Yup, that's right Feeling Stitchy readers. Apparently, we haven't given you enough stuff this month. Thanks to the good people at Hachette Books, we're giving away one free copy of Amy Sedaris' thoroughly bizarre and hilarious Simple Times: Crafts for Poor People
!Make no mistake - this isn't exactly a craft book - I mean if you're looking for instructions and patterns and anything to explain how to actually put things together, you won't find it here. But if you are looking for a thoroughly irreverent, strange book full of laugh-out-loud weirdness, this is the book for you. With headings like: How to roast hot dogs on a rake (p.228), Chorizo neck warmer (p. 262), a chapter entitled "The Joy of Poverty" and a special Crafting Under the Influence section, it's clear that this is not your average craft book. :)
Hilarious weirdness notwithstanding, this book is beautifully photographed and filled with wonderful embroidered details by artist Megan Whitmarsh. You know, I couldn't help but be inspired by this book - maybe next time it can include a few actual patterns for us crafters? That's my only suggestion. :)
So here are the rules for this giveaway:
-Only residents of the U.S. or Canada are eligible to win
-No P.O. Boxes, please.
-Winners will be subject to the one copy per household rule, so if they win the same title in two or more contests, they will receive only one copy of the title (or one set in the case of grouped giveaways) in the mail.
Edit: 1/31/11, 9 AM - Comments closed - winner announced soon!!!!
I love Amy!
ReplyDeleteI got this book for Christmas. It's hilarious!
ReplyDeleteOOOOHHH!! I would lovveee this book. Amy Sedaris is my favorite! The wiedest craft I think I've seen is embroidery with human hair. Totally bizarre.
ReplyDeleteGIVE ME THAT BOOK!
ReplyDeletecraziest craft? a knitted toilet paper cozy shaped like a giant turd.
I love feeling stitchy and I love Amy Sedaris so I had to comment. It'd be great to win the giveaway, but I also want to say a big thank you for all the inspiration you send my way.
ReplyDeletehello! hello! what an awesome giveaway, i've been scoping this book out for a little while!
ReplyDeletethe strangest craft i've ever seen was actually done by my mom. she would make porcupine quill earrings to sell at craft shows when we were beyond dirt poor. it might not have been the craft itself that was so weird, but that when anyone in my family would find a dead porcupine they would bring it to us, and pluck the quills out with my sisters and mom (i never plucked--years later i am a vegan!!)
thanks for the chance at the book!
-keni
The weirdest craft I've ever seen? That would be the tampon-scarf. Hands Down. Although...really...I bet it would keep you pretty warm...if not exactly dry...
ReplyDeleteI saw Amy Sedaris make a candle salad on TV recently, that was pretty weird!
ReplyDeleteI've been looking forward to checking out this book! Weirdest craft I've ever seen? Hmmm... That's tough. I do think used toilet paper tube crafts are a little weird.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to win this book! Weirdest craft I've seen? What about those taxidermy frogs posed in different settings that are proficient in Mexican tourist shops?
ReplyDeleteI would LOVE to win Amy Sedaris' book! I love her other one! As for weird crafts, I'm going to have to go with thos barbie's with crochet dresses that go on toilet paper. I know they no longer seem weird because you see them in lots of grandmother's houses... but it doesn't make them any less weird.
ReplyDeleteI would have to say one of the weirdest was a zipper purse - purse made out of zippers. I have seen some done tastefully - this one was not...and it was a present.
ReplyDeleteI would love to win a copy of that!
ReplyDeleteI love Amy Sedaris. Her last book for entertaining was just excellent. And her sense of humor can't be touched.
ReplyDeleteoh how i would love this book :)
ReplyDeletesarah.e.hennessey AT gmail DOT com is my email.
and the weirdest craft i've seen.... someone glued small shiny blue tiles to a black mannequin to make a mosaic pattern over its chest. REALLY weird. i think i have a pic on my blog, even, of that one.
The weirdest craft.... hummmm... I'd have to say a crocheted vibrator cozy. Certainly strange!
ReplyDeletei LOVE amy sederis and your description of her book is pretty dead on. i was going to tell you about the strangest craft *i've* ever made but it's actually too strange for print. heh. there's a dude on etsy who sells taxidermied baby goats -- i think that's pretty weird. esp that there's actually a market for them.
ReplyDeleteI've got to say that any art created using tampons totally weirds me out!
ReplyDeleteJessica D.
Oooh! I love Amy Sedaris!
