As you’ve probably heard, Google Reader is going away as of July 1. If you’ve been putting off transferring your account, now’s the time to act! We’ve added two new options to follow Craft Buds. You can choose between Bloglovin’ or Feedly, or use your own preferred RSS Feed or an e-mail subscription. We’re also on Facebook, Twitter and Flickr if you want to follow us there! Details on each option are below.

Bloglovin: Follow my blog with Bloglovin by clicking the link here or by using the new button in our “Follow” sidebar to the left or the one above. When you sign up you can automatically import all the blogs you are following. Quick and easy as long as you are logged into YOUR google account. I made the mistake of importing while my husband was logged in, but was able to fix the problem without much hassle! Here’s a screen shot of my Bloglovin if you’re curious how it looks. It displays each blog article with a the first few sentences and a photo. To the right is a list of all blogs being followed. Mobile apps are available. If you’re a blogger, Bloglovin’ currently has more ways to track your followers and stats than Feedly does.

Feedly: After trying both Bloglovin and Feedly, Feedly is what I will be using. Sign up for an account or use your Google account and import the blogs you are following. Quick and easy, just like Bloglovin
(again make sure you are signed into your own Google account and not someone else’s). What I prefer about Feedly is the ability to customize how I view the blog posts. The Bloglovin view for both the computer version and mobile phone version can’t be customized. Feedly gives me 4 different feed options (see the screen shots below). On my phone I can change fonts, the transition between screens, font size and more. Sign up or start following us by using the button above or in our “Follow” sidebar to the left.

Option 1: RSS Feed

Just click the RSS button to subscribe through your favorite reader.

Option 2: Twitter

When we publish a new post on Craft Buds we put a link on our Twitter page. Click the link or Twitter button to go to our Twitter page and click “Follow” in the upper right corner (you must be logged in first).

Option 3: Facebook

Just like Twitter, when we publish a new post on Craft Buds we put a link on our Facebook page. We also use Facebook to post links to giveaways or let you know about special events or sales! You can click the link or the Facebook button on our site to subscribe by hitting the “Like” button, or you can hit “Like” in the handy Facebook box on the upper left side of our website.

Option 4: E-mail

Subscribe to receive our posts in your e-mail. Just click the link or the E-mail button and enter your e-mail to subscribe.

Option 5: Flickr

Although you can’t use Flickr to stay updated with our blog posts, you can view photos of our projects and reader projects, or submit your own. Just click on the “Join This Group” option shown by the orange star below to be a part of the Craft Buds Flickr group.

When Jennifer (Ellison Lane Quilts) asked if Craft Buds would like to be part of the Modern Mini Quilt Challenge I figured it would be a great reason to get more experience! I’ve been sewing for years but just took up quilting earlier this year so I’m constantly learning and trying to improve my quilting skills. I’ve been compiling a rainbow of fabrics for a throw sized quilt and had just enough scrap strips left over for a mini quilt. To make this quilt, I cut 21 strips of my rainbow fabrics. Each strip is 9 to 12 inches long and 1 1/2 inches wide. I added 8 inch gray and blue strips to either side of the rainbow fabrics, then sewed all the strips together with 1/4″ seams, deciding the placement as I went.

After all the strips were together, I trimmed the edges straight and used a grid pattern for the quilting. The finished size is 21 inches wide by 19 inches tall.

Modern Mini Quilt Challenge

Have you made a mini quilt in the last 6 months, or are you thinking about making one soon? Here’s more information from Jennifer of Ellison Lane Quilts about entering the contest and winning prizes!

Are you ready for the Modern Mini Challenge? Here’s the deal. The Modern Mini Challenge is a call to challenge yourself. Try something new: a new technique, a new pattern, a new thread, etc and make a mini quilt. A mini quilt makes it possible and oh-so-doable! What’s a mini quilt? It’s a mug rug, a pillow, a wall hanging, a table topper… you get the idea! Check out the AMAZING minis in last year’s contest! There were over 200 awesome entries! You don’t have to be an experienced sewist to enter! Don’t let your lack of experience keep you from joining in! I want this event to be fun, encouraging and inspiring- just go for it! Believe in your ability and go CREATE!! Go be AWESOME!!

