Life Purpose Boot Camp
Eric Maisel
New World Press; $12.29

I had the pleasure of interviewing Eric Maisel for our ICAP Busines call this week just after I read his newest book, Life Purpose Boot Camp. In his book, Dr. Maisel takes you on an eight-week journey that lets you discover your life purposes (yes, we don’t have just one) and learn to make more meaning in your life. While many of us are seeking a more meaningful life, it’s up to us to develop a menu of meaning opportunities that lead to that. So we are not so much seekers as creators or meaning-makers. One of the benefits of doing the program is an increased level of awareness particularly in the choices you make. For me, some of the keys in the book beyond developing this personal menu are how you upgrade your personality so that you can life your purpose and the steps you can take on a daily basis towards living your life purposes. I loved the idea of creating your own icon as an anchor for your life purpose. Many of the examples involve creative people, which adds to its usefulness for artists.

Look for the book at your favorite quilt or book retailer. Here’s a link to Amazon if you would like to learn more about the book.

—————-

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE?

Please do! Just use it in its entirety and be sure to include the blurb below:

Morna McEver is the founder and CEO of the International Association of Creative Arts Professionals where creative arts entrepreneurs craft business success. Her weekly e-zine offers tips, techniques and inspiration to help you craft business success from your creative arts passion. You can sign up for a FREE subscription at http://www.creativeartsprofessional.com.

Savor Each Stitch  
Carolyn Friedlander
Lucky Spool Media, LLC; $27.95  

I had been looking forward to this book and was thrilled when my copy arrived. For those of you who do not know Carolyn Friedlander, the talented pattern and fabric designer, you will once you have read just a bit of the book. Her voice comes through very clearly in this thoughtful book. Trained as an architect, Carolyn found that quilt making satisfied needs that architecture did not, specifically color and working with her hands. She explores six elements of quilt making — line, contrast, scale, emphasis, color, volume, and texture — with the goal that you will think differently about design and challenge yourself. A variety of eight projects allows you to explore the design elements. While this is recommended for confident beginners, I think more experienced quilters will enjoy the opportunity to be more present in their design process. An added plus is the lovely photography, which showcases Lake Wales, Fla., where Carolyn was raised on a cattle and citrus ranch.

Look for the book at your favorite quilt or book retailer. Here’s a link to Amazon if you would like to learn more about the book.

Mindset
Carol S. Dweck, PhD
Ballantine Books; $16

I read this book, subtitled The Psychology of Success, earlier this summer at the recommendation of a friend. I have come to believe more so over time that our mindset, not our knowledge or how hard we work, is really the key to our success. For more than 20 years the author, a world-renowned Stanford University psychologist,  has studied mindset. In this book, she discusses two different mindsets: the fixed mindset, which “creates an urgency to prove yourself over and over,” and the growth mindset, which is “based on the belief that your basic qualities are things you can cultivate through your efforts.” The growth mindset allows for growth as we stretch and challenge ourselves. What is key for all of us is that our mindset is not fixed and we can learn to use a growth mindset to become successful and happy. What I found fascinating was the look at leaders in both sports and business who had fixed or growth mindsets, e.g., Jeffrey Skilling of Enron contrasted with Jack Welch of General Electric or Bobby Knight contrasted with John Wooden, both legendary basketball coaches. Dweck includes help for looking at the world in a new way to change to a growth mindset. She also includes a graphic by Nigel Holmes to remind yourself of the differences between the fixed and growth mindset to help you make decisions that lead to a future you decide.

You can look for the book at your favorite quilt shop or book retailer. Here’s a link to Amazon if you would like to learn more about the book.

Sewing School 2: Lessons in Machine Sewing
Amie Petronis Plumley and Andria Lisle
Storey Publishing; $18.95

We are all interested in seeing sewing expand with each generation, and we need to make it fun and accessible for young kids. I love what Amie Petronis Plumley and Andria Lisle have done with Sewing School 2. The authors, owners of The Sewing School in Memphis, share their own experiences teaching kids. The projects are fun, varied from simple to complex, and useful. The book starts with an intro section for parents about how to teach sewing and then instructs the kids on choosing and using a sewing machine, and more. Some of the projects include a simple pin cushion and a secret message pillow, a backpack and a quilt. The authors include some sidebars on how kids can make the projects more individual, plus a sewing playlist. Definitely designed to inspire kids to enjoy sewing successfully.

You can look for the book at your favorite quilt shop or book retailer. Here’s a link to Amazon if you would like to learn more about the book.

