Oh, don't worry! I haven't forgotten about the Going Digital survey. There is still time to weigh in. I will share the results after the blog tour and we will begin digitizing the first 4 patterns immediately after!
But now, on to other exciting things!! We are having a blog tour for my newest book (pattern pack), MODKID Summer Fun. You may remember I shared some info about it back when it was first released. Well, a select group of bloggers have all received copies from my publisher and they are ready to tell you (and show you) what they thought. Follow along the tour and enter to win your own FREE copy at each stop!
As always, you can order a signed copy of the book here.
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:
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!
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. ;)
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!!
I bet you thought I was gonna keep that Halloween post up until Christmas, eh? Well, I fooled you. I've plunged back into full work mode after a few days of r&r following the madness of Quilt Market. Full work mode around here pretty much means very little sleep and infrequent blogging, tweeting or talking. I work late into the night, am crabby every morning until I have my caffeine infusion then I work, work, work till the kiddos come home... and then I work some more. Sounds like fun, doesn't it?
But what prompted that silly title up there is all these post-market little flip cam videos of me that keep popping up here & there. I always cringe when these come up because, 1. I hate the way I sound on tape and 2. I never know what kind of crazy things I said or promised on video because it's usually all a blur for me.
Case in point, last Spring Market, Ms. Sandi did a quick little flip cam interview of me in which I apparently promised I would do a pattern or a tutorial or something on that lollipop quilt I had hanging up on my booth. Well, as you all probably know, that never happened. Between designing a new fabric line, a whole new slew of patterns, doing a little remodeling, and taking care of household duties it just got pushed aside. And to be perfectly honest, the pattern needed some major tweaking. I did those pinwheel shapes in a hurry and fudged with them until they were right (on fabric, not on paper) but I never really sat down to polish up the pattern and make it sew up right... so that's that.
So, as you can imagine, when this new flip cam video showed up on Boutique Cafe (shot by the lovely Bari J.) I watched with trepidation to see what kind of crazy things I promised this time. Well, I was so pleasantly surprised when I realized I am actually following through on all these promises!!! Yay me!
Check it out... I mentioned doing a pattern for the Hummingbird Quilt (DONE) and a pattern for a Pillow Trio (DONE) and even a pattern for the Mini-Ava (DONE, and more on that later!) All of these patterns and more are part of my January 2010 release. Most are on the way to the testers this week and I couldn't be more ecstatic!
So, see... sometimes I do keep my promises! ;)
Oh, I have so many new things to share with you! We've added a couple of new members to the MODKID team and I will be doing proper introductions here in the next couple of weeks. We've also added a whole new slew of pattern testers that are eager, willing and able (haha). Things are shaping up great for 2010!
And since I'm here now and don't know when I'll get another break to blog again, I thought I'd share some awesome findings from my MODKID Flickr Pool.
I spotted this adorable Nina set yesterday and the sewist, who happens to live in Malaysia, even blogged about it!
Loving these Frida and Sydney sets from Creative Works By Ann:
I seriously gasped when I saw this breathtaking version of my Kyoko pattern by NanaKidBoutique in Abu Dhabi! Add a ruffle here & there and... VOILA!
And last, but certainly not least, check out this super fun Kyoko made by Melanie of Above All Fabric. LOVE IT!! Check out the pattern review she posted on her blog on this Kyoko and on her Sophie 3-Way Pants.
And there are tons and tons more where these came from. Check them out! And please post your own if you want to share with us. :)
Oh, don't worry! I haven't forgotten about the Going Digital survey. There is still time to weigh in. I will share the results after the blog tour and we will begin digitizing the first 4 patterns immediately after!
