Patchwork Loves Embroidery
Gail Pan
Martingale; $24.99

I have noticed an increasing trend toward handwork, perhaps as a social activity, perhaps as a meditative exercise, perhaps just to relax. I think you will enjoy these delightful designs from Australian Gail Pan. You will find 15 patchwork and hand-embroidery projects ranging from wall hangings to table runners, from totes to several charming journal covers. You can mix and match the patterns and designs to end up with an endless collection of projects. I’m looking forward to starting one of the small pincushions.

If you are interested, you can find the book on Amazon.com; I would love to hear what project choice would be yours. Tell me below.

Eat That Frog!
Brian Tracy
Berrett-Koehler Publishers; $14.95

An oldie but goodie, Eat That Frog! uses the metaphor of tackling your hardest item on your to-do list, aka the frog, first thing in the day. Motivational speaker Brian Tracy outlines 21 suggestions to stop procrastinating and get more done. Some of the ideas include setting the table, i.e., being clear on what you want to accomplish; taking it one oil barrel at a time, i.e., one step at a time; and getting out of the technology time sinks. Each chapter concludes with action steps to Eat That Frog! While many of the ideas are not new, it is a good reminder about what we can do to be responsible for our own results.

Mark Twain has been quoted as saying,

“Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day,” and

“If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.” (In actuality, the original quote goes back to Nicolas Chamfort, who lived in the 1700s.)

So why do I suggest starting your day, your breakfast, with a frog? We all have lots on our “to do” list, and I am sure I am not the only one who will look for the easy project first.

The idea with starting with the frog is to get the big item done first, the one that might scare you, the one that you would usually put off, the one that probably has the biggest impact in your business. I think we keenly know this as procrastination!

I’m putting out a challenge right now. Look for the frog and do that first.

Look at it as the start of a new habit. Let me know what your frog is and how eating the frog first works for you.

photo credit: pattoise via photopin cc

Modern Hand Stitching
Ruth Chandler
Landauer Publishing; $24.95

I love the resurgence in hand stitching. We are definitely seeing more emphasis in what we could call “slow stitching,” enjoying the process of the stitching. Ruth Chandler’s Modern Hand Stitching is a wonderful resource in this area. Ruth teaches you nearly 40 stitches as well as challenges you with her “No Boundaries” section for each stitch to build beyond the basics. To learn the stitches, Ruth suggests creating a sampler book. Interspersed throughout the book are pieces from a designer’s gallery to provide additional inspiration. If you need a refresher on basic hand stitches or are starting from scratch, this is a good resource.

Here’s a link to Amazon if you would like to learn more about the book.

Last week my eldest niece graduated from high school. An honor student, she plans to attend the University of Wisconsin in the fall. I am crushed that she will be so far from home; yet I know she will flourish there. As I was taking part in all the festivities over the weekend, I thought about some of what I learned from her.

1. Set goals and work to achieve them. She is a very goal-focused young woman and persevered to accomplish those goals, whether that was achieving high marks or working to improve her times on the cross country team or completing a quilt to hang in my guild’s show.
2. Keep balance in your life. She wasn’t an all-school and no-fun kind of girl. I saw plenty of videos she created with her friends and cousins to know that she found something outside school that challenged her and brought joy into her life. And, as required for graduation in our county, she took part in community service activities.
3. Celebrate your achievements. She had a list of ways to celebrate the diploma – an afternoon in DC after graduation, a graduation night dinner, another celebration dinner on Saturday, and joining her mom on an overseas business trip later in June.
4. Be grateful. First thing Sunday morning, she sent us all a text thanking her family  for being there to help her celebrate this achievement and for supporting her along the way.
5. Keep a sense of humor. In the text she thanked us for being in the first 17.667 years of her life and wishing we will be there for the next 17.667, which would bring her to 35.334.

I know lots of you have family graduations around this time. What did you learn from your graduate? Leave a reply below, or log onto to Facebook and leave a comment.

The Wonderful Colorful Wonder Wheel of Color
Lynn Koolish, Kerry Graham and Mary Wruk
FunStitch Studio; $12.95

Do you want to get your kids or grandkids more involved in art and more specifically color theory? The Wonderful Colorful Wonder Wheel of Color is the answer. This fun, engaging, approachable book is filled with more than 20 activities, worksheets, stickers, quizzes and games all designed to teach color theory. Some of the projects include converting your salad spinner into a spin art machine, transferring a crayon design, and creating your own painted shoe laces. The book even includes a “Certificate of Color-ology” for those who complete the activities. A great way to introduce kids to color theory!

Here’s a link to Amazon if you would like to learn more about the book.

This seems to crop up every once in a while in my life and those of my clients: the inability to stay focused and get done what needs to be done. It can be because you are distracted by other options, whether that’s the other stuff in the room or another great idea that is beckoning.

