Craft book month is coming!

Lindsay of Lindsay Sews and Craft Buds is hosting Craft Book Month in September. If you're like me, you might just have a few craft books collecting dust on your shelves. I love reading books and looking at the projects, but oftentimes I forget to actually sew stuff from them. I have these three gems checked out from my library. Cause my library is awesome like that.

In September, Craft Buds will be celebrating craft books and encouraging us to share projects made from them. And, yes, there will be prizes! I'm finishing up a little project, and I'll be back on September 7 to share! (Keep reading--there's a giveaway down there!)

Back-to-school season means its time to hit the books. Craft books, that is! We love craft books for their inspiration, stunning photography and crisp, glossy pages. Hard covers or soft, we just love craft books, and we know you do, too!

All month long in September, our friends at Craft Buds will celebrate sewing, quilting and all kinds of craft books by shining the spotlight on new releases, interviewing authors and editors who make the magic happen and giving you a chance to win.

Blog Hop

Week One

Sunday 9/2: Hopeful Threads / The Jolly Jabber
Monday 9/3: Stitchery Dickory Dock / Me Sew Crazy
Tuesday 9/4: Olive & Ollie / Sew Sweetness
Wednesday 9/5: Fabric Seeds / The Busy Bean
Thursday 9/6: CraftFoxes / Stitched In Color
Friday 9/7: Katie's Korner / A Prairie Sunrise

Week Two
Sunday 9/9: Sweet Diesel Designs / missknitta's studio
Monday 9/10: Sew Tara / Clover and Violet
Tuesday 9/11: Sew Fantastic / amylouwho
Wednesday 9/12: Projektownia Jednoiglec / Two More Seconds
Thursday 9/13: Ellison Lane Quilts / Don't Call Me Betsy
Friday 9/14: Live a Colorful Life / LRstitched

Week Three
Sunday 9/16: Fairy Face Designs / Canoe Ridge Creations
Monday 9/17: Inspire Me Grey / Freshly Pieced
Tuesday 9/18: Lindsay Sews / The Cute Life
Wednesday 9/19: The Littlest Thistle / Sew Crafty Jess
Thursday 9/20: Urban Stitches / imagine gnats
Friday 9/21: Sew Bittersweet Designs / The Plaid Scottie

Week Four

Link up your craft book project at Craft Buds from Sept 23-30 from your blog or Flickr account, and enter to win prizes. Winners will be announced on Monday, October, 1!

To participate in the month-long contest, just link up any project you've made from a pattern in a craft book. That easy! You'll tell us a little about the book, the project, how you personalized it, etc.

Rules:

1) One entry per person.

2) Your craft book project must have been completed in 2012.

3) Create a new blog post or Flickr photo (dated September 1, 2012 or later) and link back to Craft Buds/Craft Book Month in your post or photo description.

No time to create a project? This month, just follow Craft Buds and comment to win some new craft books and lots of giveaways! We'll also have expert Q-and-As to show you what it takes to write a craft book, from the initial idea to the layout, photography and the actual printed product.

To help kick off the Craft Book Month contest in style, Fat Quarter Shop is helping us celebrate with a big giveaway! One winner will take home a $100 gift certificate to shop for some new fabric, craft books and notions.

Ten winners will get a new craft book to help work out that creativity! This is the perfect excuse to make that project you've had your eye one, but haven't carved out the time for.

Fat Quarter Shop is giving away 1 copy each of Quilts from the House of Tula Pink by Tula Pink, Sewing ModKid Style by Patty Young, Skip the Borders by Julie Herman, Stop Go Quilt Sew by Angela Yosten and Sunday Morning Quilts by Amanda Jean Nyberg and Cheryl Arkison.

Craft Buds is giving away 1 copy each of Modern Basics by Amy Ellis, Reinvention by Maya Donenfeld, We Make Dolls! by Jenny Doh, New Dimensions in Bead and Wire Jewelry by Margot Potter and More Teach Yourself VISUALLY Jewelry Making by Chris Franchetti Michaels.

Fill out the Rafflecopter form below for your chance to win! The kickoff giveaway ends Wednesday, 9/5 at 11:59 ET, when we'll randomly choose 11 winners. Good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Happy baby quilt

Ed Emberley's Happy Drawing line makes me feel nostalgic--I remember drawing from this book as a kid. Thankfully, my friend timed her pregnancy so that I could justify buying some of it to make a quilt for her new baby boy.
 
I guess my mom didn't have the same nostalgic feelings about this book *cough* so I had to hit Amazon for a new copy.
I used the Jungle Path quilt tutorial by Sew Crafty Jess on Moda Bake Shop. It's a really cute pattern, and it comes together quickly.

