Show us your Socks Appeal and win!

By Megan Scott | Published: September 1, 2010

Yearbook hopefuls....

We’re putting together a special yearbook on Flickr of all the sock critters you make from Brenna Maloney’s book, Socks Appeal.

Enter your favorites and you might win a great prize!

Socks Appeal provides the inspiration and instructions to make 16 fun and funky sock critters.

Get the book, pick a pattern to make, and you’re in the running! The socks and accessories you choose, along with creative expression you give your little buddy, will be what sets your student apart from the rest of the class.

Each Wednesday in September, we’ll be asking all of our blog readers to vote for their favorite yearbook hopefuls, right here on the blog. The final winners will be selected by Brenna and a group of C&T staffers. In honor of all four winners, C&T will donate 100 pairs of new, warm socks in your names, to one of our local homeless shelters.

The Most Popular entrant will win a $100 American Express gift certificate!!
Now that’s got to be at least a year’s worth of socks!

A fabulous prize package filled with C&T Publishing products (valued at $50) will be awarded to each of the three entrants who we think deserve the titles of:

• Class Clown
• Best Smile
• Biggest Geek

So reach way back in that sock drawer, dig behind the dryer, and unbunch those forgotten socks. Take out your needle and thread and get your critters ready for their yearbook photos!

And now for some words of encouragement from Brenna…

Are your feet itching yet? Getting hot in those socks, I’ll bet. Well, you’re gonna need to take them off anyhoo. You know, for the contest. What? Are you SERIOUS? You haven’t entered the contest yet? You’ve GOT to be kidding me. You’d better whip those socks off right now and get going. C&T is sponsoring this awesome contest, and you’re gonna want your sock creature to be Head of the Class! You could win mega-prizes. You gotta do it. Do it NOW! And then you gotta check back, every Wednesday in September. I’ll be checking, too. I’m dying to see what you come up with. Good luck. And may the best sock win!

Winners will be announced here on Wednesday, October 6, 2010.

Here’s how to enter:

Posted in Giveaways | Tagged Brenna Maloney, contest, Socks Appeal | 1 Comment

Introducing: The Practical Guide to Patchwork

By Susanne Woods | Published: August 31, 2010

Elizabeth Hartman is the talent behind the prolific and wildly popular blog, Oh, Fransson! For most of those who read her blog, that is probably all the introduction you need. In the 18 months since we started working on this book together, she has grown both her own profile and taken awesome strides in introducing a whole new community of fabric addicts who would probably never have fallen in love with patchwork if it were not for her inspirational designs.

Don’t get me wrong, I am a big fan of raw edge appliqué and improvisational piecing and wonky embroidery stitching, but what I love about Elizabeth is that she applies the precision and quality to her work that are necessary in order to create treasured quilts that withstand the test of time.

And this gal has SKILLS! Lots. Early on in our conversations, Elizabeth was focused on the kind of book that she felt was lacking in modern quilt making, a new basics kind of book. And that is exactly the book she wrote.

With Elizabeth’s help, anyone new to sewing or even more of an intermediate sewer can move beyond the forgiving patterns that sometimes confuse improvisation with go-ahead-and-make-a-mess. She writes with an authoritative, experienced, but not prescriptive voice. Her patterns aren’t meant to be followed so that you end up creating the exact same quilt (and you will want to because they are all so fabulous!) as she has.

She encourages finding your own design “voice” by including two alternate color ways for each of her 12 patterns. The colors are so very different that you feel like you are actually getting 36 patterns packed into this one book. She gets you thinking about the possibilities and encourages you to experiment…

and not ignore the backs of your quilts either!

And this is where Elizabeth is both a leader and an enabler. In her first book with Stash Books, she shows you how to use color, value and scale of fabric to create balanced, colorful, graphic quilts that look like something you bought from Crate and Barrel.

Elizabeth inspires you to experiment with both solid fabrics and contemporary patterns in order to find a combination that fits your budget and still represents your style.

