Sewn Hats Book Tour and Giveaway

I am so thrilled to tell you about this exciting new book that I've had the pleasure of contributing to. Sewn Hats is a collection of 35 hat patterns contributed by industry experts and curated by Carla Crim, a.k.a The Scientific Seamstress.

People are often curious about how long things take in this industry. I get that question repeatedly... how long does it take for a fabric collection to come out? ... for a pattern to be produced? ... for a book to be published? Well, let me tell ya, it's a long time for patterns and fabric, but not nearly as long as it is for books! You really have to have patience in this industry (and that's definitely not my virtue!). I was curious about how long this one took, because Sewing MODKID Style seemed to take forever and a day. Well, I was originally approached by Wiley on January 5, 2011 to ask if I was interested in contributing to Sewn Hats. WOW, that's exactly a year and 8 months ago! But let me tell you, it was well worth it! This book is spectacular!



When I first got the book in my greedy little hands last Thursday, I was immediately surprised by three things:

1. First, the book has 35 patterns, people! WOW! I know, from personal experience, all the work, time and effort that goes into each and every project of a book like this, so to see this times 35 is truly exceptional... and unusual! Talk about bang for your buck!
2. My pattern is the first one in the book! I also know, from personal experience, that I usually end up last because my last name starts with a Y, haha! Well, I guess they weren't going alphabetically this time. ;)
3. Lastly, I was not aware until I held the book in my hands, of just who all had been contributing to this little masterpiece. Seriously, this list reads like a who's who in our industry. These are fellow designers and authors who I have loved and admired for quite some time... Joanna, Mary, Betz, Melissa, Jennifer, Bari and so, so many more! Not to mention Ms. Carla herself! I am not worthy!!

So, without much further ado, let me present to you my own project for this book, which I titled, Sunny Days Hat. As the title describes, it's a sweet little sun hat with a ruffled brim and a decorative ribbon detail that weaves in and out of the hat. But the best part is that since it has no visible seams the hat is fully reversible! So you can use different fabrics for each side and have a completely different look each time she wears it. It comes in 3 sizes, so it will grow with her.

Here are some of the photos we took for the project. These first 2 were shot at the Missouri Botanical Gardens:





And these three were shot here at Modkid. You may recognize that sweet little blond girl, Elizabeth, from two of our most recent patterns, Chloé and Hannah. Boy, how much she's grown! She was only 3 then! And look how short Sydney's hair was! It's halfway down her back now. :)







So... I hope you enjoyed this little tour of Sewn Hats. Do you like to sew hats? Do you collect sewing books? What's your favorite thing to sew? Please leave us a comment and be entered to win your very own copy of the book, courtesy of Wiley Publishing. A winner will be announced a week from today, on Wednesday, September 12th, 2012. Please leave a way to contact you if you win. Good luck all!!

Follow along with the Sewn Hats Blog Tour:

9/4 -  Scientificseamstress.blogspot.com

9/5 -  Mod Kid Boutique

9/6 – FrenchGeneral.blogspot.com

9/10 – Pink Chalk Studio

9/11 -  LuluBliss.com

9/13 – Green Bee Patterns

9/14 – Goosie Girl Boutique

9/17 – Melissa Lilac Lane

9/19 – OneGirlCircus.com

9/20 – Tie Dyed Diva Designs

9/21 – Figgys Patterns

9/25 – Craftiness is not Optional

9/26 – Bari J.

9/27 – Confessions of a Craft Addict

9/28 – SisBoom.com

10/1 – Sew Mama Sew

10/2 – Aesthetic Nest

10/3 – Blue Nickel Studios

10/4 – Betz White

10/8 – YummyGoods.com

10/10-  Wiley Craft

17 Chances to win My Book
... and much more!

I'm sitting here tying all loose ends before we take off on our Spring Break vacation (in just a couple of hours....eeeee!) and as I was answering emails and packing up last minute things, I thought, "GAH, I forgot to tell everyone about the Virtual Book Tour! And by the time I get back it'll have started already!"

So, without much further ado, Sewing MODKID Style will be making its rounds the week after next and stopping at the following awesome blogs in crafty blogland. Each blogger will review the book and give away a copy to a lucky reader (courtesy of Wiley). So here is the list:

Sewing MODKID Style Blog Tour

Monday, April 2nd, 2012: Wiley Craft Blog

Wed., April 4th, 2012: A Sewing Journal

Friday, April 6th, 2012: Pink Chalk Studio

Monday, April 9th, 2012: Melanie Dramatic

Wed., April 11th, 2012: Stop Staring and Start Sewing

Friday, April 13th, 2012: Generation Q

Monday, April 16th, 2012: Lil Blue Boo

Wed., April 18th, 2012: True Up

Friday, April 20th, 2012: Paige Hill

Monday, April 23rd, 2012: Boutique Café

Wed., April 25th, 2012: The Long Thread

Friday, April 27th, 2012: Sew Pretty Dresses

Monday, April 30th, 2012: Prudent Baby

Wed., May 2nd, 2012: Our Busy Little Bunch

Friday, May 4th, 2012: Fat Quarterly

Monday, May 7th, 2012: Making It Fun

Wed., May 9th, 2012: MODKID blog

Don't forget to check it out and leave your comments at every stop for 17 chances to win your own copy!