 I used squiggles for most of the background squares, but I snuck some solids in there too.
 I mimicked the squiggle print for quilting and used more squiggles for the binding. Can't get enough!
I stitched the baby's name into the quilting (or tried my best!). Hope they can read it.
My son pointed out that lots of these Happy Drawing animals look pretty grumpy.


For the back, I used up some yardage and chose to feature the tiger print instead of the elephant (these things must be considered for a baby in Alabama).

This baby is due to arrive in two weeks, so I didn't have much time to spare!

Tula Pink Zone!

I'm about to embark on a Tula Purple Pink quilt. And it's going to be glorious. And purplicious. All of these prints are from The Birds & The Bees, except the one on the right--that's Sarah Jane's Out to See. This fabric is gorgeous in person, and it feels great! The background is Free Spirit Designer Solid in Lilac. I HAVE to finish a baby quilt before I start this, but very soon!

Branching out

I know you've heard about this book on other blogs, but I wanted to throw out my opinion too! I wasn't asked to write a review, and I paid for my copy, so these opinions are mine. Let me just say Angela Walters' book is awesome. When it comes to quilting, I was strictly a stippling and straight-line girl (I'd throw in some loops if I was feeling frisky!), but this book has given me the confidence to do much more. I'm not gonna like--when I finished this quilt, I felt like a rock star! My stitches aren't perfect (I worked myself into some awkward corners more than once), but this is far beyond anything I thought I could do on my little machine. Angela's instructions and diagrams are simple and easy to follow. More than anything, she lends a "hey, this is possible!" attitude that inspires me to try new things. And this is just the first design! I cannot wait to try some more.

Heirloom quilting

I've had this quilt top for almost 2 years, and I'm thrilled to have it finished up. Really, 2 years isn't so bad considering this quilt is at least 80 years in the making.
My aunt sent this quilt top to me in hopes that I'd finish it up. It was started by my great-great grandmother, who passed away in 1932. My grandma thinks it was one of the last quilts she made, so I'm guessing it's 80-90 years old.

 
The quilt Top is in remarkable condition. There are a few little stains and discolorations, but the fabric has held up really well. I think the design has held up really well too! One of my favorite things about this top is that it fits in with what we'd consider "modern" today. I echoed the star shapes with some simple quilting in Perle cotton. At some point, I'll go back in and add some quilting in the blank squares. The quilt edges were getting fragile (and I really wanted to be able to put this aside), so I decided to go ahead and bind it. I used this peach Amy Butler solid, which is a near-perfect match to the peach fabric in the quilt. The finished quilt is close to twin size. I'm glad I was able to play a part in putting it together (and I'm extra glad my part didn't involve hand piecing all of those tiny diamonds!).

WIP Wednesday!

I had fun guest-hosting on Lee's blog last week, but now it's back to business as usual!


Finished:
do. Good Stitches Host Swap

I'm hoping it reaches its new home soon!

Diaper bag for Claire
 
This was a fun little project for my niece.

 In progress
Happy Drawing Baby quilt

This is starting to come together! I'm using Jess' Jungle Path baby quilt tutorial.

Tula Pink Quilt!

I find this stack of The Birds & The Bees fabric mesmerizing. Soon!


Completed tops awaiting quilting:
Postage Stamp quilt
Arcadia Quilt Grandma's quilt (hand-quilting)


To do:
Half Moon Modern quilt borders
Swoon
Hand-stitched class homework
teddy bear sleeping bags
Tracey's French Kisses
June block for do. Good Stitches


Head to Lee's to see what everyone else is working on!

Lil' Diaper Bag

My little niece requested a toy diaper bag to use when she plays with her dolls. Of course, I was happy to oblige. She requested short handles and PINK. After poking around on Pinterest, I found this tutorial on Mommy by Day, Crafter by Night, and it worked out pretty well. It came together pretty quickly, and I think my niece will like it! The finished bag is about 8x10x5. I tried to get Luke to model it, but he adamently refused politely declined.

do. Good Stitches host swap!

The hosts of the do. Good Stitches circles participated in a fun little swap. My package is still on its way to its new home, and I got mine in the mail this week.

I dropped some (not so) subtle hints that I'd like a bag made from Echino fabric, and Chris/Frecklemama nailed it.

I adore this bag. I immediately loaded it up and threw away my old purse, which had contracted a large and mysterious orange stain. Love the exterior pockets--they're perfect for my phone and keys. Chris used the 241 tote pattern from Noodlehead.