Over a year ago, a friend proposed a trade. Jayne would take photos of our family and newborn son and I’d make her a couple skirts. Over a year later the trade is complete! If you’re in the central Indiana/Muncie area, you need to check Jayne out! She is equally skilled at newborn, maternity, family, engagement or kid photos! You can find her website at jrophotos.com. Here are a few of my favorite shots of our newborn son at just a few days old, and at 8 months old, and then I’ll get to the skirts. Jayne does a great job with both candid and posed shots that don’t look posed.

For the skirts, Jayne was inspired by this post at A Couple More Hours and this post at Everyday Chaos. I used Simplicity 2606 view A as the basis for both skirts. This first skirt is mostly unmodified from the pattern other than I used a wider elastic for the waistband, left out the seam at the top of the waistband (it created a little ruffle that showed under shirts) and shortened it a bit. The contrasting hem band is just as wide on the inside of the skirt for a nice weight and finished look. The instructions have you fold the band in half, baste it together then stitch it to the skirt with the raw edges on the inside. Instead, I folded the top edges in by 1/2″ and encased the upper part of the skirt, then stitched it all together so there are no raw edges around the hem. This version of the skirt has discreet pockets! The fabric is Summerlove by Pat Bravo (Tokens of Love in Aqua and Retro Harmony in Sugar). This print came out awhile ago but it’s currently still available at Hawthorne Threads.

For the double layer skirt, I cut off the top 4 inches of the skirt pattern (not including the waistband) and used that for the dark gray. For the under layer, I used the remaining bottom of the skirt pattern but cut off 1 1/2″ off of the width (measured at the bottom of the skirt then matched up with the top of the skirt) so there would be less of a flare.

Then I cut the bottom 7 inches off of the pattern and used the remaining pattern piece for the upper layer. I removed a 3″ section from the front piece, to the right where one of the pleats from the top would line up, then trimmed the bottom and sides with bias tape.

Next I basted the two layers together, then used an overcast stitch to attach them to the top dark gray piece of the skirt. I then added the pleats and finished the waistband as directed in the pattern instructions. The fabric is Notting Hill by Joel Dewberry (Pristine Poppy in Poppy and Frames in Fern). Both are currently available at fabric.com (affiliate link). Below you can see the skirt after the layers have been stitched together and the pleats were added, but before the waistband. For the hem I folded under the bottom skirt layer by 1/2″ then 3″ and sewed it using a blind hem stitch. The wide hem give the skirt a nice weight and looks more finished.

And here’s the final skirt (with a few of Jayne’s chickens checking it out)!

What about you guys? Feel free to link up any summer clothing you’ve been making in the comments below!

Read on to get to know Casey and to learn more about crafting your own book proposal.

—

Casey, congratulations on your book proposal being accepted! How did you first get interested in writing a craft book, and what did that proposal process look like for you?

Thank you—I am over the moon excited! As cliché as it sounds, I think I’ve always wanted to write books. I come from an academic background so publishing has been part of my job description for a while now, and when I decided to pursue a career in the quilting and textile industry it was a natural transition to thinking about writing craft books. Also, I am an inveterate book reader and collector, and I found the quilting books on the market so inspiring that I soon found myself wanting to create one of my own.

I started developing a proposal early this year and I went to QuiltCon right in the middle of the process, which turned out to be a lucky move. I was able to meet Amy Marson and Roxane Cerda, the publisher and acquisitions editor of Stash Books, as well as Allison Rosen, who is in charge of their online presence. After QuiltCon, I followed up with a query letter to Roxane (which is a step I recommend for any readers considering proposing a book). That query led to a proposal, which led to another proposal, which was accepted!

Do you have any tips for someone else who is wanting to submit a craft book proposal?

First, do your research on the publisher(s) you plan to submit to. I approached the proposal writing process as if I were applying for a job—you want to demonstrate that your idea is a good fit for a particular publisher, and in order to do that you have to do your homework.