Before I go, I also wanted to share a couple of entries in the "Show me your book" FaceBook contest. If you'd still like to enter, just head on over to our FB Fan Page and share a picture of yourself, your kid, your pet or your favorite inanimate object with a copy of Sewing MODKID Style. You may shoot it at home, at a bookstore or on vacation. Get creative! I will be giving away a sweet prize (could be a bundle of knits, or a gift certificate to our website... or maybe both?!?) so, go on... show us your book!

Here are Shirleanne Sander's adorable girls showing us some love...


Here is Joey G., better known as Mr. Jona (Stop Staring and Start Sewing!):


The picture that started it all (my awesome sister):


And since I would never ask you to do something I wouldn't do myself, well, here ya go (stalking the Crafts sections at Barnes & Noble)...
xoxo

Sewing MODKID Style, Sneak Peek #3
A peek inside the book...

Friends, I was way overdue for another book sneak peek and with the book release date being only 4 short weeks away (eeek!) I knew I couldn't wait any longer. But then... an advance copy of the actual book showed up on my doorstep the other day so, after I squealed, hugged it, danced with it and ran around showing everyone I knew (or didn't know), I decided that this next sneak peek should be a look inside the actual book, instead of just showing still shots like I've been doing all along.

So, without much further ado, I present you, Sewing MODKID Style:



It is hard-cover, spiral bound, 160 pages and includes 20 projects for girls 2T -10, with full-size pattern sheets, detailed instructions, how-to diagrams and lots and LOTS of gorgeous full-color photos!

The first thing you'll see when you open the book is an envelope on the inside front cover which includes 9 full-size patterns sheets inside...



If you have used a MODKID sewing pattern before, you'll be pleased to know that the book uses the same size sheets, paper stock and drawing style of our existing patterns. And... something that will make all sewing enthusiasts happy: the patterns are printed on the front side of the sheets ONLY, and there is no overlapping of pattern pieces, so there is no need to copy or trace. I don't know about you, but that is my one of biggest pet peeves! I hate opening a pattern and finding the pieces all on top of each other or printed front & back. I was very adamant at the beginning of this process that the pattern sheets should be done EXACTLY like ours so our fans would have a sense of familiarity and comfort when working with them.



Another thing I should mention is that before I started doing what I do for a living now, I worked for 10 years at a printing/marketing company. Paper was my life even before fabric was my life. When we set out to produce our line of patterns, I sourced the perfect paper stock. This was very important to me and apparently it is to all of you out there too, because we get tons of compliments on our paper stock. Luckily for me (and for you), Wiley agreed to match our stock and size, so that makes me a happy camper! :)

But enough about the patterns, let's look further inside the book. The book is divided into 5 chapters, the first one being a Guide to Sewing with Knits, then the next 4 chapters being: Accessories, Bottoms, Tops and Dresses & Ensembles, respectively.



In the Guide to Sewing with Knits chapter, I not only give you a comprehensive guide on knit fabrics and show you how to sew with your serger or your sewing machine, but I also talk about all the different types of stretch trims you can use to embellish your garments... there are SO MANY!



And I talk about tools, tools, tools... all of my favorite ones!



The project chapters are written and illustrated just like my patterns, including sizing charts (for US and EURO sizes), how-to diagrams and tips & tricks galore. Even the Potty Girls make an appearance in each project!



Projects range from very easy to more challenging...



And I don't want you to think that I stopped at the simple leggings and t-shirt dresses. I also include projects to make with fabrics that most of you may not have sewn with before, like stretch velour, stretch velvet or stretch fleece...



And, of course, swimsuit lycras and dancewear fabrics, because why not make a complete wardrobe for every need?



I even have an adorable swim suit cover-up made with stretch terry!

At the back of the book, I included a glossary. Again, if you've even sewn with a MODKID pattern, then you know that all of our patterns come with a small glossary of terms in the inside back cover. It includes pretty much all the terms used in the instructions, in case you need to refer to them before sewing. Well, think of this as the MODKID Glossary on steroids! We went through the entire book and highlighted every term that we thought may need further explanation... it's all there!



Anyway... I hope you enjoyed this final sneak peek before the book comes out. I know I tend to get a bit wordy. ;) My next assignment is to shoot a promo video to be shown on Amazon. Wish me luck (I am super nervous about it!). The release date of the book is March 20th but I hear the people who pre-order it often times get it a tad sooner, so there ya go! :) See a list of retailers who have the book up for pre-order here. To see more photos from the book, click here and here.

Now, I'm off to listen to more music tracks for my promo video...