ReplyDeleteThe weirdest craft/art project I have ever seen is a stuffed animal tree. It's a tree stump in my neighborhood to which a woman has stapled (yes, stapled) hundreds of stuffed animals. I thought it was really creepy at first, but then our local paper explained the story behind it (https://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/274037). Still a little weird, but more weird-kooky-fun than weird-creepy-psychotic when you know the story.
Sure who doesn't love a weird book here and there!;)
ReplyDeleteThis book looks great.
ReplyDeleteCrafts with used gum. Gross.
I love Amy Sedaris! And I'm poor and crafty! It's the perfect combo.
ReplyDeleteWeirdest craft I've ever seen was a Thanksgiving centerpiece - a turkey made out of tampons. Unused, thank goodness!
Amy is my idol! She's utterly hilarious. As far as the weirdest craft, I don't want to offend, but, cloth/handmade maxi pads. I find them utterly freaky! If you use them that's cool, but they're still weird to me :)
ReplyDeleteOh man, I love this Amy Sedaris and this book! I'm so close to buying it at work, but I'm so poor I'm trying to save money. Winning this book would mean the world to me and my pocket.
ReplyDeleteI was looking at this yesterday. Hope it's not too late!
ReplyDeleteI've never come across this book, I think the oddest craft I've seen has to be a dog sweater made of human hair and vice versa a human sweater made with dog hair :)
ReplyDeleteDryer lint sculpture is really fun, for those of you who can still afford a dryer...
ReplyDeleteoooh! this looks like so much fun!
ReplyDeleteI love Amy Sedaris! I have her first book and she is the best!!
ReplyDeleteI'd love to have this book! There's so many odd crafts out there...I'm intrigued by the crochet/knit covered rocks I see everywhere. They're so oddly beautiful but kind of make me giggle at the same time, I always think wow what an elegant pet rock!
ReplyDeleteAmy Sedaris is so hilarious. I hope hope hope to win this book! I think the weirdest craft I have ever seen might have to be this FREAKY ski mask, check it out.....
ReplyDeletehttp://www.theskichannel.com/news/skinews/20091008/Knitted-Ski-Masks-Circa-1965/3
Amy Sedaris is too funny! I love her wacky approach to life. As for the strangest craft...I'd have to go with a braided glasses strap made with dental floss. Gross!!
ReplyDeleteGimme, gimme, never gets, sooo.... PLEASE, PRETTY PLEASE, may "I" be the one? lol
ReplyDeleteThe weirdest craft I saw (but LOVED!) were silhouettes made out of old LP records. They were exquisite, who would have thought!
Ay yi yi yi yi!!! I want!!
ReplyDeletexoxo
I would love to win Amy's book, I think she is hilarious. I think the weirdest craft has to come from my grandmother who "made do" and used everything. She would cut wonder bread bags into strips and crochet rugs to put in front of the back door.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love Amy Sedaris! She is sooo funny. The only weird craft that I can think of at the moment is a quilt made out of cut up beer cans. I think someone was desparate to do some crafting there.
ReplyDeleteI've seen some pretty strange things, but I think some of the 70's crafts have got to top the strangeness list. Also hair in resin creeps me out!
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness! I saw a wall hanging made from moose poops. All sorts of sizes, shapes and colors... very strange.
ReplyDeleteI would love love love love to own that book. Amy is wonderfully hilarious!
ReplyDeleteAmy is Awesome!
ReplyDeleteCraziest Craft Seen: Barbie doll heads spun into yarn!
I love her books.
ReplyDeleteI think the weirdest craft I have ever seen is a Styrofoam egg shell lamp shade my Grandma made in the 80's. She put glitter and beads all over that thing.
I love Amy! weirdest craft: felted lifesize baby.
ReplyDeleteI would like to win this book.
ReplyDeleteThe strangest craft I have seen, was knitted organs.
Sounds like a riot!
ReplyDeleteThat looks like such a great book! My sister and I used to make weird crafts out of those dyed pistachios you get at Christmastime. We would turn the shells into little figures with googly eyes, and also glue them to our fingers for GLAMOROUS red nails!
ReplyDeleteI have no idea what the weirdest craft I've seen is, but I would love a copy of this book!
ReplyDeleteI don't know about the strangest craft, some of the other commenters take the cake there. I can't come up with anything weirder than what's already been posted. The book looks great!
ReplyDeleteI've been itching for a copy of this book! I have her first one and it's a riot (plus a lot of the recipes in it are actually fantastic - her carrot cake has become my hubby's fave!).
ReplyDeleteWeirdest craft I've ever seen? On an episode of "My Big Redneck Wedding" (don't judge me!) they made a beer can arch for the ceremony. And the bride- and groom-to-be personally emptied all the cans themselves!
