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Get Digital Downloads of Craft Magazines

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craft magazinesSometimes I can really see the appeal of digital magazines. I have let a lot of my subscriptions lapse because I don’t have time for all the magazines I used to get, but I need to get knitting magazines (hello, business expense!) and I enjoy looking at magazines in other crafty disciplines, too.

But then I end up with the mess that is my office, with stacks of unread magazines all over the place. I’ve been cleaning out lately and there’s a giant plastic tub in my closet full of nothing but magazines that need to go to the recycling center.

How much easier it would be if those issues just took up residence on my computer’s hard drive or on my iPad instead?

Well now I (and you) have an easier way to find out if we’d like this approach. Craft Magazines allows crafters to download digital issues of single copies of some of your favorite crafty periodicals and digitally subscribe to others.

Many of the magazines available are the Interweave publications, and they’re currently on sale: $5 off any special issue valued at $10 or more. Get the new knit.wear (which I just bought a paper copy of yesterday) for $9.99 instead of $14.99, or the new Fall Knitscene (which came out yesterday) for $2.99.

In addition to the Interweave publications, you’ll find Knitter’s for $5.99 an issue or $20 for a year (four issues) and the British knitting magazines The Knitter and Simply Knitting cna be had for $6.99 an issue or $64.99 for 13 issues. You’ll also find pubs like Mollie Makes, Do it Yourself, Australian Homespun and many more. It’s not an exhaustive list of crafty pubs, but if you’re a fan of digital delivery this is a good place to start.

Downloads will work on your PC or Mac, on the iPad (but not yet the iPhone), in the cloud and on Android devices. Downloads are immediate and most can be read immediately (I picked one, Mollie Makes, that says it requires an updated reader, so I’ll have to look at that one later). The site is part of Zinio, so if your’e at all familiar with that platform you’ll be ready for crafty inspiration in no time.

So, I downloaded a couple of things and will have updates once I’ve perused them. My worry with digital magazines is that I’ll never get back to them because there’s nothing physical to remind me of their existence. That’s why I only bought single copies instead of subscribing to anything. But it could be a good way to try some new magazines out or get special issues you might not be able to buy off the rack where you live.

Do you get digital downloads of any crafty magazines or books? What do you think of them? Spill it!

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Comments

  1. About that tub of magazines… I take mine to my local library and donate them. I get a tiny tax write off, and they sell them to raise money for more books or other library necessities!
    Oh, and I don’t like digital craft magazines as much as the paper ones, but they sure save a lot of space (and trees!)

Have you read?

Knit a Glasses Holder for Your Bedside Table

knit glasses holder

Not too long ago I was seeing a crochet pattern for a glasses holder shaped like a bear all over the Internet. It was super cute, and also useful as a place to put your glasses on your bedside table instead of just throwing them somewhere random.

This project stewed in my brain for a little while and I decided I needed to make a knit version, but I didn’t want to make a bear. If you know anything about me you might know that I’m a cat person, so of course my version had to be a cat.

The base is just a basic little basic worked from the center out to the desired size, then up the sides as long as you want them. Knit some ears and add embellishments to make it whatever kind of animal you want.

The way I figured out to work the base from the center out was to use a crochet cast on, which gives you an easier way to pick up stitches from the back of the cast on than if you worked a more traditional cast on for a knitting project. It’s kind of fun to do things in a different way from time to time.

This little project is adorable if I do say so myself, and even as a plain little basket not made into an animal it’s a cute way to keep your glasses or other little things in one place. I’m tempted to make one for my desk to hold pens or even little little scissors and sewing needles that are always on my desk but somehow always seem to get lost on my desk.

If you need a little holder for your glasses on your table, check out the pattern at Our Daily Craft.

[Photo: Our Daily Craft]