Color Play: Second Edition
Joen Wolfrom
C&T Publishing; $29.95

As a fan of Joen Wolfrom’s original Color Play, I was excited to hear that she had updated this wonderful resource. This new edition has been completely rewritten and reorganized, and it includes more than 100 new photos. What will you find in this edition? Chapters include historical facts and basic color information; the five most beautiful color plans and their color partners; the importance of value and how to use it; the characteristics of the major color families; a color reference for each of the 24 colors in the Ives Color Wheel; and how-to steps to create depth, luminosity, transparency, shadows and other landscape illusions. Joen’s work is based on the Ives color wheel with primary colors of yellow, magenta, and cyan (turquoise blue), rather than the traditional yellow-red-blue color wheel we learned in elementary school. This shift will make a significant difference in how you develop your color sense in your work. Nature also becomes the key to organize color, with four unique color groups. This is wonderful introduction to color theory to those needing one, and a valuable reference for all creative artists.

You can look for the book at your favorite quilt shop or book retailer. Here’s a link to Amazon if you would like to learn more about the book.

Remarkable Rectangle
Robert DeCarli
Martingale; $26.99

I love when seemingly complex designs can be made easily, and that’s what Robert DeCarli, a former math professor, has done in this collection. He was taken with a classic overshot weaving pattern and sought to create the pattern in a quilt. Using just strip sets (rectangles), he created that first pattern. What struck him was the sense of motion in the designs as well as their complexity. In this book, he shares 15 different quilts. Since the quilts are made of blocks, Robert also offers some ideas for twisting and turning the blocks to create new designs, something that cannot be done with a woven coverlet. You will find a number of striking designs in the book, and while most appear traditional, your fabric choice could make yours more modern.

You can look for the book at your favorite quilt shop or book retailer. Here’s a link to Amazon if you would like to learn more about the book.

99 Continuous Line Quilting Designs
Lone Jacobsen Minkkinen
American Quilters’ Society; $24.95

Danish graphic designer and quilter Lone Jacobsen Minkkinen offers a selection of 99 continuous line designs for hand or machine quilting in this highly original collection. You will find designs in six categories: around the world, transportation, leisure, celebrate, toys for boys and pearls for girls, and zodiac. Examples include elephants from Africa, the Sydney Opera House, a Viking ship, a guitar, Halloween skeletons, and castles. You will also find a selection of words to fit the themes. The designs are versatile and can stand on their own, be used as accents or fillers, or be combined.

You can look for the book at your favorite quilt shop or book retailer. Here’s a link to Amazon if you would like to learn more about the book.

Quilt As-You-Go Made Modern
Jera Brandvig
Stash Books; $21.95

Those of us who have been quilting for several decades may remember the original quilt-as-you-go method taught by Georgia Bonesteel. I still have the my book from the 1970s and made a few quilts using this method. Jera Bradnvig has taken the concept and updated it for the modern quilter, allowing creativity to shine in design. Blocks are fully quilted on batting, which she refers to as your canvas, and then joined together, with or without a sashing strip. To finish the quilt, she adds a backing along with minimal quilting along the seams. The book includes 12 projects to serve as starting off points. A good choice for someone interested in a quick method to finish quilts.

You can look for the book at your favorite quilt shop or book retailer. Here’s a link to Amazon if you would like to learn more about the book.

The Little Things in Life
Heather and Elissa Willms
Kansas City Start Quilts; $26.95

As the summer winds to a close, I often look for a quick project, something that will give me a sense of accomplishment if my sewing days wane. I found lots of choices in The Little Things in Life from mother/daughter design team Heather and Elissa Willms. My list includes cord wrap for all the many cords lining the floor behind a table, a small notebook and adorned with embroidered circles. Some of the extras you will find are how to rust fabric and how to make salad in a jar.

You can look for the book at your favorite quilt shop or book retailer. Here’s a link to Amazon  if you would like to learn more about the book.

Stitches in Rhyme: Mother Goose Embroidered Quilts (and More!) for the Modern Nursery
Donna di Natale and Amy Ubben
Kansas City Star Quilts; $26.95

The discovery of a series of Mother Goose nursery rhyme blocks from the early 1940s inspired Donna di Natale to track down the descendants of the designer, artist LaVerne Bartos. From there, she and a friend Amy Ubben took the 21 blocks and created a sampler quilt plus an extra block. In addition to the quilt, you’ll find directions for 11 more projects, ranging from a curtain and pillow covers to a changing pad and stuffed Humpty Dumpty toys. The book includes general embroidery instructions as well as step-by-step instructions for each item. With so many of my friends having grandbabbies, I have got my eye on one or two as gifts.