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Giveaway: DIY Holiday Magazine

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Win a copy of DIY Holiday magazine from Interweave/F+W.

Congratulations to Deanna, Maureen and Mary.

If you’re a multi-crafter who likes to give handmade and/or decorate your home with handmade things, you need to check out DIY Holiday 2014: The Crafting Life, a new crafty magazine from Interweave/F+W.

The magazine is 100 pages long and is chock-full of patterns and inspiration that you can quilt, sew, bead, knit, crochet and weave, as well as mixed media projects.

In the knitting realm you’ll find a cool woven heart ornament by Ann McDonald Kelly, Cathy Carron’s garter stitch mug cozies, a two-color snowflake cowl by Celeste Young and Andrea Babb’s unisex Walker Scarf, which features twisted rib and little trails of cables at the ends.

Other projects I like include a biased granny square crocheted pillow by Vickie Howell, the lovely, easy and ever-so useful quilted trivets by Debbie Bento and Susan Haynes Opdhal’s lovely embroidered Shisha Ornaments. The resin bangles by Heidi Boyd, which allow you to show off a little of your passion on your wrist, are simply amazing, too.

The magazine retails for $9.99 and is available online at the above link (paper or digital), but I’m giving you a chance to win one of three copies this week.

If you’d like one, leave a comment on this post before the end of the day Sunday, November 23. I’d love to hear what kind of crafts you’re working on for the holidays, whether for yourself, your home or to give as a gift. I have three of the six cowls I need to make done, and I’m taking a break from them with some super simple all stockinette arm warmers that are just for me.

Thanks for visiting, commenting, and sharing, and good luck!

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Comments

  1. Working on infinity scarfs, both sewing & crocheting! Making purses and quilting several pieces! I enjoy many different crafts!

  4. Right now I’m setting up my “new” craft room so that I can delve into projects I’ve been saving up to do in my new space!

  5. I am making lots and lots of Christmas gifts! Just finished placemats, working on mug rugs, a baby blanket, pot holders, doll clothes and a soft game board. Oh, and Christmas stockings!

  9. I love to knit and crochet and am gearing up for the frenzy of pre-holiday gift making. Thanks for the chance!

  11. i started a knitting group last month and everyone is working hard making gifts for the holiday.

  13. Completinga few more fabric scissors sheaths
    And finish the baby blanket this weekend. Then on to the baby dolls!

  14. I am currently working on a Christmas tree skirt for my son. It’s his second one since his ex-girlfriend walked off with the first one. I guess she liked it too!

  18. Hi! I make all my greeting cards, which keeps me busy. As well, this year, I am trying my hand at making penny rugs.

  21. I am trying to knit my husband a sweater for Christmas. This mag looks fabulous! Keeping my fingers crossed that I win a copy.

Have you read?

What’s Next for Joann?

Now that all the Joann stores have closed, a mysterious message has appeared on the company’s website:

For generations, Joann has been honored to be part of your creativity: your quilts, costumes, school projects, and handmade moments of love. It has been our joy to serve markers and dreamers across the country.

We’re stitching up something new behind the scenes and we can’t wait to share what’s next.

Stay tuned for exciting news about the future of Joann.

To quickly recap, Joann filed for bankruptcy in January for the second time in less than a year. In February, in the hope of making the company more attractive to potential buyers, it petitioned the court for permission to close about 500 of its 800 stores. The company was put up for auction, with Gordon Brothers set to buy the company, sell its assets and close all the stores if no other buyer materialized.

In the end the winning bidder was GA Group, but the result was the same: all stores were to be closed by the end of May if not sooner.

Once store closure sales started the company quickly stopped selling on its website, and now all that remains is this jpeg image hinting at new ventures.

I’m sure there will be a tone of speculation in the coming days and weeks (or as long as it takes for them to announce the meaning of the message) as to what sorts of plans Joann could be cooking up.

My theory based on nothing but my gut is that they will transition to an online only storefront, probably with much reduced inventory, sort of like Herrschners (which had previously announced that it will be carrying Big Twist yarn, the beloved private label yarn brand sold at Joann). I also think they will use whatever retail sales they do to support CreativeBug, the digital learning platform that Joann purchased in 2017. That could mean producing kits for projects that already have classes, or developing classes based on products they want to sell, or both.

As of this writing the CreativeBug website seems to still be functional and there’s a full slate of new classes planned for June. I’ve got my eye on both the Joann website and the Joann restructuring website and will let you know as soon as I see changes.

In the meantime, I’d love to hear your speculation as to what the next chapter might be for Joann.