Today I’m a stop on the Jimmy Beans Wool blog tour in support of their new book, Sew Red! Authored by Jimmy Beans’ founder, Laura Zander, this book features sewing projects from some truly amazing names in the sewing world. The designers include Amy Butler, Anna Maria Horner, Denyse Schmidt, Kaffe Fassett and many others, plus little old me! Honestly, a fantastic collection of projects is packed into this book with everything from clothes and gifts to home decor.

The concept behind Sew Red is that all the projects are made from red fabrics, in support of women’s heart health. I think this is such a fantastic idea for a craft book, and I really applaud Jimmy Beans for taking such a creative step in helping to educate women about the dangers of heart disease.

Little known fact: I was born with a heart condition that required me to have heart surgery when I was 20 years old! Luckily, the surgery completely fixed me up and I’m 100% healthy now, but whenever I think about it at times like this I realize how fortunate I am to have my health. So this project really hits home for me and serves as a good reminder that we should all do as much as we can to take care of our tickers. (I think I’m going to go out for a run now…)

Want to see my project in the book?

I made the wool felt Origami Pillow on page 58. This was such a fun project, and surprisingly quick and easy to make! You start with two big squares of felt which are the front and back of the pillow. Then you cut 25 smaller wool squares, and by stitching and folding them in a clever pattern, you create these wonderfully textured folded shapes.

I thought this was so fun to design, and now that the book is out I’m reminded how much I want to make myself a few of these for my sofa! I really do need some new throw pillows for the living room.

AND! Extra exciting, I have one beautiful copy of Sew Red to give away to one lucky reader! To enter, leave a comment on this post and tell me what you do to take care of your own heart health. (Me, I try to exercise, walk a lot, eat tons of veggies and whole grains… and drink plenty of red wine!)

A winner will be drawn by random on Monday, February 25.

Well, you’re all winners to me – but it’s time to announce the winners of all my book tour giveaways!

I want to thank everyone for tuning in these past few weeks, participating in my blog tour, and leaving so many comments. I’ve truly enjoyed reading all your sewing stories. One thing in the comments that stood out over and over is how much sewing connects us to the people in our lives — especially mothers and grandmothers — and how many memories it triggers for all of us. Just another reason why crafting is awesome.

And now, without further ado, I’m pleased to announce the Sewing in a Straight Line Blog Tour Giveaway WINNERS!

(All winners have been notified by email)

August 12: cover skirt fabric, book & set of Coats thread: Judith

August 10: book & set of Coats thread: Lela

August 9: Amy Butler Organic Soul fabric: Jessica

August 8: Simplicity Sidewinder: Jody

August 3: Fabric to make the bunny & kitty, book, set of Coats thread: Mel

August 1: Fabric to make the zippered pillow, book & set of Coats thread: Lindsay

July 29: Simplicity Bias Tape Maker: Ryan

July 28: book & set of Coats thread: Margaret

July 26: Amy Butler Corduroy: Carmen

July 25: book & set of Coats thread: Mariana

July 22: Simplicity Deluxe Rotary Cutter and kitty caption contest: Mia, with the winning caption: “Oh hellll to the no. Just because you moved me to Brooklyn doesn’t mean you can convince me skinny jeans are a good idea.” (Hahahaa… just the thought of my cat wearing skinny jeans cracks me up!)

July 21: book & set of Coats thread: Haley, Tracie and Brandy (uh, somehow I messed up and accidentally notified three winners for this giveaway. My flakiness is your gain! Congrats to all!)

And now for the Grand Prize!

The super-duper luckiest girl in all the land, the winner of the Singer sewing machine and serger is… drumroll please…. AMBER!

In her comment, Amber mentioned that her sewing machine had recently broken and that she had lots of projects waiting to be sewn, and that she’s had a serger on her wish list for a long time. So even though the winner was chosen by random number generator, Amber sounds like the perfect person for this giveaway. I know she will really put these machines to good use, and that makes me very happy. Yay, Amber!

Once again, a big thank you to everyone for playing – I wish I really could pull an Oprah and start shouting, “YOU get a sewing machine, and YOU get a sewing machine, and YOU get a sewing machine — everybody gets a sewing machine!!!!!” Maybe someday. For now, all you get is my undying love. Thanks for making my book launch so much fun, and please stick around because there are more book and fabric giveaways, as well as book-related sewing posts, coming in the next few weeks. Plus Jello and cat photos. Because that’s just how I roll.

One last shout-out to all the awesome bloggers who participated in my blog tour (links to all the posts are in the sidebar at the right – be sure to check them out if you haven’t already) – thanks to all of you for being part of my tour!

Finally, a very special thank you to all my lovely sponsors, Coats & Clark, Simplicity, Singer, and Westminster Fibers for making these giveaways so delightfully juicy. xoxo

Hey all! Today is the last chance to enter to win my grand prize giveaway, a Singer sewing machine and serger! One winner gets both machines!!

The contest closes at 11:59pm tonight so click here to enter! Good luck!

Have a great weekend, see you here on Monday when I will announce all the contest winners! xoxo

win the fabric to make the Sewing Straight cover skirt!

