On the Go Bags Book Tour + Giveaway!

Lindsay Conner of Lindsay Sews and Craft Buds and Janelle MacKay of Emmaline Bags have released a new book--On the Go Bags—15 Handmade Purses, Totes & Organizers (Stash Books)--and they invited me to contribute a project! You cannot believe how excited I am to have one of my new design projects, the Cart or Stroller Caddy, published in their book. I can check another item off my bucket list!

The book is available this month at CTPub.com (affiliate link) and January 7th on Amazon! Add it to your holiday wishlist now. Want to win a copy of the book? Read the review and all about the giveaway at the end of the post.

When Lindsay first told me her idea about the book, I had the perfect project in mind. When my children were little and used to ride in the grocery cart seat, I would often have a difficult time managing a grocery list, coupons, and snacks and toys for my child. I found that my child's stroller also lacked the convenient storage I needed for smaller items. I needed a hanging organizer that would fit over the handlebar, so one afternoon, I sewed together the pocket organizer I had been imagining in my head. I never got around to sharing the organizer on my blog, but when Lindsay asked me for a project idea for the book, I knew it was the one!

Sewing to Sell Book Review & Zipped Pouches

Recently, I received a complimentary e-copy of the new book, Sewing to Sell! by Virginia Lindsay of Gingercake Designs. The paper version of the book is releasing today and promises to be a huge success like all of the other wonderful patterns and projects from Virginia!

About the same time that I began to read through the book, I signed up to provide a handmade item or two for a silent auction fundraiser event being held at my daughter's school. I soon realized that one or more of the 16 starter projects included in the book would make the perfect item to donate to the auction. In the end, I sewed up six zipped pouches in varying sizes using the instructions and suggestions from Sewing to Sell! and donated them to the auction.

Fabric Slippers + Craft Book Month

Come sew along and celebrate Craft Book Month all September with Craft Buds for a chance to win one of several amazing prizes! You know you have them--craft, quilting, or sewing books--just sitting in your sewing room waiting to be used. I'm guilty for sure, and for some reason, my stack of books keeps growing despite my lack of effort to sew from them more often. They are just hard to resist! An entire book full of wonderful patterns and ideas!

Craft Book Month always reminds me to reach for one of those books and finally make something I've bookmarked, and this year, I decided to sew up a pair of fabric house slippers for myself! Ella doesn't get anything this time. Nope! This one's all for me!

And it's sort of funny that the book I used was Little One-Yard Wonders which is actually full of tons of absolutely terrific projects for children! The fabric slippers pattern includes pieces for children as well as adults, and I have been needing wanting a new pair of house slippers for a long time.

Photo from Amazon.com

Modern Bee Book & My First Quilt Block

Sewing has enriched my life in so many ways. If I had not started sewing again nearly two-and-a-half years ago, then I wouldn't have started blogging.  If I had not started blogging, then I wouldn't have made so many new, wonderful friends.

One of those real-life personal friends is Lindsay Conner, blogger at Lindsay Sews and Craft Buds, and now author of the new book, Modern Bee: 13 Quilts to Make with Friends.

Photo from ModernBeeBook.com

Lindsay and I met last year at Sewing Summit where we hit it off right from the start.  A few months later, she moved to Tennessee, and about a month ago, she moved within a few miles of me.  I've so enjoyed getting to know Lindsay and hang out with her in person on a regular basis. We even flew out to Utah and roomed together again at Sewing Summit this year.  She is so sweet and talented, and she's taught me so much about blogging, networking within the sewing community, and now quilting!

From the start, I joked with her that I was not a quilter because I don't have the patience to sew in straight lines all the time, but she kept encouraging me to give it a try and start with something small. When her book was finally available for sale, I purchased a copy from her immediately (I still need it signed though) and decided to give quilting a serious try.

Honestly, Modern Bee is the first quilting book I've ever owned or read, so I'm not sure how much my opinion or review of the book will count to you seasoned quilters out there.  But just like I do with any other pattern I use and review, I tell it like it is--truthfully.

Having never been a part of a quilter's guild or bee, I really felt uneducated on the topic.  However, Lindsay's book explains the concept and workings of an online bee, how to set up and manage one of your own, or in my case (for now), just how to make a quilt all by myself!

The book is conveniently divided into sections for beginners, confident beginners, and intermediate quilters.  Since this was my very first attempt at making a quilt block, I started with a beginner block--Bluebell's Cabin by Adrianne Ove.  I picked this design because it appealed to me aesthetically--very classic with a modern twist depending on the fabrics used--and it looked like the easiest to cut out and sew together!  I chose well because it literally took me only 15 minutes to stitch out.

That was so easy that I may have decided to try and make an entire quilt now!  What?!  I have plenty of my favorite Joel Dewberry Heirloom fabrics that desperately need to be sewn into something I'll enjoy. I'd much rather have them made into a quilt I can use on top of my bed than sitting in a box under my bed!

The Modern Bee book includes all the instructions and yardage requirements for me to finish an entire quilt, including detailed illustrations and options for backing, batting, basting, binding.

Oh, and did I mention all the beautiful photos in this book?  There are pictures of all 13 modern quilts you can make using the Modern Bee book plus color illustrations that accompany the written instructions.

So, what do you think?  Should I give it try and make my own quilt?  This might just lead me to joining a modern bee and making more quilts and meeting more wonderful people!

Yeah, sounds like a good idea to me, especially since I have a great friend just down the road from me who knows how to quilt!

Want to start your own online quilting bee and make lots of new friends?  Then be sure to pick up a copy of Lindsay's new book, Modern Bee: 13 Quilt to Make with Friends, and learn how today!

Also, Lindsay has generously offered up a little prize package of fabric, notions, and a rotary cutter to one lucky sewVery reader!  Thanks, Lindsay!  To enter the giveaway, just click on the rafflecopter widget below.  Contest open to US residents only.

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