Category — Books / Magazines

I scored a few new sewing books over the holidays! They are all amazing and if you are in the market for some inspiring photos and projects, you should definitely consider these.

The first is Scandinavian Stitches: 21 Playful Projects with Seasonal Flair. This book is full of little mini decorative quilts, bins, dolls, and other cute applique items that I normally don’t make. But that is all going to change this year because the projects in this book are super cute.

The second book is Material Obsession 2: More Modern Quilts with Traditional Roots. I have the first book, which is nice, but I love this one even more. There are so many quilts in here that I am already mentally adding to my to-do list.

The third book is Fresh Quilting: Fearless Color, Design, and Inspiration.Last Christmas I received Malka Dubrawsky’s first book, Color Your Cloth, and learned to dye fabric. This book is even more beautiful, if that is possible. Malka can do no wrong, IMO! Her sense of color and style is so addictive.

Finally I have Elizabeth Hartman’s (of Oh, Fransson) book The Practical Guide to Patchwork: New Basics for the Modern Quiltmaker coming my way. I don’t really need a basics book…but I saw it in my LQS and I loved having all her wonderful projects and fabric choices put together in a book. I mean, when Elizabeth Hartman writes a book, you buy it, am I right? She is so talented! I also think it would make a great gift for someone new to modern quilting, and will be keeping that in mind this year.

Did anyone else get any new books or fun fabrics over the holidays?

Wow, it’s been a little while since I posted anything new! Between Labor Day weekend away, the beginning of my daughter’s first year of preschool, and another weekend away to celebrate our anniversary, it hasn’t left a lot of time for sewing.

I am excited to share with you some new fabric I bought last week by Malka Dubrawsky of A Stitch in Dye. Last Christmas I received her book, Color Your Cloth: A Quilter’s Guide to Dyeing and Patterning Fabric, from my mom. I finally had some time to sit down and read it front to back – and I am really excited to get started dyeing my own fabric. Not that I need *another* hobby! Before beginning, I decided to buy some fabric the expert. Malka is selling fabric bundles in her shop and I thought that was the perfect way to get a good variety of colors and designs. Aren’t they fun?

Malka’s book is very detailed and has a lot of good suggestions on where to start with designs. I will write a follow up post of the process once my supplies come in the mail, but her instructions seemed very straight forward. She has a new bookcoming out sometime in the future too, which is definitely on my wish list!

This week should be a bit calmer and I hope to get more sewing done. My Dream On Quilt top is almost complete!

Today is launch day for Fat Quarterly, a new electronic magazine for modern quilters. Isn’t that just the most clever name? They have been posting sneak peeks in their Flickr group and on their blog for the last couple weeks. I was definitely intrigued.

I bought the first issue this morning and it is full of good stuff – patterns, interviews with fabric designers and crafters, giveaways, book reviews…and all for only $8! Seems like a great deal to me considering 1 pattern alone can cost more than that. Plus you get the chance to support a new small business – something I love to do.

I mentioned before that I had been bitten by the clothing-sewing bug. Do not worry, I’m still working on my quilts (and getting close to finishing my Map of the States quilt), but there is something so fun about actually wearing something I made. And nothing compares to the patterns in the many Japanese sewing books available. I recently received a few that I ordered a couple weeks ago on Etsy.

I did a bit of research before ordering these books. The Purl Bee has an excellent review of sewing patterns from these books. They are almost entirely in Japanese, but the diagrams look great. I wouldn’t make your first article of clothing ever from a book like this, but if you have experience sewing garments, I think you’d be ok.

The most important tips I’ve come across is that the sizing is smaller than we are used to in the US and the pattern pieces do not include the seam allowances – you must add those yourself.

On with the fun! I’m always curious what patterns are actually in these books, so I’m thinking I might feature a blog post on each book as I go along. In the meantime, here are the books I purchased and a sample pattern from each one.

Check & Stripe Floral
ISBN 978-4-418-09403-5

Adult Couture Stylish Dress Book
ISBN 978-4-579-11185-5

Gauze Linen Cotton Natural Clothes
ISBN 978-4-8347-2849-1

Simple Tunic and One-Piece Dress
ISBN 978-4-8163-4709-2