You also will want to explain how your proposed book will stand out in the marketplace. How is your idea unique and what will make consumers want to buy your book? I think the process of answering this question can actually help you to develop your ideas, and I kept it in mind from the very beginning of compiling my proposal and designing my projects. Also, be flexible. Publishers know their industry well, so if they give you advice on how to tweak your idea, take it.

Finally, polish your writing. Your proposal or query letter will be the first impression you make and you want it to be a good one. Publishers are looking at your writing skills in addition to your designs, and your proposal will serve as one sample of your writing, so revise your work a few times to make sure it represents you the way you want it to.

I saw on the Stash Books blog that you’ll be sharing more about the process of writing your book in a blog series. Can you tell us more about that and what we can look forward to?

Yes! I feel like there is a great deal of interest in craft publishing right now; when I attended the panel on book publishing at QuiltCon, the room was full and there were lots of questions from the audience. Yet, at least for me, the publishing process remains a bit mysterious. I thought a blog series might be a good way to shed some light on the entire process of craft book publishing for readers who might be interested in writing their own books one day.

One of the aspects of the Crafting a Book series that I am most excited about is that the Stash Books blog will be featuring posts written by my editors and others who are involved in producing the book on their end, so I think between our two blogs readers will get a well-rounded idea of what goes on behind the scenes. I know I’m excited to read about the process from the editors’ points of view.

Together, our two blogs will feature monthly posts about particular aspects of the publishing process, starting with the proposal. Some of the topics I’m going to address are the first steps after a proposal is accepted, the process of creating the projects and writing the instructions, and the process of designing the book.

Read the about Casey’s book proposal from the perspective of an author and an editor.

Casey, what’s next for you?

Right now I’m in the thick of making the projects for the book—my deadline for having them done is early this October! I’ve also been working on publishing and printing my latest stand-alone pattern, Punctual, and promoting my line with individual stores and distributors. A big personal goal is to make it to Quilt Market in Houston this fall. I went to Market in the spring of 2012 and it was a fantastic experience. There are so many areas of this industry that I would like to be a part of, and Market is a great opportunity to learn more about them and get inspired!

You can follow Casey: Casey’s blog | Casey’s portfolio | Twitter

For more advice on writing a craft book proposal:

Does Your Craft Book Proposal Stand Out?
How to Write a Craft Book Proposal
Craft Book Proposal: How to Get an Editor’s Attention

—

Thomas, thanks for visiting Craft Buds to share more about your work as a writer, fabrics designer and creator! Can you tell us a little bit about your background and how your work shifted to the textiles industry?

Until about five years ago I had spent my entire life in academia; I got graduate degrees from Ohio University and the Cranbrook Academy of Art, and taught art and design at Drake University and the State University of New York. In 2008, I developed a rare neuromuscular disorder and had to leave both academia and the traditional work world.

Once we got my illness managed, I decided to make a dress for my then almost 2-year-old daughter. At about that age everything for kids starts to have corporate tie-ins and I though I could certainly figure out a dress for her. So, I made one, and then another, and another and another and another. She loved them, and I loved that she loved them, so I was hooked.

From there I decided to give fabric design a try and just dove in. There was so much I didn’t have a clue about, especially the industry itself, but by then it was about 20 years since I started my career as an artist, and all of those years did a lot to really help me jump-start things here.

Market quilt by Thomas Knauer in “Thesaurus” fabric

What would people be most surprised to know about being a fabric designer?

There are probably so many things that would surprise people, to be honest. The most likely is how much fabric designers make: generally 1-2% of the retail cost of the finished fabric. Certainly fabric design opens up some doors—it certainly has for me—but it also involves a remarkable amount of work to do really well.

Like any business there are always trade-offs, and in the end I am glad to be doing it. Certainly, there are a lot of personal rewards; I truly love figuring out how to tell a story or approach a conceptual problem through fabric design. At the same time there are only so many hours in the day. If you want to make a living doing this, you are going to need to do a whole lot of different things, and expect to devote and insane amount of time to doing it. Heck, I wouldn’t be able to do this if my wife weren’t a professor.

Actually, my advice to anyone trying to break into this world would be to do it part time for years while still working a straight job, or have a partner who can supply that steady income; it is a long, long road.

