This & That

I had several little things to mention today, so I thought I'd put them all together in one post. First, I finished another item off my small projects list -- a little wristlet pouch that will be a birthday gift for a friend. I used some of my precious Melody Miller fabric for the outside and a little Modern Meadow by Joel Dewberry for the inside and strap.

If you haven't yet entered my Sew Mama Sew Giveaway yet, you can jump on the bandwagon right here. I have to say that Giveaway Day is a blast, but exhausting. Did anyone else start going cross eyed from entering so many giveaways yesterday? I had to take a break in the afternoon and go back to it last night and this morning. There are so many great blogs out there!

The Let's Get Acquainted Blog Hop starts today with posts by Kelsey & Erin. Be sure to stop by and give them some encouragement -- they've both got great projects to share!

Image courtesy of C&T Publishing

Finally, I joined up with C&T Publishing's Creative Troupe earlier this month, a sort of volunteer feedback  group to the company behind the phenomenal Stash Books. One of the things we get to do is review online copies of their books, and I was very excited to get the chance to check out some titles that I haven't been able to purchase yet. I decided to start with The Practical Guide to Patchwork by Elizabeth Hartman of the popular blog Oh, Fransson!

Elizabeth is a big name in the modern quilting world and for good reason. Her projects are sleek and sophisticated, yet completely approachable. If you are just starting out into the world of modern quilting -- or quilting, period -- you would do very well to get a copy of this book. Elizabeth begins with a large section on the basics of quilting, giving a comprehensive overview of techniques, supplies, and standard quilting terms. She then presents three sections of quilt projects, each one taking the reader to a slightly higher level of difficulty. I'm particularly in love with her Valentine quilt, a stunning rainbow hued string quilt (you can see a version of it here). There are twelve quilt patterns in all, beautifully illustrated and explained in detail. I especially love her notes at the end of each project where she shows two different spins on the quilt just presented (i.e. make it scrappy, fussy, vintage, etc.). She gives the reader a framework to build on and the tools to be as creative as possible. This book is a great addition to any quilter's library, and I would love to try at least one of these patterns in the year ahead.

Linking up to Fabric Tuesday.