Throughout this month, we've been thinking about chilling, about cold beverages, summer breezes, and all the best ways to relax. And one of these best ways to relax is, oddly, by keeping our hands busy, by making stuff, pursuing hobbies and craft. Such pastimes no longer come with a stodgy air. Partly thanks to books like these, DIY culture has never been so cool. 

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Yarn Bombing: The Art of Crochet and Knit Graffiti by Leanne Prain and Mandy Moore

Vancouver's Leanne Prain really is the Canadian Queen of Cool DIY. She made waves with her first book, Yarn Bombing, which she created with Mandy Moore. The book came around at just the right time, when yarn bombing was just beginning to be acknowledged as part of an international activist movement. Yarn Bombing received wide attention, notably in the New York Times with a feature that summed the book up just right: "It is part coffee-table book, with color photographs of creative bombs, and part tutorial, with tips like wearing "ninja" black to avoid capture. The book borrows from the vernacular of street graffiti and half-jokingly positions yarn bombing as an illicit alternative for knitters bored making yet another Christmas sweater. It asks readers to get off their rocking chairs and 'take back the knit.'" 

Hoopla: The Art of Unexpected Embroidery by Leanne Prain

 Prain's second book, Hoopla, affirmed her crafty cool, receiving wide acclaim and an Alcuin Society Award for excellence in book design. The book includes 28 innovative embroidery patterns and profiles of contemporary embroidery artists, Full-colour throughout and bursting with history, technique, and sass, Hoopla teaches readers how to stitch a mythical jackalope and mean and dainty knuckle-tattoo church gloves, as well as encourages them to create their own innovative embroidery projects. We're also excited about Prain's forthcoming book, Strange Material: Storytelling Through Textiles. 

Simply Modern: Everyday Designs for Hooked Rugs by Deanne Fitzpatrick

Perhaps you didn't know that Canada has a rug-hooking guru, but we do, and she is Nova Scotia's Deanne Fitzpatrick. In addition to her own books about the art and craft of rug hooking, Fitzpatrick's art adorns the cover of Lesley Crewe's novel, Kin, and she illustrated Sheree Fitch's latest, Singly Skipping Along. In her new book, Simply Modern, rug-hookers of all levels will find Fitzpatrick’s instructional narratives and step-by-step methods for creating everything from themed rugs to pillows to ornaments an accessible and inspirational introduction to the craft. Tips and techniques such as how to choose and dye your own materials, achieving texture and shape, transferring patterns, outlining and blending, finding inspiration, and cultivating your creative process to develop an authentic style are interspersed with passages on the author’s artistic process.

Decorate With Flowers by Holly Becker and Leslie Shewring

This new book is a collaboration between Becker, of the popular blog decor8, and Canadian stylist and photographer Shewring. Whether you want to make the most of freshly picked blooms from the garden, or you crave to put your personal stamp on the more generic pre-packaged bunch from the local market, Decorate with Flowers promises to remove the intimidation from floral arranging, leaving you inspired and excited to work more freely with flowers and containers in a spirit of exploration and creativity.

Whittlin' Whistles: How to Make Music With Your Pocket Knife by Rick Wiebe

This is the perfect book for anyone who ever wanted to carve their own panpipe, or for anybody who is simply delighted that there indeed exists a book about how to do such things. Featured projects include the classic slip bark whistle, tube whistles, a kazoo, a vuvuzuela, and reed whistles. Whittlin' Whistles was "highly recommended" by the Midwest Book Review, which called it a "strong pick for any woodworking hobbyist." 

Everyday Eden by Christina Symons and John Gillespie

Talk about versatility! From Everyday Eden's review at January Magazine: "Want to make a terrific barbecue rub? A lavender wreath? An herbal sea salt scrub? Ferns from cuttings? Salad dressing? A stylish frozen ice bowl? Grow moss. Or a live willow fence. This is a fantastic book, filled with great ideas and as good—and probably better—than any book I’ve seen in this category."

50 Things to Make With a Broken Hockey Stick by Peter Manchester

This book might be more humour than DIY, but you'll never know until you try out some of Manchester's projects (which go beyond tomato stakes and walking sticks—making a stick out of a stick is so elementary). Accessories for the home include a Curtain Rod for the bedroom of a hockey-crazed kid and a Lamp that really works. Fathers and children can bond as they manufacture gifts and sporting goods: a Pot Rack, a Wind Sail, an Ice Croquet Set, and a Bathroom Occupancy Designator. The book’s pièce de résistance is the Mock Moose, a trophy made from a skate and at least four stick blades.

Canoecraft by Ted Moores

In terms of DIY, you should go big, or you should go home, the former basically an invitation to build your own canoe then. And why not, with Ted Moores' book at your disposal, which has been called "the Bible of canoe-building". (Moores is also co-author of Kayaks You Can Build.) Moores' step-by-step instructions, generously illustrated with new photographs and diagrams and incorporated into an accessible fresh design, will allow even the beginner to create a reasonably priced classic.