Doppelgänger quilt by Thomas Knauer and quilted by Lisa Sipes

I’m excited to hear more about your book with F+W Media, due out next spring. Can you tell us a little more about the book conception and writing process and what that looked like for you?

In my head, this book is something of a sampler, not a set of blocks to make a sampler quilt, but a sampling of quilts that illustrate a methodology, a conceptual approach to modern quilting. The quilts don’t all look modern, so I’m not really talking about modern in strictly aesthetic terms; each of the quilts in this book is a response to a specifically modern (or even post-modern problem). Each quilt starts out with a problem, a concern, and issue and I figure out how to translate a response into a quilt. In all but one case, the quilts are practical, usable quilts; the book is about integrating our values, our concerns, and our worldviews into the things we make and our lives, wrapping ourselves up in objects that speak to others and ourselves. One of my QuiltCon quilts—In Defense of Handmade—was made for the book. I wish I could go into greater detail, but that’s going to have to wait until we get closer to the release date.

As far as writing this book, it was a total dream. I waited until I found a publisher who I though was a really good fit, and F+W has been fantastic; they have really supported the project all the way through and allowed me to make the decisions that I felt I needed to make. I was lucky enough to have Lisa Sipes quilt all of the quilts for the book, which has been incredible, and have had the support of some fabulous piecers to help me get all of the tops done in time (you’ll hear about them in the book).

The actual writing really was the best part for me; I am a writer by nature as anyone who visits my blog can attest to. I actually wrote almost the entirety of the book in two four-days bursts. For one of them I took off to Philadelphia to see my neurologist and then locked myself in a hotel until I had finished the first half of the book. I can’t actually remember where I went the second time, but I wrote the second half in much the same way. The really great thing about this book is that F+W gave me a word count that could never really ever fit in the book length we had planned on, and I have to believe they knew that. It meant that they just wanted me go ahead and write, which is what I love to do.

Of course there was a lot of editing and revising; there always is. That added about two more weeks to the writing. The thing about a quilt book is that the making takes up almost all of the time, at least for me; luckily that is kinda awesome too. But the writing, that is definitely a bit like heroin for me; I am addicted and already looking forward to starting the second, third, and fourth books.

Blast quilt by Rachael Gander in Thomas Knauer’s “Asbury” fabric

How do you find a balance between your creative work and your personal/family time? Do you have any tips for creative entrepreneurs in this arena?

Honestly, sometimes better than others. That is just the nature of things here in the fabric/quilt world. Things happen in spurts and you just have to put in the time when you have to put in the time. For a while at the start I think I did a pretty mediocre job of balancing things, but now I am starting to say no to more things. I’m in a process of cutting down to the core of things that truly matter to me in terms of what I do in this industry, especially now that we have a new baby, and K is getting to work on her second book.

As far as tips, oi… So much of that depends on your financial circumstances. If you can afford to take things slowly then do it, but not everyone has that luxury; when it is sink or swim, you gotta do what you gotta do. My biggest advice for being a creative entrepreneur is to have a safety net, to have it be part time until the very last minute, and to have several back-up plans. Passion is a prerequisite, but it just isn’t enough. I don’t mean to be all negative, but I think it is important to hear. If you really want to succeed, don’t jump in too early; that is the best way to keep enjoying what you do and to have the space you need to prepare for a successful entry into doing this full-time.

What’s next for you?

That is always a hard question because I rarely know for sure. We are going to be living in England next year (K has a fellowship at Cambridge) and I hope to spend much of my work time writing another book. And of course I hope there will be a lot more fabric. I have just started a partnership with Janome and am diving in headfirst into machine embroidery, which I have wanted to do for a while. More than just cure stuff, machine embroidery can do some things that would be otherwise impossible, and that is what I want to do, some utterly insane designs that no hand could really do, or at least not in less that a couple of years…

I’m thinking I am going to start moving back toward the gallery a bit more after a long hiatus. While I am still in love with practical and usable quilts (and won’t stop making those), I am finding that I have a backlog of textile and stitchery ideas that are truly best suited for the galleries I used to haunt.

