If you follow many sewing blogs, you might have seen an increase in projects crafted from craft books recently! In September, I hosted a fun event called Craft Book Month to highlight all kinds of DIY books and encourage people to make a project from a book and blog about their experience.
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| Top Left: “Wallet” from Bags: The Modern Classics, made by Sew TaraTop Right: “Urban Carryall Bag” from Bags: The Modern Classics, made by Gutsy DesignsBottom Right: “Urban Clutch” from Bags: The Modern Classics, made by Dodging the Butterfly |
Throughout this post, I’m going to feature some of the inspiring projects our readers created from Stash Books titles during Craft Book Month. There were 20 Stash Books projects linked up by our readers, with Bags: The Modern Classics and Zakka Style as the most popular book choices across the board.
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Top: “Quilted Storage Box” from Sunday Morning Quilts, made by Live a Colorful Life
Bottom: “Candy Coated” from Sunday Morning Quilts, made by Freshly Pieced
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For several months, I’d pushed myself toward the goal of writing a craft book. I realized that there wasn’t much information in blogland about the actual process.
How do you write a craft book proposal? What’s the best way to research and connect with publishers who might be interested in your idea? Do you need to hire an agent? I figured that the process looked a little different in the crafting field than it did with other types of publishing, but I had to do a lot of digging to find answers.
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Left: “The House Pouch” from Zakka Style, made by Habala Style
Top Right: “Pleated Coin Purses” from Zakka Style, made by Shape Moth
Bottom Right: “Patchwork Pot Holder” from Zakka Style, made by The Plaid Scottie
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Top Left and Bottom Right: “Orbit” from We Love Color, made by 13 Woodhouse Road
Top Right: “Think Big” from We Love Color, made by The Littlest Thistle
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In the event’s second year, we have more than tripled our participation in the Craft Book Month linky party, and I am so grateful to the Craft Book Month sponsors who helped us make it happen!
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Left: “Escape Artist” from Modern Patchwork, made by The Cute Life
Right: “Escape Artist” from Modern Patchwork, made by Canoe Ridge Creations
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I had so much fun hosting Craft Book Month this year, and it only solidified my love of the great Stash Books authors and their work! To see so many great completed projects made from a variety of books is inspiring to me, and I hope it will also inspire you to pick up those sewing and quilting books that you love and use them to make something great.
We had great feedback from this year’s craft book experts who agreed to take the hot seat and answer some of my questions. Stash Books author Angela Yosten and C&T art director Kristy Zacharias were two people we were so happy to feature!
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Top Left: “Birthday Board” from Simple Home, made by A Prairie Sunrise
Bottom Left: Cover quilt from Modern Mix, made by Grapes and Hearts
Top Right: “Planetarium” from The Practical Guide to Patchwork, made by Sukie
Bottom Right: Embroidery from Little Stitches, made by Rebecca Mae Designs
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Have the Stash Books authors inspired you in your own sewing and quilting?
If you’ve made a project from one of the books mentioned above or any Stash Books titles, please leave a link in the comments section. We’d love to see it!
For quick links to the Craft Book Month experts, including interviews with authors, editors and more, visit Business Tips at Craft Buds. And if you have any questions for Lindsay, you can e-mail her or visit Craft Buds on Facebook.
I was incredibly inspired by Block Party. I hoped to form a quilting bee but haven’t been able to yet. However, I have been working on all the different blocks from the book and finished one quilt – http://ohfigs.wordpress.com/2012/07/27/wonky-log-cabin/ – the wonky log cabin. A basic design but a great place to start as a new quilter.
I have an ongoing Craft Book Challenge going on where I’m working my way through my 140-odd craft books! I joined in the Zakka Style SAL too and completed 18 of the projects. if you want to see, go here: http://thecraftersapprentice.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/zakka%20style
[...] We’re over at the Stash Books blog, sharing some reader projects from Craft Book Month! Hop on over to see if your project were featured! (function() {var s = document.createElement('SCRIPT'), s1 = [...]
Thank you for a great event! There are few books I would like to buy based on the posts I read and pictures I’ve seen. Also thank you for including my project from Zakka Style book.
Thanks for hosting the event and including my mini quilt in your post, Lindsay!
This was such a great idea, Lindsay. Thanks for including me in this event and for including my project in this post. It was so much fun!
the event certainly helped me dust off a few of my craft books! i got bitten by the book bug, lol, and i’ll have to fight to make sure i keep balanced between using books/patterns and making up my own stuff (before i wasn’t using books and patterns enough, now i have all these patterns i came up with that may be left to collect dust! lol). can’t wait for next year, i’m already thinking about what to make
Craft Book Month was a great source of inspiration – and tempting as well. I added some more craft books to my christmas wishlist ;o) Thanks for choosing my Zoologie Circles Quilt and for organizing this event, Lindsay! Looking forward to next year’s CBM
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Thanks for showcasing a picture of my project. I loved participating in the Craft Books event and I was thrilled to actually win a prize- something that has never happened to me! I love all of my sewing books – but I am pretty picky about which ones I own because I just have too much stuff.
I’ve not yet made a project from a Stash book but am impressed by all the pretties in this article!
Yay, such a fun month each year, thanks for hosting Lindsay, and thanks for the feature
Your books are so inspiring — I’m a huge fan! I made a version of one of Elizabeth Hartman’s blocks from Modern Patchwork which you can see at http://fabricmutt.blogspot.com/2012/07/perspective.html. I’m also in love with Zakka Style, and participated in the Zakka Along this year — the organizer is probably my favorite project from that book (you can see mine at http://www.fabricmutt.blogspot.com/2012/06/zakka-organizer.html). Thanks for making such amazing titles available to us!
Lindsay, Thanks so much for inviting me to participate!! I had a lot of fun and since I missed your Creative Journey class at Sewing Summit it’s nice to at least read about what inspired you to start Craft Book Month. Thanks again!
I don’t consider myself very creative, but Lindsay always makes it seem so easy. Thanks Lindsay for being an inspiration that we can all create something in our lives that we love!
I love Craft Book Month. I’ve hungrily read it both the first and second years. I love getting good sewing books, but sometimes it’s hard to tell a book by it’s cover or presentation online. It’s great seeing all the completed projects from the books on Craft Book Month. I hope it’ll be around next year too!!
Thanks Lindsay it was fun seeing all the projects.i am partial to Amy’s # sign and Elizabeth’s salvage project.
Love it Linds! Your journey toward your dreams has been such an inspiration! Thank you for putting yourself out there…your willingness to risk has really created a more beautiful world for us all!!
Thanks to Lindsay for always writing about crafting and sewing in a way that I can relate to, and in a way that helps me believe I can do it too.