You know the knock on Martha Stewart: she’s perfect. Sometimes just a little too perfect. And yet, we secretly worship at her (perfect) altar, partly because she almost single-handedly (if you don’t count her enormous staff) is responsible for introducing good taste to the wide world of crafts. We never have to worry about her showing up with a crocheted toilet paper cover, thank God.
Plenty of that signature good taste crossed with obsessive craftiness is on display in her latest book, “Martha Stewart’s Encyclopedia of Crafts” (Potter Craft). Encyclopedic it is — 416 oversized pages.
Alphabetically organized by crafting technique, from albums through wreaths, the book offers a few projects for each method, with instructions, supply lists and wondrous photography. (The woman even makes scrapbooking look good.) No recession-era downgrading here, which frankly is refreshing after a recent spate of craft books so low-brow they nearly drove us back into the crafting closet.
By the time we got to L for leaf printing, we were itching to break out the fabric paints (how did she know we had been planning some leaf-printed pillows?)
And there’s the crux of the Martha thing: if you like to make stuff, there’s more than one project in here that’s calling your name, and many more that will probably demand attention if given space on your shelves. What can we say? Her craft book is — sigh — perfect.
Cost: $35, in bookstores now