Beyond that, who knows? I have a feeling this is going to be a year of change…

—

Thanks for the thoughtful interview, Thomas! You can stay in touch by following his blog.

What did you find most interesting from this post? If you have questions or comments for Thomas, feel free to leave them here!

Modern Yardage offers designs from new and untapped talents who are professional designers. What is also fun about this new company is that the fabrics are based on 44″ designs, but they are printed on 58″ wide fabric, so the additional space in the margin is filled with fun extras!

I was excited to chat more with April about her launch of this creative business including the biggest challenges and what she hopes for the future. Read on, and be sure to enter the giveaway if you’d like to try out Modern Yardage fabric for yourself!

April, what is your background in, career-wise, and how did you become interested in modern fabric and sewing?

I have an advertising/marketing background. I worked in large ad agencies in New York City and Washington DC then after receiving my MBA, I worked in marketing and communications for the Intel Corporation. But I have been sewing seriously since High School (sort of freakishly, actually) and have always loved it. I spent hours as a teenager making my own prom dresses, bathrobes, and costumes. When I started staying home with my kids, I started a little business where I made tote bags and sold them at craft fairs and farmers markets. One day I walked into Pine Needles, a little modern quilting shop in the Salt Lake City area, and my life changed. I fell in love with modern quilting fabric. I hadn’t seen it before that moment. My bags became more beautiful because of this great find. This led to my designing a perfect, comfortable headband called the Macy Jayne Reversible Headband. From the beginning I used beautiful modern quilting fabrics as part of the design and people just wouldn’t stop asking where I got my fabric. The headbands became so popular and sold so well that I was going through fabric like crazy. I started looking into getting fabric wholesale, which got me more involved in the industry. Before long I was designing sewing patterns with Joel Dewberry and then started licensing my sewing patterns to Riley Blake.

Can you tell me about when the idea for Modern Yardage first started simmering? How did you create your plan of attack?

Through being a part of the industry and learning a lot from our friends and experiences in the industry, my husband and I became aware of the shortcomings of the fabric world. We recognized that there is an enormous lag time of 6 months to 1 year before fabric gets from the designer’s completed product to the arrival of the actual printed bolts of fabric into fabric stores in the US. This makes for a lot of speculation on trends. We recognized how from a fabric line, there are winner prints and there are loser prints. No one knows for certain which will sell and which won’t. So there are often too many bolts that get discounted and the designers, design companies, and the retailers lose money. Then the designs that do very well are in short supply and sewists and crafters can’t get them when they need them. Retailers miss out on the opportunity to sell those designs when they can’t get enough of them in time. Additionally, there are so many talented designers who don’t get the opportunity to get their designs on fabric. Traditional design companies cannot afford to give as many talented designers as they would like, the opportunity to work with them because their financial risk is too high and they often don’t even have warehouse space to house anymore lines of fabric.

My husband, Jay, and I were aware of the capabilities of digital textile printing and had learned a few things about it. I am not exactly sure how all of this came together into one brilliant thought. I only know that one morning, less than a year ago, Jay walked down the stairs and said, “I know what we need to do.” This is when he told me about his inspiration and his plan. I knew immediately that his idea of printing modern designs onto fabric, on-demand, had to be the way of the future. We leaped into bringing our vision into reality immediately and just 5 months later, modernyardage.com was live on the web. We have added to his original vision and have innovated to showcase our technology and unique use of our tools. It has all come together extraordinarily well.

We scouted out talented designers, created a vision for the branding of our company, built a website, ordered and built equipment, then rented a space for Modern Yardage to call home.

What were the practical barriers that you had to overcome in order to start your business?

We were fortunate enough to have enough money to start our business so that we didn’t have to share equity and could keep full control of our company. We have had some challenges in staffing. The roles we needed filled from the beginning were few, but it was critical that we found people who could contribute to our vision and carry it out effectively. In the end, we have taken on more ourselves than we should because it is too early and formative of a time to put others in the position to create the path to fulfilling our vision.

