Lori Holt's Cozy Cottage Calendar: Blog Tour!

Today I'm kicking off the Lori Holt tour for her newest release; the Cozy Cottage 2016 Calendar! Lori, of Bee In My Bonnet puts her unique quilty spin on this fun calendar which you can use and enjoy all year! As well, you have the pattern to make the mini quilt on the front cover...

… and these cute pillows! Don't you just L-O-V-E that flag border around the cottage block!? A perfect finish. 
For my cozy cottage block, I decided on a Christmassy theme going all red, which I figured would be really sweet as a Christmassy pillow, or mini quilt for the upcoming festive season (not that long to go!). I made the larger 8" size. Lori has included pattern instructions for a 4" block and an 8" block. Whatever I decide to finish it into, I know I'll be using the border like Lori, for sure!

If you're a fan of the delightful Lori Holt Farm Girl style, you'l love this. Quilty, country styled photos are featured on every page, so each month will be a treat to turn over. A big thank you Fat Quarter Shop for my copy, I look forward to getting organised in 2016!  I also have copies available in my Sew & Quilt shop too, for those who want to order from the UK/EU. 

Have a great week friends! Its my birthday today, so I'm hoping for an afternoon of sewing, fingers crossed! Jessie, xo

Pssst… In other Lori Holt news new brand new Bloom Sew Simple templates have just been released and are now available at Sew and Quilt! Lori will be using these in her new QAL starting January to make the 'Bloom' quilt, which will be offered as a free pattern on the Riley Blake website.

Cover Girl! Quilter's Desk Diary 2016 Edition!

Would you mind very much indulging me while I brag tell about my cover photo on the front of the new 2016 Quilter's Desk Diary! I was browsing Amazon one morning a few weeks ago and it popped up the 'you may also like' section, (I get caught with that all the time!) I thought, "I recognise that cushion!? Oh, it's MY cushion!". It's an image taken from the 50 Fat Quarter Makes book I contributed to last year, and the same publisher releases this desk diary each year. 

I'm so honoured to be the chosen photo for the cover, what a compliment! I can tell you, this will be kept in my 'scrapbook' of sorts and enjoyed for many years to come. 

It features lots of inspirational quilts and projects from a wide range of quilters on every page and a week-to-view diary page on the opposite side, with plenty of space for notes and important dates. 

It also has a full page shot of the brilliant 1718 Coverlet quilt, I just adore this. It's a reproduction made by members of the British Quilt Guild, in commemoration of the original quilt, which is the earliest known British patchwork quilt to have a date worked into the piece. It comes from the fascinating book 'The 1718 Coverlet', there's a Facebook group who are doing quilt-a-long alongside Susan Briscoe, the author. 

 It seems September must be my month? As it's my month in the Homespun 2015 calendar too! This is a project I worked on last year, or the year before? (Wow, has it been that long?) It looks quite pretty hanging on my kitchen pantry. I should probably dig up the shelf edging and display that in my kitchen too! How silly of me.



You can find copies of the 2016 Quilter's Desk Diary at Sew and Quilt now. 
Have a great weekend! Jessie

50 Fat Quarter Makes || Blog Hop || Featured!

50 Fat Quarter Makes: Fifty Sewing Projects Made Using Fat Quarters is a brand new sewing title by FW Media which I have been lucky enough to feature in!  It was definitely a *Pinch Me!* moment when I arrived back from my holiday a couple of weeks ago to find a copy on my doorstep - and seeing my name on Amazon! How crazy? Apparently it's entered the list of the 1,000 top selling of ALL books on Amazon, wowee. I've had to keep this veeery quiet for such a long time, so I'm really excited it's out in the world now...

I was contacted by Ame, the editor last September, I think? about contributing some fat quarter projects along with a host of some of my favourite sewers and bloggers. Of course I jumped at the chance, and quickly got to work. In total you can find six different projects from me, everything from kitchen linens, mouse pincushions (trust me - it's cute, not scary!), baby bibs and pillows, which are all 'FQ friendly'. And if you're anything like me, you're not short on them.



