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.

Simple Pleasures in Redwork
Kathy Schmitz
Leisure Arts; $19.95

If you have not tried embroidery, this charming collection of Kathy Schmitz’s patterns is a delightful place to start. The book includes 10 patterns ranging from a simple pincushion to an 11-block wallhanging.  The book includes instructions to embroider along with stitching diagrams for 18 different embroidery stitches. I particularly liked “Sing,” a hanging sachet with a caged bird worked in green, red and black floss.

Hand Appliqué With Embroidery
Sandra Leichner
AQS Publishing; $26.95

As a fan of Sandra Leichner’s quilts, I was looking forward to the release of her first book, Hand Appliqué With Embroidery. In the introduction she mentions that she’s always been fascinated by the details and how important they are to the finished product. I think if you’ve studied her work, that’s what impresses you: her attention to detail. The detail is most often done with embroidery embellishment techniques. In this book she teaches you her needleturn appliqué process and then shows you how to add texture and dimension through embellishment. To learn and build on your skills, she includes three small projects. With new skills and confidence, you are ready to create your own variation of Sandra’s award-winning “Tea With Miss D” quilt. I think you’ll be thrilled with adding these techniques to your tool box.

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