Great blog!
ReplyDeleteWeirdest craft- making yarn out of pet hair. I love her!!!
ReplyDeleteGreat Blog
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen too many weird crafts but I sure do make them. My most recent odd creation was a fake human head pie complete with face imprint.
ReplyDeleteSounds super funny!
ReplyDeleteMy coffee hasn't kicked in so my brain can't seem to sort out the weirdest craft I've seen. Reading through the posts there are some pretty funny ones on here.
being from the south, I've seen tons of weird crafts. Rattle snake ashtrays, anyone?
ReplyDeleteHmm...I don't know what the weirdest craft I've ever seen is...I've seen some pretty wonky clothes though! Would love this book =D
ReplyDeleteI just read one of Amy's other books - "I Like You" and am in the middle of "Wigfield". She's a hoot. Weirdest craft - an ugly candle made up of bits of other ugly candles. Neat idea in theory, not so much in practice.
ReplyDeleteI thought a reindeer made with old wrenches was pretty awful!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the fun!!
How fun it would be to win an Amy Sedaris book! I'd have to go with the human hair embroidery for the wierdest craft ... seen it, wouldn't ever want to touch it! eww.
ReplyDeleteI would love a copy of this book!
ReplyDeleteThe weirdest craft I have ever seen are embroideries done with human hair...just seems very creepy to me!
I have been meaning to buy her first book just because I love the title! She is great! I'd love this find.
ReplyDeleteYou know, I think I need to get out more. I can't think of a single weird craft item I've seen!! Of course, I WAS raised in the Midwest. Not exactly a hotbed of creativity!
ReplyDeleteAMYYYYYY, I LOVE YOU!
ReplyDeletei need this book y'all :) :)
- nikole
This book looks amazing. an odd craft is anything having to do with one's own dead dog.
ReplyDeleteWANT!
ReplyDeleteI once saw a lamp with a doll as the base at a thrift store that was so creepy the description on the tag was simply "Halloween?"
When I went back a few days later it was gone. I assume it escaped.
Sounds like a fun book! My neighbor has been cleaning out her closets and giving me old craft magazines from the 70s and 80s. I've seen some crazy crafts in there. One that stood out to me was a woman that made miniature furniture out of strips of tin cans. Amazing, but weird!
ReplyDeleteOooh la la...love this cover and making things...I would be happy to have this book. She's lovely...with a bit of cleavage and cutting up fabric!!!
ReplyDeleteI would love a chance to win this book. Humor can be inspiring too, right?! Weirdest craft I've seen...probably the spoon rest filled with toenails.
ReplyDeleteAmy is hilarious!
ReplyDeleteThe weirdest I've ever seen is stuff knit with pet hair - like your dead pet's hair. Weird.
Oh wow. I would totally love that book. I'm a crafter, and I'm poor, and I love Amy Sedaris!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite strange craft I've seen on the internet was a chandelier made out of gummi bears. It was freaky and yet strangely luminous.
haha This book sounds amazing!
ReplyDeleteFish made out of oval bars of soap with bead-and-sequin pins holding multicolored tulle and net fins and tails. For guests to wash their hands with, if they could figure out how to without blood loss.
ReplyDeleteAmy rocks!
I would love to read this book!
ReplyDeleteWeirdest craft?.... hmmm....
strap on. crocheted!
I have been stalking this book at the library but have yet to get my hands on it. I would love to add it to my library.
ReplyDeleteThe weirdest craft I've ever seen was a crocheted turkey hat - yes, a whole turkey as a hat and you tie the legs around your chin.
I think a quilt for a car is pretty weird, but when they started wrapping trees with yarn, that was just over the top.
ReplyDeleteAmy Sedaris is hilarious. Her first book was so funny; I still want to try to throw a dinner party based off that book. Too bad I never got it back from a friend.
ReplyDeleteI think one of the strangest crafts I have ever seen was a pair of breasts crocheted especially for a dog. Why is there even a NEED for that, let alone a WANT? Poor dog!
A really interesting yet gross craft I have seen I believe on t.v., was a candle made from ear wax. Thanks for the chance to win! - Jenny
ReplyDeleteI think the weirdest thing I've seen was a stuffed animal made out of an old Totino's Pizza Rolls bag. I saw it featured on Regretsy, naturally.
ReplyDeleteI loved "I Like You" and I think I would love "Simple Times" even more!
ReplyDeleteThe strangest craft I have ever seen... it's a tie between a "willy warmer" (a knit peen shell) and a pair of katamari earmuffs that could double as a coin purse.