Yes, you, too, are infected with Bright Shiny Object Syndrome. I have been there. Sometimes in my office I get totally distracted by the projects I want to make or the books/tools that just arrived or the idea I have for a new product or all the blogs that call me to tour them. How do you get past this? Here are a few ideas:

1. Take a break. Right now you could be overwhelmed rather than just distracted. This could be an hour or it could be a few days for yourself. The work will still be there.
2. Remember your “why.” What is your purpose and how is what you want to accomplish leading you in that direction?
3. Prioritize what needs to be done. Prioritize by what projects/objects will provide you with the best return on your investment, (i.e., what will bring money into your business.) This is often what it will take to focus.
4. Write down the distraction in your planner or idea notebook. I have a notebook or journal where I track what is going on in my business and it is filled with ideas. If I write it down there, it gets it out of my mind and I can go back to focusing where I should be.
5. Clean up your environment so the objects are not in front of you. If you are working on your computer, shut down your email and your Internet browser, so they won’t distract you.
6. Work in a different environment. When I get ready to proofread The Professional Quilter, I do this on the porch in nice weather and the living room in colder weather. The living room does not have lots of BSOs – other than the kaleidoscope collection, which I am not sure why I can avoid it. When I suggested that one of my clients look for a spot to work without distractions, she zeroed in on her dining room and quickly got all her work done. Find the space that will work for you, whether it is a different room in your home or even the local library or coffee shop.
7. Schedule time for BSOs. If you know you will be distracted by that blog tour in the middle of the day, schedule it for later in the day or the weekend. That way you will enjoy it, and you won’t feel guilty about not getting your work completed.

How do handle all the bright shiny objects that call you during the day? Please share your ideas below.

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photo credit: tim ellis via photopin cc

Alphabet Zoo: Lions and Tigers and Quilts for You
Vicki Hansen
Kansas City Star Quilts; $25.95

This charming collection of lower and uppercase fonts of animal shapes is perfect for lots of uses. You can make appliqué pieces, hand or machine embroider the letter on fabric, or paint the letters. Projects include quilts, a birthday banner, pillowcase and more. I know you will have lots of fun with this idea.

Here is a link to Amazon if you would like to learn more about the book.

I am just back from Pittsburgh and Spring Quilt Market energized and with an action list. How about you? Here are just some items I saw.

1. It’s the rotary cutter’s 35th birthday, and Olfa was celebrating. Do you remember the original? I do. Olfa introduced the rotary cutter in 1979, and it revolutionized the way that quilters and other crafters create. Can you imagine creating the quilts we do today without one? The photo includes the original rotary cutter on loan from the Japanese offices of Olfa. In keeping with innovation, Olfa has introduced a quick-change blade release; no more washer and nut assembly.
2. Fairfield Processing Company introduced Foamology. The lightweight foam elements have stickybase™ adhesive for easy DIY decor uses. Available in rigid and soft types, you just peel off the paper backing, wrap your fabric around the form and stick it in place. It comes in flat and tufted versions. Fairfield showcased a huge wall of attendee-created blocks.
3. New from Soak, the laundry care people, is Flatter, a starch-free smoothing spray. Made with Plant Derived and Renewable Ingredients, Flatter has no sulfates, no silicones, no SLS or SLES – and definitely no wrinkles. It comes in four fresh, clean fragrances. Soak also showed its designer nail polish sets.
4. On the fabric front I noticed we were still seeing lots of clear colors, which I like. I also saw ruffles and pennants in a number of booths. The influence of the modern quilt movement continues with a number of fabric companies devoting lines and divisions to this area. Showing its first collection was Cotton + Steel, a new division of RJR Fabrics.  C + S is a collaborative venture from designers Melody Miller, Rashida Coleman-Hale, Alexia Abegg, Sarah Watts and Kimberly Kight. Each designer creates her own collection and then the team collaborates to “color” the group and decide what designs will be printed on quilting cottons and other fabrications. This is an exciting approach to fabric design geared to help shop owners reach the emerging new generation of sewers.

I have also posted some photos on Facebook of what I saw, so pop on over there for some more details.

Home Sewn Celebrations
Teri Henderson Tope
American Quilter’s Society; $21.95

I am a celebrator, and so is Teri Henderson Tope, the author of the new book Home Sewn Celebrations. Teri is from a large, loud Italian/German/American family, and while shes says she does not create gourmet meals in the kitchen, she wants to look great there. Most of the 21 projects are food and celebration focused, such as the table runner, the aprons or casserole covers. If you are looking for some fun ways to incorporate your love of sewing or quilting into how you celebrate the kitchen and the memories you make there, you will find some fun ideas in this book.

Here’s a link to Amazon if you would like to learn more about the book.