Last year I felt like I was turning into a bib-making factory around here because I had several friends baby showers to attend - and of course if you do anything sewing related, everyone wants a handmade gift, am I right? So in the book you will find the peter pan collared bib I often made for these baby showers, it's really simple to make and it's perfect for boys and girls alike.

I love the Country Contrast pilow! The publishers of the book also run a website Stitch, Craft, Create where they sell fabrics as well as books, so myself and the other contributors were offered fabrics from their site to choose from (how fun!?). I knew as soon as I saw those ditsy floral's and pretty plaid prints the muted colours would be perfect for my cosy living room, so a pillow it was.

Don't you just love the simple styling and photography used, it's what I love about a good sewing book. It just inspires you, not only the sewing projects but how to improve on my own photo's for my blog, website and Instagram etc.

This Denyse Schmit print is such a classic, it looks SO fresh here as part of the potholder and oven mitt set, I think good fabrics never get old - wouldn't you agree? I was inspired to make this set having worked for Anthropologie in the past (what seems like many moons ago now!) and coveted their amazingly gorgeous range of kitchen linens for as long as I can remember, so this was my simple DIY version. I can't wait to receive the samples back to showcase in my own kitchen now!

Of course, I'm not going to share all of my projects featured as I would want you to purchase the book ;-) and there are an array of brilliant patterns by other fantastic contributors who I'm privileged to be included with. One which caught my eye is the knitting project bag featured on the cover by Cynthia. It would be just as useful for fabric too, on the sewing list it goes.

I love a simple handmade bag, and this one is actually perfect. Definitely have plans to make one of these soon!

So as well as being jam-packed with 50 projects to make, you can also expect a ton of useful sewing information to get any beginner or more seasoned sewer's started.

Be sure to stop by the rest of the 50 Fat Quarter Makes blog-hop with prizes and giveaways going on!

Blog Hop Schedule!
Monday 1st June - Jo Avery -  myBearpaw 
Tuesday 2nd June - Liz Betts - BetsyBetts
Wednesday 3rd June - Ali Burdon - VeryBerryHandmade
Thursday 4th June - Jesse Fincham - MessyJesse
Friday 5th June - Louise Horler - SewScrumptious
Monday 8th June - Kevin Kosbab - Feeddog
Tuesday 9th June - Emily Levey - StrawberryPatchRamblings
Wednesday 10th June - Cynthia Shaffer
Thursday 11th June - Kaye Prince - MissPrint
Friday 12th June - Ame Verso - StitchCraftCreate

Millefiori Quilts 2 Book by Willyne Hammerstein

Willyne Hammerstein has been much talked about in recent years with the huge popularity of her 'La Passacaglia' quilt from her debut book Millefiori Quilts. Her global-spanning fan-base will be delighted to hear of her brand new book for 2015, simply named; Millefiori Quilts 2. If you were in awe of her first book with the incredible array of kaleidoscope and geometric English Paper Pieced quilts you will be equally blown away - perhaps more so, by this new book. 

Willyne hails from the Netherlands, with a long-standing career in law. Like many of us can relate to, she picked up the quilt bug after visiting several quilt shows, markets and shops and found the time to sew while travelling for work.

It was great to read about her reaction to all the La Passacaglia quilts that been inspiring quilter's worldwide, which spurred her on to design and create again. Though I was saddened to read that this might not have been the case as she suffered a cycling accident in 2013 and spent many months in rehabilitation with a shattered left hand and wrist. Very fortunately she recovered, and used her time wisely in-between her sewing hiatus to work on even more new patterns for the book. 

So, back to this new Millefiori Quilt's 2 book! It's really a delight. I have spent many hours pursuing the book and studying the blocks, while blurting out loud every so often, "Oh my gosh", "Wow!". 

The cover star winner on this book is 'Ballet' - which I'm very pleased about as I find it a lot easier to pronounce than the previous 'La Passacaglia'. Pronounced - 'pas-a-cal-ya'. It's another stunning kaleidoscope pattern that will surely win the hearts again of quilters everywhere. Dare I say, I think I even prefer Ballet to La Passacaglia?! Yes. I think I do. It has beautiful harmony between the larger rosette's and those larger stars really stand out and bring it all together beautifully. 

