Pretty in Patchwork: Holidays

This evening, just a few short days after Thanksgiving and the unofficial start of the holiday season, I'm sitting here enjoying my first bowl of peppermint ice cream of 2011, listening to some Christmas music, and excited beyond words to share some great news with you all ...

Yes, that's my name on the byline ... I wrote a book! And better yet, the book is available right now ... but more on that in a minute.

Pretty in Patchwork: Holidays is the second book in the new Pretty in Patchwork series by the publishing team at Lark Crafts. (Pretty in Patchwork: Doll Quilts by my friend Cathy Gaubert was the first, and I still need to blog about my project from that fun book!)

Holiday Surprise Reverse Applique pillow, by Angela Mitchell of Fussy Cut

Pretty in Patchwork brings together handmade items and original patterns and project ideas from a wide variety of sewists and quilters, all united under a single theme. The theme for my book, obviously, is the holidays -- and, more specifically, the harvest and winter holidays of November and December (including Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Hanukkah.)

Sugar Village Tea Towels, by Jennifer Davis of Sugar Stitches

Pretty in Patchwork: Holidays features 32 (yes, 32!!) project tutorials from 22 of my favorite fellow crafters and bloggers. The projects range from small ornaments to pillows to quilts, with lots of great ideas in between. They are perfect both for gift ideas for others as well as plenty of great ideas to treat yourself, or to decorate your home for the holidays. From beginning to more advanced sewists, I worked hard to make sure there is something in this book for everyone.

Christmas in the City quilt by ... me!

OK, so this is the part of my post where I name drop. Here's the full list of contributors whose projects are featured in the book, all of whom I invited because I have mad respect for their skill, talent, and creativity:

• Kelly Lautenbach of Thinking Out Loud ...
• Amanda Woodward-Jennings of Hey Porkchop!
• Angela Mitchell of Fussy Cut
• Christina Lane of The Sometimes Crafter
• Monica Solorio-Snow of The Happy Zombie
• Amanda Carestio of digs & bean
• Marilyn Butler
• Kaye Prince of Miss Print
• Nicole vos Van Avezathe of Follow the White Bunny
• Jeni Baker of In Color Order
• Charlie Scott & Ryan Walsh of Patchwork Squared
• Jessica Kovach of Twin Fibers
• Mo Bedell of lime gardenias
• Sonja Callaghan of Artisania
• Scott Hansen of Blue Nickel Studios
• Jennifer Davis of Sugar Stitches
• Cathy Gaubert of handmade ... cathygaubert
• Dorreen Agres
• Malka Dubrawsky of A Stitch in Dye

An impressive list, wouldn't you agree? And let me tell you, they all brought their A-game for this book!

Hedgehog Holidays Patchwork Pillowcase and Stuffed Toy by Nicole vos Van Avezathe of Follow the White Bunny

I am very, very proud of this book. Not only do I feel like it's a wonderfully rich book (did I mention that it includes 32 project tutorials?!), but Lark has established a beautiful visual style with the new Pretty in Patchwork series. I hope that the images I've included in this post -- all taken directly from the book -- speak for themselves! And about those 32 projects, I can honestly say that I don't think there's a "filler" project among them.

Drawstring Gift Bags, another of my projects!

Pretty in Patchwork: Holidays will be printed in the summer of 2012, but if you're inspired to sew up some holidays items this season, the book is already available in e-book format, perfect for computers, laptops, and iPads. The best part is that you can browse the entire book -- yes, you can preview ALL of the wonderful projects inside -- by visiting the Zinio page and clicking on the image of the book's cover. You can't zoom in close enough to see the full instructions, but you can literally flip through the entire book, enjoy the beautiful photography, and decide if this book's for you!

Harvest Vine Table Runner by Jessica Kovach of Twin Fibers

I'll be featuring more projects from the book in the coming weeks, and you can be sure I'll be back with more about the book when it's printed in 2012.

I hope you'll consider adding Pretty in Patchwork: Holidays to your sewing & crafting library. If you download the digital version, I'd love to hear what you think of it!