Happy Friday! I don't know about you, but one of the things I look forward to most about the weekends is finding a spare hour to sit down with a cup of tea and an inspiring craft book. Sometimes I like to look at an old favourite ( Denyse Schmidt Quilts is always a good one), other times I find myself in the craft section of the local bookstore. It's a good way to get ideas and to (try to) keep up with current craft trends. One trend that I've noticed is an increase in interest in craft books from Japan. There was a flap of excitement in the craft blog world when two favourites, Patchwork Style and Linen, Cotton, Wool, were released in English by Shambhala Publications back in the early spring. I bought a copy of Linen, Cotton, Wool and although I haven't made any of the projects yet, that's only because I can't decide what to make first. (If you'd like to try before you buy, head over here, where there's a selection of four patterns from the books available for download. You can also find the pattern for the cute felt slippers from Linen, Cotton, Wool on the Canadian Living website; click here.) Interested and looking for more? Find out more about Japanese crafting in general (because sewing is just the tip of the iceberg) at the Japanese Craft Journal blog. If you're looking for more books, try searching "Japanese craft book" at etsy.com, or visit a site like this or a shop like this. (If nothing else, I bet you'll get a kick out of this book of Japanese masking tapes!) There are a number of tricks and tips out there if you're making a project from a Japanese craft book (and of course, it might help if you can read Japanese!), so it's worth doing a bit of research in the craft blog world before you get out the fabric shears and start cutting. (Flex those Google muscles!) Have you ever made a project from a Japanese craft book? How did it go? Have a great weekend, and I'll see you back here on Monday.