Each generation needs to learn the fundamentals (be it cooking, gardening or quilt making) from someone they respect, someone who has a sympathetic aesthetic and someone that they can relate to. And Elizabeth, as you can see, is the perfect designer for the job. For Elizabeth, and for you, I hope this book is just the beginning…

The Practical Guide to Patchwork will be available in October 2010.

Posted in Stash Books News, Upcoming Books | Tagged Elizabeth Hartman, new releases, oh fransson, quiltmaking, The Practical Guide to Patchwork | 20 Comments

Introducing: Scandinavian Stitches

By Susanne Woods | Published: August 26, 2010

Scandinavian Stitches by Kajsa Wikman

Who can resist these projects?! Kajsa Wikman is one of the first authors I acquired for our Stash Books list because I had never seen anything similar to her work before. Exploring her blog is like entering another world full of the simple and the honest, yet amazingly colorful and vibrant. She sees the possibilities of a 1” square of fabric that many would toss, but for her, makes the perfect piece for a sweet dress, a balloon, or even a fish!

Her artful threadsketching brings life to her projects by creating layers of texture that are pure whimsy. But she is Scandinavian through and through: Nothing is unnecessary. When I fist approached her about writing a book, she was exceptionally reluctant. Like many of us who pursue our craft as our career, she debated the time it would take away from creating items she could sell at local craft fairs, like her signature Tomte.

But when we started discussing the possible structure of the book, everything seemed to fall into place. Kajsa explained to me how important the seasons were in Scandinavia where there is a vast change to the landscape from one season to the next. With the projects inspired by the seasons, she had a great source from which to draw. We were sure to include lots of her own photographs of her local area as well as some photos from the talented Sanna Peurakoski.

Autumn

Summer

Spring

Winter

Living in the San Francisco Bay area now, where my heavy winter coats from London and New York have been relegated to long-term storage up in the attic, I forget how impactful and inspirational these shifts in the landscape can be. How different the lighting is with each season, too.

Once she found a structure, Kajsa realized that she has quite a lot to share! She’s packed her book with approachable and reassuring tutorials on free-motion quilting, raw-edge applique, and embroidery and includes words of advice about finding your artistic path, and trusting your own taste.

A lot of these projects will teach you to be more comfortable with your own creativity as she encourages personalization at every opportunity. In the quilt below, she has stitched the words of a Finnish nursery rhyme as the quilting, and suggests that you include a favorite of your own.

Kajsa always adds an element of the personal to her work which is one of the fabulous things that makes handmade so satisfying. Her work is so thoughtful that I feel as if I sat chatting in the seat next to her while she crafted it. Each project tells a story and each chapter records a journey. I hope that her projects inspire you to tell a story of your own.

Scandinavian Stitches will be available in October 2010.

Posted in Stash Books News, Upcoming Books | Tagged Kajsa Wikman, new releases, Scandinavian Stitches, sewing | 6 Comments

Dad’s Ties on the Bucket List

By Amy Marson | Published: August 21, 2010

When my Dad passed 6 years ago it was hard to decide what of his to take. I took about a dozen of his shirts and made memory quilts using Fast, Fun & Easy Scrapbook Quilts by Sue Astroth. My sister, Antoinette, took his ties. For all these years she has been trying to come up with a project that she could do to use the ties.

This weekend she came over for a craft date and I had Amy Barikman’s pattern for making flower pins from men’s ties. So we made five pins and have three more to go, one for each female member of our family. She said that the tie project had been on her bucket list and now she could cross it off. Thanks, Amy!

Posted in Behind the Scenes | Tagged accessories, recycled, reuse, sewing, upcycled, wearables | 1 Comment

Introducing: Simplify with Camille Roskelley

By Susanne Woods | Published: August 16, 2010

Camille Roskelley is an amazing person. Initially, I was attracted to her fresh quilt designs—who wouldn’t be?— with classy color choices. I love that her designs consistently manage to have a playful, yet classic feel to them. Be sure to check out her individual patterns that are not included in this book here.

But when she and I first started discussing the possibility of a book, it soon became apparent that she is also a savvy businesswoman. Her soft-spoken, friendly personality is a fabulous complement to her no-nonsense drive to create projects and products that are true to her design vision, and that make sense for her non-negotiable life/work balance. 100% genuine.