 

Clever Chris managed to work the Echino selvage into the lining. She sent along some precious fabric scraps too. Thanks so much, Chris! I love my new bag!

I've been wanting to make the Jane market tote pattern after seeing them pop up all over blogland, so I sewed one up for my partner.
.
Great pattern! I'll definitely make more (note to self: teacher gifts!). The pattern doesn't call for any interfacing, but I used Shape Flex after consulting with Kati, who has made tons of these.
 
 The exterior fabric is from Superbuzzy.


It's a roomy tote. Big enough for 5 boxes of cereal. Sometimes I buy 5 boxes of cereal at one time...


I also sewed up a Cathedral Windows pincushion (tutorial here) for my partner using some Bella charms that Elizabeth shared with me. I sent it along with some bits of fabric I think she'll like. I hope it doesn't take too long to get to her house!

WIP Wednesday!

I'm guest-hosting WIP Wednesday for Lee today, so head over to Freshly Pieced and get your linky on!

Paper-piecing adventure

July is Kati's month for our Sew Beautiful Bee. She sent us glorious stacks of gray and yellow fabric, along with a request for (preferably) paper-pieced stars. My paper-piecing experience is very limited, but I decided to give it a go, and I'm really happy with the result!
 
 I found some gorgeous Pioneer's Compass blocks made by Jen Johnston on Flickr. She linked to a downloadable pattern from eQuiltPatterns. I downloaded it (for the low low price of 99 cents!) and got to work. It was a challenge for sure, and my seam ripper was always close at hand. The site lists it as a difficulty of 1 (out of 5). I'm glad I didn't try a more difficult pattern!
 
It's definitely not perfect, but I'm quite proud of my effort! I cannot WAIT to see how Kati's quilt comes together.

WIP Wednesday

What can I say, it's summer! This weekend was packed with my son's birthday party, fun with family visiting, and running my first 5K, so ye olde sewing machine has been collecting dust. BUT I have a lot that needs to get done, and WIP Wednesday always helps me stay on track!


Finished:
~ Not a thing. ~

 In progress
Happy Drawing Baby quilt

A friend of mine is having a baby soon, and I need to make a gift! I'm thinking I'll put my stack of Happy Drawing fabric to use with Jess' Jungle Path baby quilt tutorial. Need to get on this!

Hand-quilting great-grandma's quilt
I've made some progress on this. I'm trusting I'll have a lot of hand-stitching time while watching the Olympics. (CANNOT WAIT)

Bee blocks
Have you noticed July is quickly coming to a close? I must get caught up on my bee blocks.


do. Good Stitches Host Swap

I got this fabric from Superbuzzy. It's going to become a tote. Very soon.

Diaper bag for Claire
My little niece has requested a toy diaper bag. Need to get to work on this asap!
Tula Pink Quilt!
I'm excited to make a quilt using The Birds & The Bees. Soon!


Completed tops awaiting quilting:
Postage Stamp quilt
Arcadia Quilt


To do:
Half Moon Modern quilt borders
Swoon
Hand-stitched class homework
teddy bear sleeping bags
Tracey's French Kisses
June block for do. Good Stitches
July block for do. Good Stitches Yellow/Gray star for Kati
Bag for me

Head to Lee's to see what everyone else is working on!

WIP Wednesday!

I'm kind of on an every-other-week thing with WIP Wednesday this summer. We were on vacation last week, but I have a few things to report.


Finished:
French Rounnieres cathedral window pincushion.


Woodland Tails quilt
I finished up this quilt using the panel from the Woodland Tails collection. Of course, this simple project managed to give me fits! The quilting took forever because my machine was having tension issues. But it's cute!

Love the little creatures. (What quilting fabric needs--more skunks!)

I used a stripe from the same line for the binding.

I used this Woodland Tails print for the back, plus some Michael Miller Couture Cotton in Olive.

This one will be making its way to my little Etsy shop!

 In progress
Hand-quilting great-grandma's quilt
Remember this quilt? I dusted it off (again) to resume hand-quilting.
Half-Moon Modern/Hexagon Park

Awaiting borders. Still.



Handstitched Class

I really intended to work on this while I was on vacation last week. Fail.

do. Good Stitches Host Swap
Fabric is on the way!

Diaper bag for Claire
My little niece has requested a toy diaper bag. Need to get to work on this.

Completed tops awaiting quilting:
Postage Stamp quilt
Arcadia Quilt


To do:
Half Moon Modern quilt
Swoon
teddy bear sleeping bags
Tracey's French Kisses
June block for do. Good Stitches
July block for do. Good Stitches Yellow/Gray star for Kati
Bag for me

Head to Lee's to see what everyone else is working on!