Sewing MODKID Style
Sneak Peek #1

At this time last year, I was getting ready to turn in the first quarter of my book's manuscript, my heart filled to the brim with excitement and trepidation. I knew I loved it, but would my publisher love it? Well, they did! And their words of encouragement fueled me the rest of the way through. The following 6 months we lived and breathed book. And I mean all of us... me, Jon, Emalee, the kids, our friends and our friends' kids. It was definitely a labor of love, with emphasis on the word labor (well, and love too!) :)

The other day, as I lay in bed on a lazy Saturday morning I was awakened by a text from my friend, Mary, telling me that my book was on the Barnes & Noble site (yes, I sleep with my iPhone, don't you?). I couldn't believe it was already up there! I mean, didn't I just start writing this thing? Well, I guess not... it has been a year, actually! I ran downstairs to pull it up on my computer, because my tiny iPhone screen just didn't do it justice and there it was... in all its glory...



WOW! I didn't know whether to laugh or cry or scream, so instead I texted the link to every person I could think of (whether they cared or not!). Then I hopped on Twitter and Facebook and shared the link like one proud mama and her newborn baby.

Then, I waited for the OK from Wiley to blog it because I wanted to tell you all the little details and show you some more images from it. Well, the green light came last Friday and we agreed that I should break up my reveals into 6 installments, because the book will be out in stores exactly 6 months from now.

YAY! So here's the 411:

• The book will be hardcover and spiral-bound (much like the ones you are used to seeing from Anna Maria)
• It will have 160 pages (and yes, I know online it says 144 but we ended up adding an extra 16 pages at the end because I wanted to add a glossary, a resources page and a few more pretty pictures.)
• It will come with full size pattern sheets (no enlarging or taping together!) and detailed instructions for 20 sewing projects that span from accessories, to separates to full ensembles.
• All the illustrations, instructions and patterns were done completely and solely by me, and they are in the exact same style that you are already accustomed to seeing in my sewing patterns.
• The patterns range in sizes from 2T to 10 and styles range from easy and simple (the kind you can do in 1 or 2 hours) to fancy and intricate (in case you want to spend some quality time with your machine).
• The book comes with an in-depth guide on knit fabrics and stretch trims AND it teaches you how to make the projects with your serger or your sewing machine, with loads of tips & tricks along the way.

So, here are a couple of sneak peek photos. Since the book-writing took almost a year and it spanned all seasons of the year, so do the photos, as you'll see. In addition, we were able to take a few family vacations near and far, and used those as an excuse to get some more book photos done (or was it the other way around?!?)







Sewing MODKID Style is currently available for pre-order on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Overstock, Book Depository, Easons, Books-a-Million and Sew Mama Sew. (Retailers: if you have my book on your site, please let me know so we can add you to the list!) A full list of retailers will be available on the WILEY website.

Thanks for taking this little sneak peek tour with me. Stay tuned each month between now and March, 2012, as I will reveal more and more projects from the book. And... thank you all for your support! :)

***UPDATE! A sweet blog reader just informed me that the book is also available in Canada, which reminded me that I had also seen it for sale in Amazon UK. YAY, we're global! :)***

Meeeeeoooooowwwwww!
(that's me letting the cat out of the bag!)

Thanks for giving Jon such a warm welcome on his blog writing debut last week. I'm hoping your words of encouragement will give him the confidence he needs to take over more often when I'm in this state of craziness.

Soooo, I've just been given the green light to make the big announcement so without much further ado: I AM WRITING A BOOK!!! With WILEY!!! WOOOHOOOO!



Sorry, that's about as much as I can say about it at this point. But I can say that I am super excited that the folks at Wiley took such an interest in me and even more excited that they thought my idea for a book (right down to the title, which, again, I can't share at this moment) was as cool as I thought it was. eeeee!

In addition to reading a bazillion contract pages and signing on the dotted line til my hand cramped up, I've also been working on a whole new set of sewing patterns, due out this Fall...



And when Jon said "up to her neck in cut up fabric" he wasn't kidding! Here's a little snapshot of my studio floor right at this moment. I'm somewhere under the pile of ModBlooms, I think.



Oh, and I've also been proofing tons of strike offs for my next fabric collection... also to be released this Fall. Here's a little sneak...



I truly cannot wait to be able to share this collection in its full glory. It is my most sophisticated line to date and showcases some of the best drawing I've ever done... plus it has the widest range of print sizes of any of my existing collections... pattern sizes range from a teeny-tiny 1/2" to a full 24" repeat, and everything in between!

So, now that the cat's finally out of the bag hopefully you'll believe me when I say that things are about to get CRAZY around here. I know I say that every time but this. time. it's. for. reals. YO!

As if book-writing, pattern-making and fabric-designing wasn't enough to fill up my day, I'll also be doing a little bit of traveling, this time around the lovely Midwestern "I" States of Indiana, Iowa and Illinois. Tomorrow I'm headed to the beautiful city of Indianapolis where we'll meet up with the lovely duo of Paula Prass and Jennifer Storey for a little R&R with the fam. On Friday, I am continuing my WDT in the city of Clinton, Iowa where I'll be giving a lecture at Sew Many Things (holler if you're coming!). And finally, on Saturday, we are all headed up to Chicago to spend a little quality time with loved ones before school starts.

OK, OK, since I'm feeling happy and grateful, I'll give you a one more teensy tiny fabric sneak...