Jan
13
Inspired by Tradition
Filed Under A story of another book, Back-basting (no-template), Books, Hand appliqué, History, Machine appliqué, Patterns, Raw edge | 16 Comments
Last night Brown came and delivered the most beautiful book. I’m holding it in my hands, I see my name on the cover, and I can hardly believe it’s mine!
It’s been just over a year since I was given the green light from That Patchwork Place for this new book. I’ve blogged about the process a little bit from time to time. (If you look at the Categories in the left-hand sidebar you can click on ‘A story of another book’ to read those posts if you like.)
Inspired by Tradition: 50 Appliqué Blocks in 5 Sizes is presented in the same format as Easy Appliqué Blocks, my first book from TPP… 50 blocks shown in a thumbnail library so you can choose your block, and a CD that you stick into your computer, choose any one of 5 sizes, and print right at home! No figuring of percentages or folding, copying, and matching back up crooked sections! We even give reversed versions of each pattern, since you need that for some forms of appliqué.
The designs in this new book are all vintage and old-timey in look and feel, hence the name Inspired by Tradition. The publishers did an amazing job on the pages within… graceful, colorful, and pretty, and so well suited for showing off these blocks with traditional appeal. I couldn’t be happier with how it looks.
In addition to the blocks, there’s a Little Gallery of Ideas to get you thinking. We’ve included the dimensions of all the blocks, sashing, borders, etc. in case you’d like to make something similar. There are also extensive illustrated instructions for back-basting hand appliqué and raw-edge fusible machine appliqué, and a section of appliqué questions and answers compiled from what quilters talk about when they come into my booth at shows.
What I have right now is my advance copy. The book ships to quilt shops March 7. It’s available for pre-order on Amazon now, and at a great price too. And, if you go look at it on Amazon and click on ‘see all product images,’ you can see all 50 of the blocks! That’s right, the publisher uploaded beautiful images of all 50 blocks, stitched by moi!
If you’d like to wait for a copy signed by me, I’ll have it on my website March 7 as well.
Thank you for taking a look at my new baby. I’m just a little bit excited. :)
Until next time,
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie
Dec
14
Double comfort
Filed Under Books, Embroidery, Freezer paper on top, Fusible interfacing, Fusible web, Holiday, Prizes, Wool, Words | 38 Comments
Seasons Greetings!
Admin note: the previous drawing for a year’s subscription to the new Quilt Pattern Magazine in still underway. The winner will be chosen the first week of January.
Now on to today’s post. Last year at this time I did a special double giveaway to celebrate my birthday on the 17th (not to mention the other holidays). It was so much fun and made me feel like my birthday lasted for a week! So we’re doing it again this year.
When the nephews were kids, Dana and I used to travel to Minneapolis for Christmas. Now that the boys are all tall and college-y, we stay home and enjoy the comforts of our own living room at Christmastime. Much as I loved seeing the boys dive through their presents, now I love our quiet celebration at home.
And so, in keeping with that theme, I’ve selected two titles that play on the theme of Comfort.
First we have ‘Tis the Season: Quilts and Other Comforts.
As the authors Jeanne Large and Shelley Wicks say, “Adding just a few accents to a room can change the feel of that space from everyday to holiday.” In that spirit, the book offers simple and charming quilts and projects to “keep your home well dressed for winter!”
Jeanne and Shelley should be experts in the field, since they live in Saskatchewan, Canada.
Brrr!
The book starts out with basic information on fabric selection and preparation, then moves on the the authors’ favorite special techniques. Included here are fusible-web appliqué, fusible-interfacing appliqué, working with wool, hand-embroidering, making vines, and finishing basics.
Then, on to the projects! There are detailed instructions for very cute pillows and wall quilts to welcome Santa and the season (you can see one on the cover), cozy lap quilts, cheery welcoming table toppers, a whimsical primitive wool runner, and tons of inspirational decorating ideas.
What I really like about these projects is all the words! Plus, the templates given in the book are full-size and already reversed for your ease of use in fusible-web appliqué.
Our second offering is Country Comforts: Quilts for Casual Living.
Country Comforts by Cheryl Wall is full of that comfy old-fashioned primitive style that I appreciate so well.
