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!

Quick Column Quilts Blog Tour

 I'm excited to share a brand new quilt top that I just completed inspired by Nancy Zieman's new book, Quick Column Quilts, as part of her blog tour today. For those of you who are visiting as part of the tour, welcome! I'm glad you're here and I hope you poke around a bit. For my regular readers, Nancy is giving away a ton of amazing prizes as part of the tour, and nothing would make me happier than for a Quilt Dad reader to win a new sewing machine, some fun fabrics and sewing notions, or any of the other great prizes up for grabs. More on that later. But first, the book ...

For anyone who's looked through my book, Beyond Neutral, you know that I have a tendency to design and piece my quilt tops in columns rather than rows. It just seems to be the way my brain is wired. That's why I was excited to read about Nancy's approach to designing and creating column-oriented quilts.

Here's the description of the book from its Amazon page:

Modern. Streamlined. Quick. 

The benefits of quilting with columns are clear: in very little time, you can piece together a stylish, no-fuss quilt. This fresh approach to quilting from author Nancy Zieman is perfect for first-time quilters and anyone looking for a change from traditional quilt designs. Start small with the Dotted Columns Wall Hanging or go big with the Happy-Go-Lucky Chevron Column Quilt--with 13 quick and easy projects to choose from, you may just make them all!

I was inspired to create a new quilt top based on one of Nancy's quilts, the Happy-Go-Lucky Chevron Column Quilt. Rather than buying new fabric for the project, I shopped from my stash and decided to use a small collection of the Imperial Pheasant collection by Eleanor Grosch that I had in my stash. I've always loved the imagery and purple / navy / red color combination of this line. Because the pattern calls for a contrasting print for the narrow columns and borders, I used a favorite Amy Butler print that I had left over from a quilt back. I really like they way they play together.

Nancy uses solid fabrics for her quilt in the book, but I enjoyed playing with the contrasting prints. I only had a half-yard bundle of the Imperial Pheasant prints,which was not enough to make a full quilt top, so I offset the pieced section of the quilt with a wide swath of solid. It's hard to tell in the photos, but this is a purple Peppered Cotton that I absolutely adore. It's the perfect complement to tone down the busy pieced section, and its shimmery texture adds just the right amount of panache.

Can't wait to get this one off to a long-arm quilter to work some magic!

OK, are you ready for some giveaway prizes? 

First, I get to reward one reader with a free copy of Quick Column Quilts! Simply leave a comment on this post to be eligible to win.

For a chance to win something from the mother load of prizes, head over to Nancy Zieman's blog. Nancy will be hosting a grand giveaway of 15 prizes. You must comment on Nancy’s September 4 blog post to qualify for the giveaways. 

There's a chance to win a free book at every one of the Quick Column Quilts blog tour stops. Be sure to go check them all out!

09/04/14         Nancy Zieman

09/05/14         Quilt Taffy and Simple Simon & Co.

09/06/14         Diary of a Quilter  and Stitchin Jenny

09/07/14         A Woman a Day  and Craizee Corner                

09/08/14         Jina Barney Designz, Lilac Lane Patterns, and Totally Stitchin’ 

09/09/14         Esch House Quilts and The Cottage Mama

09/10/14         Designs in Machine Embroidery and Pat Sloan

09/12/14         Happy Valley Primitives, Doohikey Designs, and Quilt in a Day

09/13/14         Quilt Dad and Just Arting Around

09/14/14         Lazy Girl Designs and  Marie-Madeline Studio

09/15/14         Always Expect Moore  and Polka Dot Chair

09/16/14         Amy Lou Who Sews and Riley Blake Designs

09/17/14         Indygo Junction and Amy’s Creative Side

Good luck!

Book tour stop: Molli Sparkles

The book tour makes a stop down under today with the inimitable Molli Sparkles, a fellow member of the #NGAQB. If you don't know Molli, you should. Also, free book giveaway!