Included in this post are some sample project pages from the book. You can click them to enlarge.

If anyone reading this wants to see an example of how to create a business from the ground up, spend some time on her blog, Simplify. And don’t be fooled by her Audrey Hepburn knockout good looks, or her two (soon to be three) beautiful boys, or her dedicated sweet husband (who even cleans the house *sigh*). I assure you that Camille is one of the cleverest ladies in the industry.

In Simplify with Camille Roskelley, her first book, she focuses on using a selection of popular pre-cut fabrics to create eight original quilts. Camille designed an additional four pillow projects that coordinate with one of the quilts in the book. See I told you she is clever!

Because Camille works with her mom to create two fabric lines a year with Moda, she can attest to the success Moda has had with it’s creative pre-cut fabric selection. They include Jelly Rolls, Honey Buns, Turnovers, Milk Bars and Layer Cakes. Her book shows you how versatile these bakery goodies can be.

But the appeal of Camille isn’t just with her designs—it’s also her lifestyle. That’s why we wanted to make sure that we included lots of her fabulous photography in her book. It’s a sneak peek into her inspirational surroundings, her studio set-up and the family that supports her every step of the way.

This makes her book not only filled with delicious patterns that you can’t wait to make, but also just plain beautiful to look through! It’s packed with helpful tips for beginners and experienced sewists alike and includes insights that have helped her simplify her own life…and how you can, too.

Simplify with Camille Roskelley will be available in September 2010.

Posted in Stash Books News, Upcoming Books | Tagged Camille Roskelley, Moda, new releases, quilting, quiltmaking, sewing, Simplify with Camille Roskelley | 3 Comments

Introducing: Fanciful Felties with mummysam

By Susanne Woods | Published: August 11, 2010

I think about three seconds passed between the time I saw mummysam’s etsy page and the time that I started writing an email to invite Sam, of mummysam fame, to submit a proposal to us. Maybe four seconds. Tops.

I hope you’ll forgive a bit of a long-winded personal bit here, but I can still remember thinking as I pressed the send button, that I hoped that she wasn’t working with another publisher already. I held my breath.

Then a wonderful thing happened—she replied! And thus began a stream of what has become some of the most treasured correspondence I have had in my role as Acquisitions Editor. Lucky, lucky me.

An immediate friendship began between the two of us as we have so much in common (except for the uber-talented fiber artist part that she, alone, owns!). But she wasn’t a natural fit for C&T Publishing. And that, my friends, is where Stash Books really saw its beginnings.

I spent one breath trying to convince Sam that she could fit into an exciting new direction C&T was going in, and the next breath trying to convince C&T that we needed to create Stash Books as an imprint for which she’d be a great fit. And all of us took a deep breath (okay, we did a boatload of research too), held hands, and jumped in.

Everything Sam Cotterill creates has a life of its own. Her wool felt figurines and accoutrements all combine to embody a feeling she wants you to see. Her work is like fine photography where an entire history can be captured in one moment. Sam does that with her stitching. She really does. Look:

She combines cotton and wool as the base of the projects, but the real artistry occurs in the threadwork. We were sure to include plenty of options for stitching faces, houses, cars, and other patterns so that you can successfully re-create these wonderfully expressive characters yourself.

Sam’s book borders on being an art book because of the fabulous pen-and-ink scenery she drew that accompanies each figure to help tell their story.

With patterns and instructions for over 15 figures, Sam’s book teaches you to be successful with felties and inspires you to go on to create scenes of your own.

I am (still) so thrilled that Sam replied to that first email of mine so many months ago, and think you will be too when you pick up her beautiful book. I think I just may have let out a wee squeal when I was finally able to flip through a finished copy myself. Go ahead….take a look…when was the last time you let out a good squeal? I can’t wait to see what all of you create!

Check out the book page for Fanciful Felties with mummysam.