The author’s introduction is an inspiration unto itself. “I’m drawn to the primitive style of quilting and crafting because of the freedom it allows me to make projects that are less than perfect but still beautiful,” says Cheryl. “I believe that the creative process should be fun and soul satisfying.” Right on sister! Worrying about stuff only robs us of the enjoyment of quiltmaking.
The books starts out with the basics of quiltmaking, including supplies you’ll need and some info on the types of fabrics that work well for this style, also rotary cutting, chain piecing, pressing, freezer-paper-on-top hand appliqué, wool appliqué, and hand-embroidery stitches. Finishing your quilt is covered too.
Most of the warm and inviting projects in the book are a combination of patchwork and appliqué, a combo platter that just always works. You’ll find quilts for laps, beds, tables, walls, or just plain draping over something. All of them will lend your home that air of casual comfort and relaxation.
If you’d like to enter the drawing to win these two titles courtesy of That Patchwork Place, leave a comment by 7:00 p.m. California time on Saturday, December 18.
Those subscribed by email or feed reader, remember that you’re not actually on the blog when you read the posts. You’ll need to click the title of the post to be taken to All About Appliqué on the internet, where you’ll be able to leave a comment at the bottom of the post and enter the drawing. U.S. and Canada only due to the cost of shipping.
Good luck everyone and I hope you are having a happy holiday season!
Until next time,
Kay, Dana, and Willie!
By Kay Mackenzie
Aug
6
More Fabulous Flowers
Filed Under Books, Designers, Embellishment, Embroidery, Faced appliqué, Prepared edge, Prizes | 16 Comments
I have to say that I’m just a flat appliqué girl myself. But I truly appreciate dimensional appliqué and our book look for August is a fantastic celebration of floral forms that stand up and sing!
More Fabulous Flowers: Mini-Quilts in Dimensional Appliqué by Sharon K. Baker gives a ton of information on how to make faced, double-fused, prairie-point, double-folded prairie-point, ruched, strip-pieced, and yo-yo leaves and flowers. The detailed, illustrated instructions in the book go soup-to-nuts, from fabrics and supplies to pre-quilting the background to making stems to constructing all those luscious leaves and petals to embellishing them with beads and yarns to finishing the darling mini-quilts.
The book includes 20 little quilt projects to spark your imagination, and you can go anywhere from there. “The designs in this book are like ingredients in a recipe,” says Sharon. “Combine the ingredients as you like to whip up your own special creation. Use the flowers to embellish quilts or wearable art, or simply wear then as decorative pins on clothing. Combine the flowers, explore your own creativity and style, and create a peaceful garden for the mind and soul.”
Many thanks once again to Martingale & Company / That Patchwork Place for providing a copy of More Fabulous Flowers for a lucky reader. If you’d like a chance to win, leave a comment by 7:00 p.m. California time on Monday, August 9. U.S. and Canada only due to the cost of postage.
Those subscribed by email, remember, don’t reply to the email to leave a comment. Instead, click over to the blog itself. The comments link is at the bottom of the post.
Good luck!
Until next time,
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie
Oct
26
A journey to a book ~ Part 6
Filed Under A journey to a book | Comments Off on A journey to a book ~ Part 6
Being the sixth in a series of posts about a book proposal, from concept to print.
Since the plan was to not include any projects in Easy Appliqué Blocks, Martingale returned my sample quilt. Now I needed to stitch up those eight blocks independently to complete the stack of 50. I also started working on my writing sample and Table of Contents. They had sent me the set of Author Guidelines, which included information on how the manuscript was to be coded. I actually loved coding the manuscript! It’s a way of indicating what’s a heading, what’s a subheading, what’s a caption, what’s a box, where the photos and illustrations go, etc. Fun! (If you’re a little nerdy like me.)
During this time I sent a couple questions.. The first was, did we name specific products? The answer was no, they preferred not to name specific products or fabrics. Not a problem, just needed to know.
Second, per their author guidelines, did they really want me to send just printouts of all of my patterns and illustrations? Surely they would want me to send them my computer files…??
The answer came back no. Just send printouts, and their illustrators would take it from there. I was puzzled. That was going to be a lot of work for them, and actually I was a little apprehensive that the patterns would lose some little essence of “me” when re-rendered. But, I knew going into this that I would not have control, so I rolled with it.
