and design, Amy founded Indygo Junction in 1990 to publish and market sewing books and patterns in the fabric arts, and also to showcase the talent of leading sewing and craft designers. Amy's knack for anticipating popular trends has led her to discover more than 35 innovative artists and designers and, over the years, publish 800 sewing pattern titles, selling nearly two million.

In addition, she has licensed her craft kits and fabric lines with some of the top fabric and fashion and novelty craft supplies in the nation and has published 80 books that have sold at stores throughout the U.S. and internationally. Through her published works and business websites and e-newsletters, Amy inspires countless crafters to explore their own creative spirit and experiment with the newest sewing, fabric and crafting techniques.

With her keen eye for design and new market opportunities, Amy spotted the emerging vintage art movement and collected an impressive archive of vintage ephemera. As technology improved, she envisioned what crafters could do with their home computer and printer. So, on the heels of Indygo Junction's success, Amy founded The Vintage Workshop in 2002 to create products that allow crafters online access to timeless vintage artwork, which may be printed on fabrics. Her digitized vintage designs are available to download from her website at
www.thevintageworkshop.com and on CD.

Amy's book, Amy Barickman's Vintage Notions: An Inspirational Guide to Needlework, Cooking, Sewing, Fashion and Fun, was the logical next step for her, as she continues her quest to provide women with imaginative and inventive ideas that show them how to use their talents and skills in the best way possible. Yesterday's inspiration becomes today's innovation Amy's book is the culmination of a personal journey that started 20 years ago when she began collecting rare sewing and needle arts books, vintage home arts magazines and cookbooks, as well as sewing, textiles and handiwork projects she found at antique stores and flea markets. In fact, Amy's collection is amongst the largest of its kind. It is a hobby that has always fit naturally into her business, providing both ideas and inspiration in the world of crafts and the home/domestic arts. She reached a pivotal point in her collecting when she stumbled upon the work of Mary Brooks Picken. Picken founded the Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts & Sciences in 1916, the largest school in history devoted solely to teaching women how to combine the domestic arts with entrepreneurism. Ultimately appointed as the first woman trustee of the Fashion Institute of Technology, Picken wrote numerous beautifully illustrated newsletters that provided what Amy recognized as a "blueprint for living a simple, fulfilling life." She knew she wanted to share this inspiring historical information with the modern generation of women. As she explains it, there is value in "looking back to look forward." It's about taking important lessons from the past and using them to reinvent the home arts as a creative outlet in today's technology-driven world. Amy realized she needed to write a book.

Amy Barickman's Vintage Notions: An Inspirational Guide to Needlework, Cooking, Sewing, Fashion and Fun is filled with creative ideas, practical advice, vintage fabrics and samples of authentic handiwork, sewing patterns and illustrations of fashion and dress that celebrate the rich heritage of women who create. And while Amy's book nourishes the creative spirit, it also brings to life many inspiring stories from the past. She hopes that those stories will "spark conversation and encourage creative pursuits, uniting generations through the common thread of sewing and the creative arts."

Amy and her work have received much acclaim in the news media, including on home and fashion shows and in magazines and industry periodicals. In addition, Amy had the recent honor of being named one of Country Living magazine's prestigious Creative Women Entrepreneurs. She has made television appearances on HGTV's "The Carol Duvall Show," AOL Television's "America Quilts," and Public Television's "Sewing with Nancy." Amy Barickman's Vintage Notion's, is the most recent addition to Amy's best-selling book titles, which include The Vintage Workshop's Art-to-Wear, and Indygo Junction's Button Ware, Denim Redesign, Bag Boutique, Indygo Junction's Needle Felting, and most recently, Hankie Style.

Amy travels from coast to coast to share her ideas, showcase the work of talented designers and spread inspiration among those who share her passion for the creative arts.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

84 of 90 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Pretty Pictures, but not what I expected..., October 26, 2006

By 

E. Miller - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Indygo Junction's Needle Felting: 22 Stylish Projects for Home & Fashion (Paperback)

I waited months for this book...should have just looked at it at Borders and walked. The pictures are nice, ideas are somewhat "crafty" creative, but it totally lacked the true art of needle felting in my opinion. She used purchase felt in alot of the applications. She has a gallery of nice pics in the back of the book, but I was not inspired. Most of the technique info she used in the book is available on the internet. The author was lucky to have a few contributing artist help her with this book, because her projects were basically elementary. Maybe my expectations were high, but just look at the cover, and it does tell you where this is going. (Live and learn) More yarn and purchased wool felt than start from scratch roving techniques, but someone else might be into that. If you looking for a good needlefelting book using roving and being creative from scratch, look elsewhere.

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Love this book!, November 12, 2006

By 

D. Stanley - See all my reviews

This review is from: Indygo Junction's Needle Felting: 22 Stylish Projects for Home & Fashion (Paperback)

I really enjoyed this book. It was well illustrated with color photos and the instructions were very clear. As a novice to this technique it has helped me get started and I will refer back to this book often as I explore this medium. There are lots of really creative and fun ideas that can be adapted to any number of projects. The button project is such fun and will make a wonderful addition to any ready to wear or handmade garment. Needlefelting was the "hot" thing at the Houston Quilt Festival this year and I am glad that I have a head start on learning this fun technique.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great tutorial, June 26, 2007

By 

Marilyn J. Rock - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Indygo Junction's Needle Felting: 22 Stylish Projects for Home & Fashion (Paperback)

I really enjoyed this book and I still refer to it to help me with my needle felting projects. The pictures are wonderful and very easy to follow; clear and precise instructions. I highly recommend.