Finished and revised blackwork map

Remember the Upper Valley in blackwork pattern from the end of May? I finally finished my stitching of it! With that experience, I revised the pattern - error fixes, tweaking the town boundaries so they don't require long long stitches, and making how the fillings meet the outlines more consistent (with the goal of avoiding stitches that are so close together they blend into one).

Here's the pattern in Google Drive: Upper Valley Blackwork Map, revised.

I've posted progress pictures on my personal craft blog, which you can find under the tag "blackwork map."

What do you get for the crafter who has everything?

So you have a crafter on your giving list whose craft space is filled to bursting, but for whom you really want to get a craft-related gift. I have some ideas for you.

1. Gift Certificates

Gift cards to the area craft and fabric stores are a no-brainer. Nearly every store, large or small, has them. If your giftee has a digital die-cutting or embroidery machine, you can also get gift cards to the (online) sources for new patterns. That way, they can not only choose the designs, but most likely get them via download, saving space and often money.

Personal gift certificates might be even more welcome, though. What about offering to take their sewing machine in for a tune-up, have their scissors professionally sharpened, or sharpen all their pencils? There's also the gift of time, such as via babysitting. I've made some gift certificates for you, for all these things and in the generic so you can fill in your own. They're available in my Google Drive, 5.5"x8.5" so you can fit two to a sheet of paper.

2. Carefully Chosen Books

Books are a little dangerous; I think we all have books on our shelves that looked pretty and appealing but from which we have made nothing. However, well-chosen books have usefulness disproportionate to the space they take up. I would only advocate technique books - project books are just too personal. Vintage books, ones you have to do a little research about and track down, are perhaps even better.

I wasn't able to find much in the way of vintage craft book reviews; you may have to look for books about particular crafts. Diane of Craftypod has a bunch of posts about vintage craft books should you want to page through (she's also great for reviews of modern craft books: thorough and interested in techniques over projects).

My own shelf has a few books I could recommend, vintage and not.

• For crochet: America's Crochet Book by Gertrude Taylor (1972). This is a no-nonsense guide to teaching yourself crochet and using it, including adapting patterns for various garments both for fit and to change the materials. In fact you could probably take what's in the book and design your own crochet clothing. She also surveys several particular crochet techniques (hairpin lace, afghan crochet, motifs in the round). She does recommend a small hook and crochet thread to start, which is just the opposite from me - I start people with acrylic or wool worsted weight yarn and a hook at least size I (5.5mm), moving them up even to a Q (16mm) if they are tensing up or making their stitches too tight - but otherwise I can get behind all of her advice.
• For felting (wet, needle, and nuno): The Complete Photo Guide to Felting by Ruth Lane (2012). Some projects, but all given in adaptable ways, and a lot of technique instruction. I've only scratched the surface of this book because I'm a beginner to felting, but I anticipate using it a lot.
• For sewing: The Complete Book of Sewing: Dressmaking and Sewing for the Home Made Easy by Constance Talbot (my edition: 1943). This gives so many options for every piece of a garment: necklines and collars, sleeves, fasteners, trim, pockets; it covers darts, gathers, hems, bindings, basting; there are chapters on a variety of categories of clothing and even tips on refashioning and mending. This was my primary refashioning and mending reference for some time.
• And for the cosplayer in your life I have to recommend The Costume Technician's Handbook by Rosemary Ingham and Liz Covey (most recent edition 2003), for its chapters on hair and hats, dyeing and painting, accessories, and a short course in pattern drafting. We used this as a textbook in my college Intro to Costuming class, and I would never remove it from my collection.

3. Visibility Aids

Visibility is a key component for crafting. These items, again, must be chosen carefully, but they could broaden the circumstances under which your crafter can craft, or decrease the labor of it. I see two kinds of visibility aids.

The first is a lighting upgrade. If your crafter needs a color-true light, OttLite is the primary brand. If not, an LED gooseneck lamp (desk or floor as appropriate to the crafting location) would be a more energy-efficient choice. For sewing in particular, I learned this year about a Sewing Machine LED Lighting Kit, which has some assembly required but results in a lot more light on the needle area of the sewing machine. If sewing puts your crafter's back to all the room lights, this might be just the ticket.

The second visibility aid is something to provide magnification. For lapwork, you can get a chest-standing ("around the neck") magnifying glass. That same site also shows magnifying goggles and magnifiers that clip onto glasses. The latter would be good for me - there's a woman formerly in the Upper Valley who makes lace with human hair, and she told me she uses the strongest available nonprescription reading glasses atop her 20/20 vision, but when I tried (without my regular glasses), I felt like my eyes were crossing. Magnifying goggles can also be found with LEDs mounted around their perimeter. Fine embroidery would become much easier, I'm sure.

4. Other?

What have I left off that's good for a crafter who doesn't want to stuff their craft space with more materials?