Book tour stop: Sara Lawson at Sew Sweetness

The Beyond Neutral book tour rolled through the Windy City of Chicago yesterday and made a stop at the blog home of Sara Lawson, Sew Sweetness. Not only did Sara have some really kind things to say about the book, but she also adapted my Half Moon Bay pattern and made a pretty badass baby quilt (above.) Any baby rocking that quilt will automatically earn some extra hip points. Thanks again, Sara!

Remember, Martingale is giving away a free eBook version of Beyond Neutral at every stop of the blog tour. Head on over to Sara's post and say a quick hello in order to be eligible.

Book tour stop: Martingale's Stitch This! blog

The first stop on the Beyond Neutral book tour is Martingale's Stitch This! blog. There, you will see how graphic designer extraordinaire Sarah tackled the Beyond Neutral Challenge and created a beautiful quilt palette. There's also a chance to win a free eBook of Beyond Neutral, so check it out!

Psst ... my giveaway for an eBook AND a fabric bundle is still open on my kick-off post.

The Beyond Neutral Book Tour

I am happy to kick off the blog tour for Beyond Neutral: Quilts Inspired by Nature's Elements today! Over the next four weeks, several of my best bloggy friends have agreed to share their thoughts on the book and the quilts featured within. Naturally there will be prizes and giveaways throughout (more on that later.) And some have even agreed to take my Beyond Neutral Challenge.

"What is the Beyond Neutral Challenge?", you may ask. It's drawn from the premise of my book, which is that we can draw color palettes for our quilts from the beauty of nature. So the challenge is this: find a photograph from nature that has particular appeal for you, and build a color, print, and fabric palette from that image for a quilt.

Here's mine. I simply Googled "nature photography" and looked at the image results. Right there on the front page was this beautiful image:

With that as my inspiration, I began to think about what I could pull from this image that would translate to fabric. Clearly, the colors are gorgeous: oranges and yellow, browns and greens. There's the literal interpretation, namely imagery of deer, trees, leaves, grass, and other foliage. Finally, there's the overall vibe of the photo -- calm, serene, tranquil, a bit muted. I can almost hear the sounds and smell the scents. And, because it's a quilt, I always try to strike a balance between large and small scale prints, include both focus fabrics and blenders, and ensure I've got some dots and stripes (or dot and stripe equivalents.)

Here's what I came up with after a quite enjoyable virtual shopping trip to the Fat Quarter Shop:

What do you think? If you like the collection, the Fat Quarter Shop is currently offering it as a special bundle to help celebrate my book tour! It would be a great starter pack for any of the quilts in Beyond Neutral.

I did this once before when the book was first released and created another fun fat quarter bundle. The Fat Quarter Shop also offers this bundle, called the Nature's Elements bundle, and for the duration of the book tour this bundle is being offered for 20% off. I happen to think that the two bundles could be combined for a pretty epic woodland quilt, or a fabulous stash builder.

I encourage you to take the Beyond Neutral Challenge, and I've got some giveaway prizes for anyone who accepts! One winner will win both an e-copy of Beyond Neutral and a Nature's Elements bundle as inspiration to make one of the book quilts, and another winner will receive a Nature's Elements fat quarter bundle.

All you have to do is complete the challenge and leave a comment below telling me where I can see your photo and virtual bundle. It can be on your blog, Flickr, Facebook, Instagram, etc. If you post to social media, be sure to use the hashtag #beyondneutralchallenge so that we can all view your creations. Participation is not mandatory for a chance to win. Winners will be chosen from the comments as well as from the hashtag on FB & IG.

Most of all, have fun! And be sure to visit all the other stops on the tour for more chances to win copies of Beyond Neutral: Quilts Inspired by Nature's Elements.


