So I was reading today’s post from one of my favorite blogs, Craft Buds and since (as you can see) it’s Craft Book Month over there, of course the post was about a book. But seeing all these posts about books that people love and how to write a book, etc., has made me think about books that are just so ME that I get totally excited when I just see the cover! I thought I’d do a little summary of the books I love.
Just a note here that yes, I’m an Amazon affiliate and the images are links to the Amazon link which will earn me a tiny commission if you happen to click and then buy the book. But know this, I’m not just promoting the book to get the tiny commission, I’m telling you about the book because I feel like it speaks to something about what I love about sewing and quilting and the type of aesthetic (LOVE that word!) I lean toward and that I love.
The first book I totally fell in love with this year and had a chance to review and give away a copy is called Block Party, A Modern Quilting Bee (C&T Publishing).
This book speaks to me because the colors are bold and modern, they use a mix of solid and print fabrics and several of the blocks have a “wonky” look to them. Now, wonky is not necessarily specific to just modern quilting but it certainly gives modern quilts a different feel that I love! (Also could be because of my deep down need for justification for NOT sewing on the straight and narrow.)
In addition to the modern feel of quilting I have a passion for the look of mixed media. Some people may call it Crafty A.D.D. because I hate to just pick one media to work in, should it be paint, should it be fabric, should it be stamping? Why not all of them!? Well, imagine my surprise when I discovered the term mixed media and that it goes hand in hand with sewing and quilting! Apparently this look is becoming so appealing to so many people that Interweave press has published a book called Sew Wild and it speaks to my inner mixed media goddess! Just the cover of this book gives me heart palpitations!
I was so excited when Interweave agreed to send me a copy to review. The inside is just as awesome as the cover, reviewing steps on how to print, dye and stamp your OWN fabric to create something completely unique and then if that isn’t enough, there are several projects at the end soyou can create something with that awesome fabric you just made! Oh and don’t forget that if you’re local to San Antonio and this sort of project makes you want to grab some paint and fabric, you’ll get exactly that chance with the Painted Collage Quilt workshop with Julie Fei-Fan Balzer on October 17, here at my studio!
Now I’m sure I could go one with more books that describe my aesthetic and that give me goosebumps because they just LOOK fun, but here’s the one I’ll leave you with (that also inspired this post!)
I haven’t actually seen this book, Modern Mix, IRL (in real life) BUT from the cover (and in my experience that’s enough so far) I can tell I would just LOVE this book. This book expands outside of the quilting realm – just a little because there are still 7 quilt projects in the book, and adds in other projects for the home. Personally, I think that any book with the words Modern and Mix in the title in relation to sewing and quilting is MEANT FOR ME! Well, that is exactly the name of this book and of course it’s from C&T Publishing, and I’ve loved everything from them so far!
So do you see a pattern (ha no pun intended) forming here? I love solids, modern, funky, quilts and sewing projects for the home! I also love mixed media and tapping in to my creative side. I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to realize that but I’m glad I have and thanks to Craft Buds for that indirect inspiration to discover this!
Finally, how do you feel about these books? Do you have a recommendation for other titles to check out? And what is your sewing and quilting style?
Happy Stitches,
Anna
P.S. I just hit 1000 fans on my Facebook page! I’m hosting a fabric giveaway OVER THERE and you can enter, just visit the page and leave a comment on the giveaway post.
Crafty Girls Workshop 