Little Quilts Book Tour + Swap

Have you been following Sarah & Amy's Little Quilts book tour? It's to celebrate their adorable new book, Little Quilts, of course. And, like any good party, the fine folks at Cico Books are making sure there are goodie bags for partygoers; this time, in the form of a free copy of Little Quilts. Read on for more on how to win.

Mini quilts aren't for everybody, but long-time readers of my blog know that I love them. I love to make them, swap them, and receive them. To me, they scratch an itch when you want to play with a particular fabric, or try out a new idea or technique, or create something from start to finish when you don't have time for a full quilt. Plus, the whole aspect of swapping lets you make design decisions with someone else in mind. And I LOVE giving gifts.

That's why I was so excited not only to peruse this beautiful new book -- and, lets face it, everything that Sarah and Amy make is spectacular -- but also to participate in the book tour, because the tour is also doubling as a little quilt swap!

With my secret swap partner in hand, I had to decide what quilt to make in the book. On first glance, I passed this quilt (called Not Quilt Hawaiian) right by. Gorgeous, but … applique? Not my thing. I was deciding between two or three of the other projects in the book, but my mind kept coming back to this one. I figured that a little bit of fusible interfacing and the blanket stitch on my Bernina could be my best friends. And, with my partner in mind, I envisioned the most perfect color and fabric combination to bring it to life for her.

Flowers. Cats. And a little bit of bling in the form of gold ink in the Cotton & Steel background. Perfect for my partner. Any guesses on who it could be?

Honestly, this might be one of my favorite things that I've ever made. All of that machine stitching took a while, but it was totally worth it. The way the teal of the floral print matches the background and the use of pink Aurifil thread just makes the whole thing sing.

And really, who can resist those peek-a-boo cats?

I'm totally not a cat guy -- AT ALL -- but this print won me over. I don't remember the name of the print or the manufacturer, but I picked it up at Pink Castle Fabrics when I was there a few months back.

My bottom line on the book itself? It's fabulous. But I didn't expect any less. Gobs of great designs and color and print inspiration -- definitely a book I'll come back to again and again. And it's all wrapped around a wonderful story -- one of two friends living oceans apart that were brought together by a shared love of their craft. It just doesn't get any better than that.

Want to win a copy of Little Quilts, courtesy of Cico books? Simply leave a comment on this post and answer one of these two questions:

• Who do you think this quilt was made for? (Hint: all of the stops on the blog tour are listed on Sarah and Amy's blogs.)
• What two fabrics do you think would make an amazing Not Quite Hawaiian quilt?

I'll randomly select one winner next week. Good luck!