THE BEYOND NEUTRAL BOOK TOUR

August 25 -- Kick-off -- YOU ARE HERE!
August 27 -- The Stitch This! blog at Martingale Books
August 29 -- Sara Lawson at Sew Sweetness

September 2 -- Molli Sparkles
September 4 -- Angela Pingel at Cut to Pieces

September 10 -- Lynne Goldsworthy at Lily's Quilts

September 15 -- The Fat Quarter Shop's Jolly Jabber
September 16 -- Julie Herman at Jaybird Quilts
September 17 -- Nick Ball at Quilts from the Attic
September 19 -- Amy Lobsiger at Mrs. Schmenkman Quilts

September 22 -- Emily Herrick at Crazy Old Ladies Quilts
September 23 -- Sarah Fielke at The Last Piece
September 24 -- Monica Solorio-Snow at the Happy Zombie
September 25 -- Scott Hansen at Blue Nickel Studios
September 26 -- Katy Jones at I'm a Ginger Monkey

Sew & Stitch Embroidery WINNER

Thanks for all of your great replies to my embroidery questions. It's always great to see my love of a craft shared by so many others. Bog congratulations to the winner of the book giveaway, Julie, who wrote:

JulieOctober 22, 2013 at 12:46 AMI stitched a sampler as a girl to earn a Girl Scout badge--hated every minute of it. Started stitching again a few years ago, and now can't get enough.

Julie, please contact me with your mailing address so we can get you your book straight away. And if you're not Julie but love embroidery, I still suggest you pick this book up. I highly recommend it.

Back later with a quilt top finish!

Sew & Stich Embroidery Blog Tour & Book Giveaway

Hello and Happy Monday, everyone! I'm checking in today to support my friend Alyssa Thomas and the release of her great new book, Sew & Stitch Embroidery. Yes, I think it will be my sewing friends and their continued successes that might ultimately draw me out of this somewhat unwanted but self-imposed leave of absence from blogging. I just can't help but share in the excitement of good news and good products from really good people. And Alyssa is most definitely one of those people.

I first "met" Alyssa online a few years back when I began experimenting with and teaching myself some embroidery skills. I was immediately drawn to the overall vibe of her artwork -- simple and accessible, chock full of character, and just SO DARN CUTE. I was also lucky enough to participate in a few embroidery swaps with her and visit her very first quilt market booth! Her embroidery designs are perfect for new & experienced stitchers alike -- relatively simple to complete but the end results are sure to impress. Since then, I've been delighted to follow Alyssa's journey in building up her embroidery-based business, Penguin & Fish -- great freebies over there, by the way -- as well as her forays into fabric design and book publishing.

Here's an original design that Alyssa first drew and stitched for me as part of a swap piece, the pattern for which she is now including in the book!

Isn't it gorgeous? And I have the original (soon to be pieced into a special quilt!)

Here's another great project from the book (Octopus twin quilt & pillow sham):

If you find yourself even remotely drawn to Alyssa's work, you'll absolutely love Sew & Stitch Embroidery. In this book, Alyssa infuses her embroidered characters into over 20 different sewing projects, from pillowcases and table runners to toys, scarves, and tablet sleeves. Along the way, Alyssa includes 30+ embroidery patterns that can be used in the book's projects and beyond. With 20 sewing patterns and 30 embroidery patterns, this book earns an A+ in value.

You can buy your very own copy of the book on the Penguin & Fish site here. When you buy directly from Alyssa she'll not only sign the book, but draw you a little doodle inside. Take it from me and my own experience: receiving a package from Alyssa is always a delight, since she tends to doodle on everything! With the holidays rapidly approaching, Sew & Stitch Embroidery gets the Quilt Dad seal of approval as a great gift idea for the crafters (and wannabe embroiderers) on your list. And as the father of 3 young children, I can vouch for the fact that Alyssa's designs are PERFECT for the creative kids in your life.

I'm also giving a copy of the book away to a lucky Quilt Dad reader! Simply leave a comment on this post and tell me a little more about your experience with hand embroidery. Are you a new stitcher? More experienced? What is the favorite project that you've made? I'll randomly select a winner from all of the comments later this week.

*** Giveaway is now closed. Thanks for participating! ***

 Be sure to keep in touch with Alyssa and everything Penguin & Fish via social media!

Website  -  http://penguinandfish.com

Facebook  -  http://facebook.com/penguinandfish

Blog  -  http://penguinandfish.blogspot.com

Twitter  -  http://twitter.com/penguinandfish

Etsy  -  http://penguinandfish.etsy.com

Pinterest  -  http://pinterest.com/penguinandfish