When we approached our first 5 designers, we had a resounding YES! from each of them. We felt very blessed to happen upon such a great group of people who believed in our vision, supported our efforts, and had patience with us. Cindy Lindgren, Heather Dutton, Emilie Daly, Dana Morgan, and Katie Schrader all had enough faith in our big idea to sign an exclusive fabric contract with us before we even had a logo or equipment. None of them had ever even met us in person. They just recognized early on that what we were doing had to be the way of the future and provided a great opportunity for them to be pioneers with us. As far as legal issues go, we approach legalities very seriously because Jay is an attorney as well as an MBA. He is able to work brilliantly with licensees to make agreements that are beneficial to them as well as to Modern Yardage.

The technology has been challenging. It took us and our operations manager a while to get the hang of it all. We are still learning all of the time and have certainly had moments of frustration and have even shed a few tears. At this point we have the operations well under control and we are now focusing on leveraging our technology to bring some new, never-before-seen innovations to the fabric world.

What does your typical day or week look like? How do you find a balance?

Oh dear! I don’t know how I pull it off sometimes. I get up early and get my kids off to school then go to work. I answer countless emails from hopeful designers, fulfill requests from our current designers, and I answer questions from customers. I work on strategy with staff concerning marketing and operations and manage priorities and schedules. There is always work to do on our website and products to add. Fortunately we now have a great team at Modern Yardage that works well together. The commitment of everyone and support that I get from operations and marketing keeps me going. I leave to pick up my kids from school in the afternoon and then take time off until they are all in bed. Then I stay up too late tying up details and writing more emails.

I still have piles of laundry to fold each week that often don’t get folded and soccer practices and swimming lessons to go to with my kids. I have to figure out what to make for dinner each night and try to get my kids to where they need to be on time. I am like all working moms, but since I am in charge, I can create my own flexibility. I never want my children to feel like I am not paying attention or that they aren’t important to me so I have to keep things as separate as possible. Jay and I really enjoy working together and talking about Modern Yardage and our goals for the business. Like our children, our business also brings us closer because it is also our baby. I don’t have great balance in my life, but I am not sure I ever will. I just make the best of things, set my priorities and keep a positive attitude. Somehow things usually work out.

What is your vision for Modern Yardage, and how does this tie in with what you believe is the future of the textiles business?

Our vision for Modern Yardage extends far beyond where it is now. We think that what we offer now is great, but we do have some tricks up our sleeve. Over the next year, new features will be added to our site that will allow more customization. These options will blow the minds of our customers. In a few years, we plan to expand in a way that will entirely change the way that people buy fabric. We are building strategic alliances so that our fabric becomes more readily available. Jay’s main responsibility is implementing our strategic plan, which includes building key alliances and managing critical research and development both with our equipment and our user interface. We think that before long, as technology improves and becomes more affordable, digital textile printing will take over. The old fashion way of screen printing fabric and importing it from overseas will be obsolete and the possibilities will be endless in textile design. Imaginations will soar and the industry will never look back.

Giveaway!

Modern Yardage is giving you the chance to win 2 yards of fabric of your choice! To enter to win, fill out the Rafflecopter widget below. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And the Winner is . . .

Debra L. (5/3/2013 15:25:11)

And the Winner is . . .

Abbe C. (5/4/2013 9:07:06)

And the Winner is . . .

Deborah H. (5/8/2013 7:50:04)

And the Winner is . . .

Linda M. (5/3/2013 14:28:1)

And the Winner is . . .

Mary S. (5/4/2013 23:38:27)

Janome Magnolia 7325 Sewing Machine • Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores

Fat Quarter Shop • Sew Sweetness • Aurifil • Pellon

Coats + Clark • SewCanShe.com • Andover Fabrics

Go To Patterns • FreeSpirit Fabric • Aurifil • Imagine Gnats

Sew South (Sewing Swag) • Kindle Fire (Blogger-sponsored prize)

Craftsy

To enter the giveaway, simply “Like” all of the Facebook pages below, and fill out the Google form letting us know you did. We know you will love them just as much as we do!

Make sure you only enter ONCE, because this form is shared on all of the participating sites. Duplicate entries will be deleted, and giveaway ends Friday, May 10th. Good luck!

Giveaway now closed. Winners announced in separate post.