There are 17 quilts to feast your eyes on in total. I love the names she uses for the quilts; 'Staphoster Snotterkapjes', I'd love to know what that means? 

With each quilt pattern, the blocks/rosettes/cogs are broken down section by section so you can digest these complicated looking designs down into manageable pieces. The tough part is not the tiny pieces I imagine, it's getting these larger pieces all joined together seamlessly. There are templates to trace the shapes at each chapter. 

Willyne also had more simple designs such as 'Old Dutch' which you can create with English paper piecing  using an 8-pointed diamond template. 'Sunrise', which uses square and triangle variations - as well as others. I think the scary thing for a lot of people is scale. They are large quilts, which we all know is quite an undertaking. But don't be put off, manage what you can and scale down the quilt size to make it more realistic to finish if that's what you need. I have my own long running 8-point diamond EPP quilt that's been in the works for a number of years! now, it get's picked up and dropped down again in between life, real-work, the shop, work sewing, the blog and other personal sewing projects, but it's always there when I need it.

My head is filled with sewing dreams and motivation now so I'm off to do some! I hope this has given you a little inspiration for the weekend. 

If you wanted a copy of the latest book you can find it here at Sew and Quilt. Though, be quick as we only have a handful of copies left! We also have the first book in stock if you need to get up to speed ;-) Don't forget as well, we have Sew and Quilt La Passacaglia English Paper Pieces in stock now. 

Sweetly Stitched Handmades by Amy Sinibaldi / NanaCompany

One of my dear blog friends Amy Sinibaldi of NanaCompany very kindly sent me a copy of her brand new book; Sweetly Stitched Handmades: 18 Projects to Sew for You and Your Loved Ones and it was about time I showed you a peek inside if you haven't got a copy yet (why not?). 

Amy has been such a huge source of inspiration for our quilty/blogging community for years now, I remember following her on Flickr before she ventured into the blogging world, just gazing at all her amazingly cute and detailed projects thinking "How on earth can one person be so talented?!", whether it's an embroidery pattern, a beautiful quilt, or something sweet for one of her adorable children, it's always impeccably made with such precision and style that's so unique to Amy. Not forgetting her flawless photography skills which makes everything shine. I think probably each and every one of us has made something from one of her tutorials or sewing project she's posted on her blog, in the hope "it might look NanaCompany style!?"




Well, guess what - now hopefully, we can! With Sweetly Stitched Handmade, Amy has compiled a book of 18 delightful projects that all have that enviable NanaCompany style. 




Everything from quilts, gifts for babies, and cute things for your sewing room and home is covered. I whipped up a ruffled baby bib as my first project from the book, for my new nephew (yes I said nephew, it could look girly I suppose ;-) but we'll ignore that…) There are patterns in the back of the book, and Amy goes through her favourite tools and how she goes about making her cute little appliquéd patches that are often seen on her designs at the intro section. 

Thank you again Amy for sending me your wonderful book full of sewing eye-candy! It's a real gem, you should be very proud indeed. I know I'll be using this book a lot more! The 'many pockets house hanging' is calling my name next. 
What about you, which is your favourite from the book? 

Sewing To Sell Book - How To Sell Locally & Online

Hello, long time no speak! I seemed to have an unexpected blog break over the Christmas and New year period, but I'm back today to share Sewing To Sell book by the lovely Virginia Lindsey, who you may know as the creator of Gingercake Patterns. This book is an all inclusive guide on how to start and successfully run a craft business. Making the leap from personal hobby sewing to professional sewing can be quite intimidating, but Virginia's book aims to give you all the resources you need to begin on the right foot. 

This is the sort of book I could have really used back when I was running my Etsy shop a few years ago! It tackles all those nitty gritty topics like pricing, materials and our least favourite issue; time - and how to price for it. As well as business basics like promotion, selling, inventory and tax issues (though I should point out this would be specific to the U.S.). There are some great tips for photographing your products and selling at craft shows with a checklist of tasks to complete before leading up to a show. 