The weirdest craft I ever saw was the CONDOM DRESS I designed and created last year for the Nebraska Aids Project Runway Fashion Show! One thousand condoms in all kinds of colors!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.flickr.com/photos/neaidsproject/sets/72157624074222589/
My design is the color block dress with black hat!
Can't say I've seen anything like it.
Sheila
Omg I want this book! Its been on my wishlist for a while. Craziest craft? I can't say I've made any but I've seen plenty of questionables on the internet.
ReplyDeleteoh this book sounds right up my alley! thanks for the chance to win :)
ReplyDeleteone weird but awesome craft i've seen is a bacon and egg jellyfish. i kind of love it.
i also made a pretty weird one: a needlefelted giant moosehead with paper mache'd antlers.. mounted on a real taxidermy plaque! i made it for my boyfriend for christmas, it now sits above our fireplace -you can see it in my quick post here:
http://jacketsblanketsandsheets.blogspot.com/2011/01/mounted-moosehead.html
Love Amy! And I'm always amazed at the crafts on regresty!
ReplyDeletethis book is soooo me!! not only am i poor, but very irreverant!!
ReplyDeleteCraziest craft was definitely a vagina couch someone had made and was selling on Craigslist. The photo of it was her kid sitting/laying down/being birthed by the couch. Disturbing and oddly impressive. Thanks for the giveaway opp!
ReplyDeleteOoooh. Me! I love her.s
ReplyDeleteI don't know who I love more, Amy or David Sedaris, but they're both wonderful :D
ReplyDeleteI love genitalia themed crafts, knitted penises or penis cozies are great, and vagina puppets. Always weird, but hilarious nonetheless.
I would loveeee this book!! As far as weird crafts.... Once on regretsy I saw painted pigeon feet which stands out as the weirdest craft I've ever seen.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great book!
ReplyDeleteI've seen a ball gown made out of tampons, and one made of sock monkeys, but lamp bases made out of discarded casts (like when you break your leg) are possibly the worst.
ReplyDeleteWow, weirdest craft, ummm....maybe the cross-stitch Star Trek pics.
ReplyDeleteDe-lurking for a chance to win! I love Amy and her brother David is the funniest man on the planet. I think the weirdest craft I have seen is sealing wax 'art'. Or maybe 'craft caddies' made from old ivory dish soap bottles...
ReplyDeleteThe weirdest craft I have ever seen was an artist using repurposed materials to create 3d sculptures - which would normally be very cool - only she mostly made mason jars that had the heads of baby dolls somehow stuffed inside with other little things that was supposed to represent their life. Very creepy. Their eyes watched you!
ReplyDeleteI have also seen a knitted tampon amigurumi. It had a face and everything. Also super creepy!
oh, yeah, this book sounds like it is right up my alley!
ReplyDeleteI forgot about this book! If I don't win it I will just have to buy it.
ReplyDeleteWeirdest craft? I'm not sure how weird it is, but my family has been passing down a very ugly (and giant!) Christmas ornament for decades now. My great-grandmother made it years ago, which is nice and all, but it's too gaudy to actually display, so the tradition of passing it around began.
Would LOVE a copy!!!
ReplyDeleteI saw this in a book store over Christmas, and somehow managed to leave the store without it. I have wondered why ever since.
ReplyDeleteLooks like a fantastic read!
ReplyDeleteI'd love that book! Weirdest craft I've ever seen -- things made with saran wrap or duct tape. I haven't seen much, I know. LOL!
ReplyDeletefree book? why yes please! I've been spending all my money on school supplies...
ReplyDeletethe weirdest crafts I've ever seen were the multitude of vagina jewelery on regretsy
I love Amy Sedaris! I read her first book from cover to cover in a weekend - it's hysterical! And, a couple of those recipes were actually QUITE GOOD! :)
ReplyDeleteThis looks like so much fun. It's a book that I would enjoy and then I could pass on to my daughter.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your blog and this giveaway.
I keep seeing this book featured on different blogs and every time I think man, that looks like a fun book.
ReplyDeleteWeird crafts? I thought I was weird until I stumbled upon a tampon craft site. Little teeny (or super sized?) tampon dachshunds.
ReplyDeleteThank you - what a fun giveaway! All I can say is the weirdest craft I've ever seen had to do with brooms made to look like hillbilly people and they were called "Mannequinfolk."
ReplyDeleteSome of my favorite embroidery projects I've done are Strangers with Candy quotes! My all-time favorite: a frou-frou throw pillow that states "Poor southerners are hilarious." Growing up poor in Louisiana, I couldn't pass it up.
