Whilst in London on Saturday, we did our usual trick of spending half an hour or so in Waterstones, Piccadilly.  Though I despair at the sorry collection of craft books in our local Waterstones, the flagship store has usually got a better selection and I enjoy taking a look to see what's new.  But we don't visit often enough for me to know exactly where to find things and since our last visit, things had been reorganised.

The headers above each section gave me hope of finding what I was looking for, however.  Of late, the conversation amongst my group of trainee craft judges has included discussion of knotting and netting and whilst in Kinokuniya, Singapore, I'd spotted some modern books about quilling.  Ever hopeful of finding inspiration, I began by looking for those specific topics.

Trying to get my bearings I glanced at the shelves.  This wasn't going to be easy because in spite of those headings, the books didn't seem to be in much of an order at all. And then I spotted that, as well as the "A-Z by craft" there were special sections for Papercraft, Textiles, Ceramics, Knitting and Crochet and Woodwork.

I was closest to the Papercraft shelf (these special sections weren't in alphabetical order) and decided to start and the top and work my way down, picking out anything of interest to take to a chair for a closer look.  I hadn't got very far when I realised that whoever sorted this shelf didn't have much of a craft background. *sigh*   Sadly, there was nothing to be found about quilling old or new amongst the papercraft books.

Quite where I might find books about knotting and netting was open for discussion.  Might they be in textiles?  In knitting and crochet?  On the A-Z shelves?

I didn't get very far at all, because on almost every shelf and display table I found books about whittling, spoon carving and "fun with a penknife".  Clearly, the recent trend towards anything Scandinavian has shifted influence towards the craft arena and "the new wood culture" seems to be the hot topic right now.  I picked a few titles to take to a chair and settled down to look at a few details in case I am faced with a whittled bird in one of the shows I'm judging this summer.  

I replaced the books on the shelf (where I'd found them, of course) and spotted what could herald the next craze.  And the knotting/netting/tatting discussion will prompt a more thorough search of my own craft bookshelves, because I'm sure I've already got the definitive work on the subject there somewhere.  If only my books were in some kind of order...

I seem to have already embraced the concept of wabi-sabi in that respect.