If you're not thinking of setting up a sewing business the book is still a great resource for your library. It includes 16 sewing projects that are all practical and useful things to sew, they are great starter projects for new sewers or a blank slate for more experienced sewer's to add their own creative touch to. Like Vanessa from lbw studio has done with her fantastic version of this organiser. It's perfect for jotting down your new year sewing goals and keeping you motivated. I need to make one for myself, now. 

Practical and straight-forward advice from a passionate sewer, with beautiful projects to remind me sometimes smaller, simple projects are just what's needed! Sounds like a great book to me, good job Virginia!

You can purchase the book here, direct from C&T Publishing; either a hard copy or e-book version. Be sure to check out the rest of the blog book tour.

Vintage Vibe Book Tour

Hello, hello! Long time no speak, wowee I have a lot to catch you all up on - most importantly, I'm now officially married! More on that soon ;-) As today is all about Amber Johnson's new book 'Vintage Vibe', now of course the title grabbed my attention immediately. 

… and then that gorgeous cover quilt. "Traditional quilts, fresh fabrics", sounds perfect right? Agreed. 



You probably follow Amber's blog already, like I do. I'm pretty sure she was one of the first quilting blogs I followed all those years ago? Maybe you follow her on Instagram as well, I do! Although for some reason I hadn't quite put to and to together and realised it was Amber from the blog!? until more recently, doh!! Sorry Amber!  

Back to the book ... There are 14 quilts to make in the book; everything from a traditional flying geese quilt with a unique twist, to a super-sized quilt block ideal for baby quilts, to beautiful Dresden Plate's and charming appliqué and more. Amber says the projects marry's modern, fresh designs with vintage undertones. They all give a little nod to the past, whether in the fabrics, the design, or the quilting itself. They really do, and the quilting for each quilt is perfect too. 

My favourite project from the book is the Rainy Day table runner, I instantly fell in love with those raindrop shapes, and I've been itching to try out some appliqué for so long. The styling for the project is just perfect too, propped in the hay bails with the jams and preserve's made me think of classic American country kitchens so I pulled out some small scale, vintage style floral prints and got to work!  



First block done! aaaaand I'm planning on finishing this one too! It's so cute, and I'm dying to have it in my kitchen! If you're new to appliqué, or quilting in general you can most definitely complete these projects. Amber has a great in-depth guide on quilt-making basics at the back of the book, and each project has clear step-by-step instructions. I found the appliqué information invaluable.

Photographs are courtesy of Martingale Publishing, photography by Brent Kane

You can purchase this fabulous book here. Be sure to follow along on the blog tour as each blogger will be highlighting a different project so you can get a good feel for the book. 

11/6/14 - Amber @ http://www.alittlebitbiased.blogspot.com/

11/11/14 - April @ http://www.aprilrosenthal.com/

11/13/14 - Jessie @ http://messyjessecrafts.blogspot.com/ 

11/18/14 - The Fat Quarter Shop @ http://fatquartershop.blogspot.com/

11/20/14 - Corey @ http://www.littlemissshabby.com/

11/25/14 - Sherri @ http://www.aquiltinglife.com/

12/2/14 - Jodi @ http://www.pleasant-home.com/

12/4/14 - Melissa @ http://www.happyquiltingmelissa.com/

12/9/14 - Pam @ http://pamkittymorning.blogspot.com/

12/11/14 - Heather @ http://quiltstory.blogspot.com/

12/16/14 - Andy @ http://www.abrightcorner.com/

12/18/14 - Amy @ http://www.diaryofaquilter.com/

12/23/14 - Melissa @ http://www.polkadotchair.com/

12/30/14 - Lori @ http://beeinmybonnetco.blogspot.com/

Martingale, the publishers of the book are kindly offering a FREE e-copy to one reader! 

Just leave a comment on this post telling me …. 

"How many WIP's do you have going on at the moment?"

I'll announce the winner next Thursday, be sure to check back! Best of luck. xo