ReplyDeleteOh, and I love love love Feeling Stitchy! Tons of inspiration!
A friend of mine got this book for her birthday and it looked quite funny!
ReplyDeleteI think the weirdest crafts I've seen have involved either tampons or human hair - and lots of glue. Maybe more gross than weird I guess. There are lots of weird things on regretsy - I love that site.
fun book! i think any craft item (especially those for sale) involving plastic googly eyes is a bit weird. and yeah, a little creepy too.
ReplyDeleteI love Amy Sedaris, and her brother David is my most favorite author EVER! They are just a funny, funny family. Now, on to your request for the weirdest craft I've ever seen... that would have to be crocheted genitalia! I just can't imagine sitting down to crochet a va-jay-jay or a Mr. Wee Wee. But, they are out there! : )
ReplyDeleteThanks for the chance to win!
Weird craft? The knitted uterus pattern on Knitty.com!
ReplyDeleteOh boy - 103 comments. What are my chances? Oh well, Amy is soooo cool and I've seen this book in the shops and it is as expected very cool. Fingers crossed!
ReplyDeleteafter the day I had today I could use a few laughs! took things waaaay too seriously.
ReplyDeleteLove Any Sedaris ~ she's funny!
thanks for the chance.
I'd love to enter!! thank you!!
ReplyDeletethe weirdest craft i've seen...hmmm...i did see a hamster sleeping bag lately, but it wasn't really weird it was adorable!!
The weirdest craft i have ever seen is a hat and sweater made out of steaks.
ReplyDeleteHand painted ceramic butt plugs are the weirdest craft I've ever seen. (Thanks to Regretsy.)
ReplyDeleteThis looks like a great book! Pretty much everything i've seen on regretsy.com qualifies as being the weirdest crafts ever seen. lol.
ReplyDeletethank you for the chance!
enchantedtree(at)hotmail.com
I love her!
ReplyDeleteI think Regretsy is making it hard for me to think of a weird craft because everything is so weird. Probably the maxi pad Christmas slippers though... They should be called It's 'Always' Christmas.
Love Ms. Sedaris! Count me in!
ReplyDeleteMaybe not the weirdest craft ever, but those dolls with the crocheted skirts that are meant to cover rolls of toilet paper always creep me out.
Oo! Please enter me!
ReplyDeleteMy "weirdest crafts" have already been said - anything involving tampons, taxidermy and toilet paper rolls (empty or not). Ack!
I love Amy! I NEED that book. Her book on "entertaining" is basically my go-to party planner (come to a party at my house at your own risk).
ReplyDeleteWeirdest craft I've seen? I don't know, the internet has a lot of weird stuff. But this fingerprint made out of Cheetos sure made me pause! http://www.kevinvanaelst.com/photod.html
I <3 Amy and often read her entertaining book to friends.
ReplyDeleteAny craft made with tampons freaks me out...
awesome giveaway!
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to sink my eyes into this one!
ReplyDeleteThe dumbest craft I have seen is a "flower plaque" made of spray paitnted plastic six pack rings. Not sure what occasion warrants a plaque like that... glad I wasn't there.
I can't wait to sink my eyes into this one!
ReplyDeleteThe dumbest craft I have seen is a "flower plaque" made of spray paitnted plastic six pack rings. Not sure what occasion warrants a plaque like that... glad I wasn't there.
I love Amy Sedaris! I've been reading through a fantastic play written by her and her brother. It's about a nun who makes amazing cheeseballs. Awesome.
ReplyDeleteThe weirdest craft I've ever seen is one that I have done! I did a project for an art class in which I embroidered with human hair. Some my own and some was donated (voluntarily) from friends.
I find it funny that the third person to post mentioned that it was the weirdest she had seen as well. Trust me when I say this- Human hair = Most difficult fiber arts medium ever.
amy sedaris is a scream!
ReplyDeleteweird craft, huh? i saw a hammock made out of trash bags and "palm trees" made from garbage cans...
wonderful idea for a giveaway! craziest craft? anything involving knitting/crocheting/embroidery and the toilet. it's not supposed to look like a bunny/flower/santa... its a toilet.
ReplyDeletemianpian@live.com
Amy Sedaris is amazing! I'm sure the book is full of some of the weirdest crafts ever made, but can they top my sister's "ball of hair creature" (literally, a ball of hair pulled from her brush with googly eyes stuck to it)? We shall see...
ReplyDeleteA taxidermy squirrel-fish. Does that count as a craft?
ReplyDelete