Traditional Country Crafts: Dozens of Decorative and Practical Projects, Including Quilts, Baskets, Woodwork, Ceramics and More - Softcover

The tradition of country crafts stretches back thousands of years and has always had its roots in practical uses in the homestead. This book is a wealth of information on the handiworks that people cherish as collectibles, and can still use in everyday living. Many illustrations.

Twenty crafts and 20 artisans: Innes' latest contribution melds curiosity about celebrated practitioners as well as information about the specific craft to a bona fide how-to project for readers to explore. All of the items presented are truly professional in quality and style; it is difficult to dismiss painter Emma Whitney's feline chimney board, even though it is simply a matter of combining decoupage and basic woodworking. Every craft is introduced by both a history and a series of visuals; we learn, for instance, that Paul Revere's Massachusetts workshop sported a copper codfish weather vane on its roof. Artists represent Innes' United Kingdom as well as the U.S., and all are unusually adept at applying their talent to a second career of sorts. Proof, indeed, that crafts are "a means of escaping the fuss of life." Barbara Jacobs