Before my December 7 deadline, I sent in the eight blocks, the writing sample, printouts of the illustrations that corresponded, and the Table of Contents. I also had to send my date of birth for the Library of Congress. ( How exciting! Well, I already have an authority record actually, but it’s pretty cool to think about.) Plus a copy of my schedule. I pulled together all of the show dates for the next year when I would be busy with my booth, plus one measly vacation (that never happened) and Shop Hop, etc. I thought it mighty considerate of the company to ask for my schedule so that they could work around it.
The next step would be to receive feedback from Karen about the sample chapter and my coding skills. Stay tuned!
Kay
Quilt Puppy Publications & Designs
Oct
1
A journey to a book ~ Part 4
Filed Under A journey to a book | Comments Off on A journey to a book ~ Part 4
Being the 4th in a series of posts about a book proposal, from concept to print.
After sending in the proposal for “The Little Book of Big Appliqué” to Martingale & Company in July 2007, I started working on Teapots 2 to Appliqué. The work involved in putting out my own books is a quite a bit different — but that’s a whole ‘nother story!
As I worked on the teapot designs, a month went by, two months, three months, and I really tried not to obsess over it. On October 17, 2007, I was at my computer when I received a phone call from Karen, acquisitions editor for Martingale & Company. She told me that they had decided to proceed with my book, CD and all!
How lucky am I, to have my very first proposal accepted by my first choice of publisher. Thank you Martingale & Company!
Karen told me she would be sending me the contract and author guidelines, and after I received them I could call her with any questions that I had. I hung up the phone and did the happy dance. :)
Stay tuned,
Kay
Quilt Puppy Publications & Designs
Sep
23
A journey to a book ~ Part 3
Filed Under A journey to a book | Comments Off on A journey to a book ~ Part 3
Being the 3rd in a series of posts about a book proposal, from concept to print.
On December 31, 2006, I retired from my pesky day job. Yay! I battled my way through to the other side, and now my time, not to mention my mental energy, was my own!
By June 2007, the blocks were ready, and it was time to decide which publisher I wanted to submit to first. (Just in case you don’t know this, you cannot send simultaneous proposals. You have go one at a time, and wait until you hear back before submitting to the next one.)
I took a look at my bookshelf and what I saw was that I had more
That Patchwork Place titles than any other. Plus, I had heard very good things from other authors about working with the editorial staff there. I made That Patchwork Place my first choice.
Awhile back I had emailed them to ask for a proposal packet, which came promptly. I also asked what I considered to be a crucial question… did they use Adobe Illustrator? The response was, “Yes, we do,” with a little smiley face. Hot dog, I thought. I can hand them my files and it’ll be such an easy workflow!
I set to work on the manuscript and the proposal. A book of appliqué designs needs some appliqué notes as well, so I thought I would include my “Kay’s Hand Appliqué Tips.” I had a set of notes for both the freezer-paper-on-top method and the back-basting method already. Plus, I figured if the book was actually accepted, I could write up some notes about raw-edge machine appliqué too without too much trouble. I had used all three methods in stitching up the blocks.
I followed the instructions in the proposal guidelines as carefully as I could. The hardest part was filling out the “Author Background Questionnaire.” I had to include a bio, my qualifications for writing the book, my previous writing experience, and gack! personal references. I prevailed upon Tracey Brookshier of Bento Box fame and well known quilter and author Bettina Havig, whom I know through a mutual friend. Both these ladies consented to let me list them as references. Thank you!!
I also had to write a 300-400 word description of my book, then a 20-50 word version for punchier copy, as well as describe the three most important concepts, why I thought quilters would be interested in the book, and what inspired me to write it.
It’s a fact that in 1981 I kissed the Blarney Stone, so I put my best foot forward and wrote up all of the answers to the best of my ability. I pulled the designs, photos of the stitched-up blocks, and the appliqué tips into a draft manuscript. I sent the entire package, including the blocks themselves and a sample quilt, to Martingale & Company (parent company of that Patchwork Place) in July 2007.
Within a week I received an email confirming that the package had arrived. They advised me that the review process could take up to 90 days. Stay tuned!
Kay
Quilt Puppy Publications & Designs
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