Posted in Stash Books News, Upcoming Books | Tagged Fanciful Feslties, Mummysam, new releases, Samantha Cotterill, sewing | 3 Comments

Introducing our Fall 2010 titles

By Susanne Woods | Published: August 5, 2010

Introducing titles for the Fall 2010 Stash Books list is a strange thing. The first season was definitely a nail-biter, but this second season is somehow really personal. And I’m more than a little bit nervous about it!

Scandinavian Stitches by Kajsa Wikman

I felt this same stomach-churning anticipation when we first opened our doors to the retail furniture store my husband and I own. As any of you who have a creative business will know, you really put yourself “out there” in terms of both the vision and the risk. Your business reflects all of the things you like and are attracted to.

Little Girls, Big Style by Mary Abreu

Well, the same is true for Stash Books and me. As I sit here typing this in my backyard with the sun shining and a lovely breeze blowing, I feel like introducing you to this season of titles is similar to taking you on a tour of my house. If I walked you through, you would see that each room has a different look, a different function, different feature colors, and different contents, but it all works together as a house. Under one roof, everything just “goes” together. And so does our Fall 2010 Stash Books list. At least I think so. I could be biased.

The Practical Guide to Patchwork by Elizabeth Hartman

The authors on our Fall 2010 list are awesome!

In Fanciful Felties with mummysam, Samantha Cotterill shares her incredibly artful felties all embellished with her signature sketched style.

In Simplify with Camille Roskelley, Camille combines sweet, sophisticated, traditional, and modern, into 12 quilted projects using pre-cuts.

In Scandinavian Stitches, Kajsa Wikman’s work definitely has a crisp and casual Scandinavian style with a variety of sewn projects to try.

Elizabeth Hartman’s book, The Practical Guide to Patchwork, is the new must-have for the modern quilter, filled with reliable advice and 12 inspired quilt designs.

Eco-friendly Lunch Bags! (I compiled this one) contains dozens of inspired lunchtime solutions to replace the wasteful brown bag and plastic zip-tops.

And for Little Girls, Big Style, Mary Abreu created four basic patterns from which you can create an entire boutique wardrobe for your little princess.

Lunch Bags! by Design Collective

All of these artists have a completely different design aesthetic, color palette, medium and voice. But they all just “go” together. I am honored to have each of them as a part of our Stash Books Fall 2010 list and will be telling you more about these authors and their books over the next few weeks.

Fanciful Felties from mummysam by Samantha Cotterill

I, of course, love them all and want to make each project in every book. I nervously, proudly, excitedly and hopefully invite you to do the same. Come on in!

Simplify with Camille Roskelley

Posted in Stash Books News, Upcoming Books | Tagged Camille Roskelley, Design Collective, Elizabeth Hartman, fall 2010, Fanciful Felties from mummysam, Kajsa Wikman, Little Girls Big Style, Lunch Bags!, Mary Abreu, Mummysam, new releases, Samantha Cotterill, Scandinavian Stitches, Simplify with Camille Roskelley, The Practical Guide to Patchwork | 9 Comments

Vintage-inspired embroidery floss color kit

By Sue Astroth | Published: July 30, 2010

It all started when I found this charming, well-loved, color kit at a local thrift store. In addition to the kit there were over 70 skeins of embroidery floss in the bag. So I did what any self-respecting collector of of all things crafty does…I bought it. After all, the whole bag of treasures was only…are you ready…..69 cents!

Vintage Color Kit

I was so taken with the idea of the color kit, I wanted to make my own modern-day version. I thought on it for a few days and here is the result.

For the base book, I used a C&T Publishing Ready-to-Go!® Blank Canvas Book 7″ x 8″.

To make the covers I selected the pre-programmed asterisk stitch which I tested on a scrap piece of canvas-like fabric. You know, I bought my sewing machine over 10 years ago when I moved to the Bay Area and I have used roughly 4 of the 99+ decorative stitches available. This project became my opportunity to add another stitch to my comfort zone.

The key is to take the book apart. This allows you to do the stitch work easily and not worry about where you begin and end your stitches…they all get folded up into the seam at the spine. I used my presser foot as my guide and 14 rows of stitches fit perfectly. Don’t worry if your stitches get a little wobbly, when the book cover is folded up, it will not be noticeable!