No purchase necessary. For alternate entry, e-mail lindsay(at)craftbuds(dot)com with your full name and the subject line “May Giveaway Contest.” The sponsors will ship all prizes within 7 days of the end of the giveaway. Giveaway ends Friday, May 10th at midnight EST. Once the giveaway ends, winners will be chosen using Random.org and contacted within 24 hours by e-mail. This main contest post at CraftBuds.com will be updated with winners’ names once we’ve heard back from them. Winners will need to respond within 48 hours to claim their prize or another winner will be chosen. International entries are welcome; Some giveaways open worldwide.

Go enter more Giveaways at Sew, Mama, Sew!

I thought it would be fun to share about some of the recent free Craftsy classes I took myself. Here’s my quick review of each one:

1. Creative Quilt Backs: I’ve only started to experiment with making pieced quilt backs. My husband doesn’t really “get it.” He always suggests that my patchwork quilt backs are weird, and that I should always use a solid piece of fabric. Unfortunately, it’s often difficult to find a fabric cut large enough for my quilt back, particularly if I’m making something larger than a crib-size quilt.

Elizabeth Hartman to the rescue! In this mini class, you’ll learn how to create really cute and interesting quilt backs that tie in elements from the front of your quilt and extend the width of your backing fabric when necessary. I love Elizabeth’s work and it’s fun to get to hear her passion for modern piecing in her video course.

2. QuiltCon Lecture Series 2013: I was so lucky to be able to attend QuiltCon in Austin this February. Even still, I missed some of the lectures I really wanted to attend, because I was either exhausted from the trip or just got caught up in the exhibit hall looking at pretty quilts.

I am so, so glad that Craftsy offered a free video series of selected QuiltCon lectures. While I got to see Amy and David Butler’s inspiring talks in person, I missed out on many others. I actually watched the lectures from Heather Jones, Angela Walters, Jacquie Gering, and Mary Fons via the handy Craftsy iPhone app, because I didn’t have anything good to read before bed. Wow! I cannot tell you how inspired I was from their stories. If you are interested in quilting, you will not regret checking out this series!

The next 2 free Craftsy mini-courses I’m going to take are:

1. Sewing Machine 911: Give your sewing machine some TLC with the help of this free course. Learn to clean and maintain your sewing machine with tips and tricks taught in this class.

2. Modern Buttercream: Learn to use buttercream like a pro! Discover the tricks and tips to construct and create a beautifully finished buttercream cake.

Have you tried any of the Craftsy free mini-courses? What did you think?

I first met Janelle when she entered and won a fabric giveaway right here at Craft Buds. She and I e-mailed back and forth because she was moving across the globe, so she told me I could either wait until after the move, or mail it to her relatives. I waited, which was a mistake, because I almost forgot to mail her fabric!

You can follow Janelle’s blog or connect with her on Facebook to get the latest news on her bag patterns. But I’m happy to share two of her newest sewing patterns with you here today:

The Boyd St. Bowling Bag

My friend Veronica recently pattern tested a version of Janelle’s new pattern, the Boyd St. Bowling Bag. Here’s her version–isn’t it gorgeous?

I love how roomy this bag is, and the look of the leather handles against a bright and summer print. Here’s another version that would be perfect for carrying all your belongings in style.

The Necessary Clutch Wallet Pattern

Another one of Janelle’s new patterns is The Necessary Clutch Wallet. I love the pretty lines and metal turn lock clasp on the wallet front! Inside, there’s plenty of room for your credit cards, cash and more. If you check out her blog, you’ll find some great step-by-step tutorials showing how to add a wrist or purse strap to the clutch, how to print PDF patterns, and more!

Giveaway!

One lucky reader will win a generous prize package (a $42 value) from Emmaline Bags!

- Boyd St. Bowling Bag ePattern + 1 Hardware Kit (pictured)
- The Necessary Clutch Wallet ePattern + 1 Turn Lock Clasp
- a $10 Store credit to Emmaline Bags

To enter to win, just fill out the Rafflecopter form below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The PDF patterns giveaway is open worldwide, but the winner must have a U.S. and Canada mailing address to also win the hardware. Good luck!