Archive for January, 2012

Last week I received a lovely surprise in the mail.  It was a copy of the new book by Free Spirit fabric designer, Tanya Whelan.

Sew What You Love: The Easiest, Prettiest Projects Ever

I love Tanya’s fabrics so I couldn’t wait to read through her book.

There are 30 projects ranging from wonderful bag designs, projects for babies and kids, clothing and projects for the home.

I’ll be making this Amelie Bag soon- I love the style, shape and roominess of the bag.  I really love that the templates for each project are in a pocket at the back of the book.  (Books that make me enlarge templates at the copy store are such a pain.)

How wonderful would this be as a top made with one of the cute cotton knit fabrics out on the market right now?  Each pattern includes clear diagrams and tips.

Apple Pie Ottomans?  Yes please!  I would love a few of these pretty ottomans stacked in the corner of my family room.

Tanya even gives tips for using scrap fabric to make your ottoman.  Which brings up another point I loved about this book.  It includes good advice for how to use scraps and for reusing and recycling items.

I made my first little project from the book over the weekend.  It only took a few minutes to whip up this wonderful, pieced pincushion. I made it to sit at the end of my ironing board… and because a girl can never have too many stylish pincushions.

Tanya is sharing a free pattern for Travel Checkers from her book for the readers of Make it Do.  If you’d like to download the pattern click here.

She is also giving away a bag pattern to anyone who twitters or mentions her book on Facebook.  All you need to do is provide a link to the  Sew What You Love page on Amazon.

And last but not least, today on Make it Do, you can enter to win your very own copy of Tanya’s book.

To enter leave a comment on this post answering:  “What projects are you most inspired to make right now?”  Are you focused on quilting, projects for your home, sewing for the little ones in your life, clothing or bags….  or if you’d like, just say hi!

The Rules:

• Contest closes on Thursday, January 26, 2012 10:00 MDT

• Only one comment per person please.

• Random winners will be announced on Friday, January 27, 2012

January is one of my favorite months to read.  Maybe it’s because I’ve been too busy to pick up a book in what seems like an age.  The chance to read seems like a gift come January.

Nothing’s better than reading a good book on a cold and stormy afternoon under a warm quilt.

And even if this January has been sadly lacking in stormy afternoons, at least the books have been wonderful.

Here’s what my family is reading:

I’m reading aloud Moon Over Manifest to the kids.

I knew, in the first few paragraphs of the book, that I was going love reading this book.  The book is set mainly in 1936.

The story begins with the young protaganist, Abilene Tucker, on a train, traveling to a small (ficticious) town in Kansas called Manifest.

She is thinking of, and missing, her father.  She describes listening to the stories he would tell of Manifest, a place she’s never been before, “His words drew pictures of brightly painted storefronts and bustling townsfolk.  Hearing Gideon tell about it was like sucking on butterscotch.  Smooth and sweet.  And when he’d go back to not saying much, I’d try recalling what it tasted like.  Maybe that is how I found comfort just then, even with him being so far away. By remembering the flavor of his words.”

Oh my, reading this book is like sucking on butterscotch too.  Smooth and sweet.

We are only 10 chapters in and we all can’t wait to read each night.  The story is not only beautifully written, the characters are colorful, interesting, and complex and the plot is full of mystery and intrigue.

The book on my night table is Battle Cry of Freedom– a nonfiction about the Civil War.  It’s thoroughly fascinating and well written.  And while not a page turning fiction, I am loving this book.

Lily is reading Island of the Blue Dolphins. Which she describes as being really good and really sad.

Emma just finished War Horse. Emma takes after me in loving historical fiction. She loved learning more about World War I and any book with a horse in it… well it was a big hit.

Ben is reading and loving the next installment in the Heroes of Olympus saga, The Son of Neptune. We were so happy at our house that our buddy Percy Jackson and the adventurous kids from Camp Half Blood were back for a new series. This time around we get the twist of learning more about the Roman gods. According to Ben, the new book is “awesome.”

When he is done reading this book, Ben is begging to read the Hunger Games, which neither my husband, nor I have read. I’m a little worried it’s too old for an eleven year old based on the subject matter.  Has anyone read it? If so, what do you think?  I’m pretty sure it’s one of those books we’ll need to read first… but anytime my kids are excited about reading something, it’s hard to say no.  Luckily, so far, my kids have only gotten excited about reading good books.

Are you reading something wonderful?  I’d love to hear.