"Eat your cake and wear it,
too," is the motto of Twinkie Chan, author of Twinkie
Chan's Crochet Goodies for Fashion Foodies: 20 Yummy Treats to Wear (November).
For her, lemon coconut cake, pepperoni pizza and rocket popsicles, among other
foods, aren't just for eating, they're for accessorizing. Her new title
features patterns for Strawberry Fingerless Mittens, a Chocolate Cupcake Hat
with Blue Frosting, a Green Salad Scarf and other culinary-themed creations.
Chan is a former literary agent who uses a pseudonym as her crafty alter ego and lives in San Francisco. She grew up in a creative household with a strong DIY philosophy and has wielded a crochet hook since she was 10. In 2005, she started a website, www.TwinkieChan.com, to showcase her appetizing accessories--which have been featured on the HGTV show Uncommon Threads--and recently launched a new line at www.YummyYouClothing.com.
Chan's crochet guide is a colorful addition to a category Andrews McMeel has been cultivating for the past several years: quirky craft books. "Our roots are in humor, and that has extended to the craft line," said editor Lane Butler. Sales have been on the rise, with a recent publication, Zombie Felties: How to Raise 16 Gruesome Felt Creatures from the Undead by Nicola Tedman and Sarah Skeate, the #1 craft title on BookScan earlier this month.
"People
of all ages are crafting--just look at the success of online sites like
Etsy--and they want something fun and easy, which I think is really fueling the
growth of the quirkier craft books," said Lynne McAdoo, v-p of sales.
"And we do a terrific job of finding titles that are not 'your
grandmother's crochet book.' "
Some of Andrews McMeel's first quirky craft titles were Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's humorous essay collection Yarn Harlot: The Secret Life of a Knitter and the perennially popular The Lost Art of Towel Origami by Alison Jenkins. Disney Cruise Line purchased copies of the latter for its employees, who fold guests' towels in various shapes--elephants, palm trees, skyscrapers and luscious lips among them.
The craft books typically are devoted to a single subject and geared toward do-it-yourselfers of varied ages and ability levels. "We choose things that don't require a lot of prior knowledge or spending a lot of money. It really broadens the audience. With Twinkie Chan's Crochet Goodies for Fashion Foodies, all you need is a crochet hook and a couple of skeins of yarn," said Butler.
A handful of materials like felt, glue and sequins are all that's needed to make the adorably spooky creations featured in Zombie Felties. The book, which "combines the two hot trends of easy sewing projects with zombies," noted McAdoo, has inspired at least one crafting group--the Temple of Craft in Tarrytown, N.Y.--to make felties like Dead Ducky, Zombie Bride and Zombie Surfer for Halloween.
Andrews McMeel's quirky craft line is, in large part, about good old-fashioned fun. "We like to entertain people and make them laugh," said Butler. "When you see someone walking around in a spaghetti 'n' meatballs scarf, you can't help but smile."