Once the cover stitching was complete, I pinned 12 inches of 1/4 inch elastic in the center of the remaining page, at roughly 1/2 inch intervals. Using the pins as my stitch placement guides, I sewed the elastic in place.

I trimmed all my loose threads, and refolded the book. As a way to keep the book closed, I added a yard of vintage twill tape in as I sewed the spine in place.

To me, no sewing kit seems really complete unless it contains a pair of scissors and some needles. So, I hand sewed a ring to the inside back page of the kit. Then to the ring I attached a pair of scissors and a old package of needles found in my stash using a piece of narrow grosgrain ribbon.

Hindsight is a beautiful thing….
It would have been nice to have a second page and since you get two books in a package, it would have been easy to add when I was sewing the book back together. You may want to trim the second page down a little to allow for added bulk and to make sure it fits between the book covers.

Posted in Behind the Scenes | Tagged Blank Canvas Book, color, embroidery, project, Ready-to-Go!, sewing, vintage | 3 Comments

Quilt Festival Goodies

By Susanne Woods | Published: July 27, 2010

I just cannot resist Kokka linens!

Bad lighting, but it was an early-morning shot!

So when I went to Quilt Festival in Long Beach this weekend, I picked up a nice selection of Kokka fat quarters and some gray fabric that I seem to be addicted to collecting at the moment. Of course, I had no idea what I wanted to make with the linen when I came back from Long Beach on Saturday, but come Sunday afternoon I decided that I needed a few more sandwich bags (bagel breakfast bags to be more specific).

Last year, I had made some of these bags that my husband designed for the kids and find that I am using them all the time! I thought it was about time I made some of my own. Here are my three:

I used the Echino Kokka linen for one, Joel Dewberry for another, and Anna Griffin for the final one. If you are looking for more lunch bag inspiration as the start of school looms in the not-too-distant future, get a copy of our Lunch Bags! book to make an eco-friendly and personalized lunch bag for everyone in your family.

Here is the link to my free project tutorial from the C&T blog last year!

As usual, I can’t show you all of the wonderful inspiration I saw at Festival (boo!) as I hope to bring some of the talented artisans to you in book form (hurrah!), but I’ll link to some other sites who covered the event as soon as I see some pop up on the blogs!

Posted in Behind the Scenes | Tagged Anna Griffin, Echino Kokka, events, Joel Dewberry, Kokka, Long Beach 2010, Lunch Bags!, Quilt Festival, quilt shows, quiltmaking, sandwich wraps | 1 Comment

Worry Wort Appeal

By Danielle Dews | Published: July 23, 2010

As I sit here at my desk I am being spoiled by Brenna Maloney, author of Socks Appeal which was released just this past June. The below photo is one I took from my office chair in my cubicle at C&T Publishing/ Stash Books.

What is that? I’ll tell you. It is one of a new species of sock creature that Brenna calls the Worry Wort. Our Sales Manager, Sandy, brought this funny guy back with her from the BEA show this past spring, where Brenna did a book signing in our booth. When she showed this Worry Wort to me I plopped it on top of my file cabinet. And it looked so content sitting there, we just let it be for the moment and it hasn’t been moved since.

It’s expression seems to change from time to time, depending on my mood. I know this sounds crazy and I admit I don’t have any proof. But I wouldn’t be surprised if you make your own Worry Wort and experience the same phenomenon.

Without further ado, here is a project Brenna put together just because we asked her to give our fabulous blog readers something free. You can also find it posted on her Socks Appeal website. While you are there please watch the Hippity Hop video. It’s for your own good.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Worry Worts

a FREE project by Brenna Maloney

My publisher is rather keen on this concept of free. They want me to give you a free pattern. The thinking being that you will like me much more if I give you something free. I do like you and all, but giving you something free would sort of work against my master plan. See, I need you to buy my book so that I can retire young. And giving you things free would sort of put me further from that goal, wouldn’t it?

But my publisher, whom I trust almost completely, assures me that giving away something for free would be a very good thing to do. You have navigated the “internets” to find me. I don’t want to appear an ungracious host. So, it seems the least I can do is to give you something. But what would that something be?