Hello, stitchy people! My, how time flies – today is the last stop on my worldwide blog tour for Sewing in a Straight Line! For the past four weeks I’ve been zipping all over the internet visiting with all my favorite crafty people – it’s been so great trading posts with everyone and I sincerely want to thank all my fellow bloggers for their support, my wonderful sponsors for their generous giveaways, and all of you readers for stopping by every day and sharing in the fun. The sidebar on the right has links to all my blog tour stops, so be sure to check out all those fantastic blogs if you haven’t already. (I’ll be announcing all the contest winners on Monday, so be on the lookout for that.)

For today’s final stop, I’m visiting with a blog that I love love love – True Up. Created by the lovely Kim, True Up is a blog that’s all about fabric, all the time. If a new fabric hits the stores, if a cool designer launches a new line, if there’s a great fabric sale somewhere – Kim is on it, and she shares it all on True Up – with tons of fabric images to boot. Simply put, if you’re a fabric lover, True Up is THE place to get your fix. So head on over there to see what Kim has to say about Sewing in a Straight Line, and to check out all her inspiring content. Thanks for being part of my blog tour, Kim!

For today’s giveaway, I’m sharing the fabric I used to make the cover skirt on my book! It’s a bright yellow cotton twill purchased at the legendary Mood Fabrics in NYC. So you can make your very own skirt just like the cover project! (Sorry, buttons not included, unfortunately I don’t have any of those left to share.) I’m also giving away a signed copy of my book and an 18-spool set of Coats Dual Duty Thread. To enter to win, leave a comment on this post and tell me who you’d make this skirt for! THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED

Even though my blog tour officially ends tomorrow, the sewing fun isn’t over on this here blog. Starting next week I’ll be sharing more in-depth posts about my book projects, including video how-to’s for some of the techniques, tips to help you complete projects successfully, and more fabric & book giveaways. I’ve got some jiggly Jello posts in the hopper too, as well as some fun DIY decorating projects — so I hope to see you there!

xoxo Brett

PS: My grand prize contest ends tonight at 11:59pm, so enter today to win a Singer sewing machine and serger!!

Hi all! On today’s blog tour stop I’m heading to upstate New York to visit with Cal Patch of Hodge Podge Farm. Cal and I have been friends for several years now, back when she lived in Brooklyn and had a blog named Hodge Podge Farm and a dream of living in the country. A couple of years ago she made it a reality and moved herself, her cute little Chihuahua Gertie and her blog to an actual farm. With a wood-burning stove and chickens and stuff!

Cal is another one of us multi-crafters; she is a voracious crocheter, sewer, designer and instructor (check her site for her list of classes) – she’s also the author of an amazing book that I really love, Design-It-Yourself Clothes: Patternmaking Simplified. I have to give props to Cal because she’s the one who turned me on to French seams in a class a few years back – I now use French seams in many of my designs, and every time I do, I think of Cal!

So head on over to Hodge Podge Farm to read Cal’s post about Sewing in a Straight Line (including a little interview with me), and to steal a peek at her dreamy life on her little farm. (She’s also giving away a copy of my book!) Thanks for being part of my blog tour, Cal! And for teaching me about French Seams!

And what would a blog tour stop be without some goodies? Up for grabs today is a signed copy of my book and an 18-spool set of Coats Dual Duty Thread. To enter, leave a comment on this post and tell me what is a technique or tip you’ve learned that’s changed your sewing/crafting life (like French seams for me)? THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED!

Thanks to Coats for sponsoring this giveaway!

PS: My grand prize contest closes this Friday – so if you haven’t already entered, click here for your chance to win a Singer sewing machine AND a serger!

photo by Amy Butler

Today I’m moseying over to San Antonio, TX, to visit with my old friend Linda Permann on her cute blog Lindamade. I’ve written about Linda before on Manhattan Craft Room when she visited me on her blog tour for her most recent book, Little Crochet. In addition to being a fabulous crocheter, Linda does many crafts – including sewing. We are definitely crafty soulmates when it comes to our shared love of multiple crafts! In her blog tour post today, Linda reviews Sewing in a Straight Line and even whips up her own One-Hour Skirt (which she says took her two hours to make, but I won’t hold it against her. *wink*)

So head on over to Lindamade to read Linda’s post, check out her skirt, and enter to win a copy of my book — as well as soak up all the fantastic crafty inspiration Linda has to share. Thanks for being part of my blog tour, Linda! xoxo

And now it’s super-duper giveaway time! Up for grabs today is a six-yard bundle of gorgeous Amy Butler Organic Soul fabric! Amy’s latest line is as beautiful as ever (that’s it, above), but produced on 100% organic fabric using low-impact dyes. It’s perfect for quilting, sewing home decor, fashion, or one of Amy’s amazing bag patterns or other designs, which you can find on Amy’s site. I’m a huge fan of Amy Butler designs and have been for years, so I’m thrilled to offer these fabrics for giveaway today!

To enter, leave a comment on this post and tell me what you’d like to make with these organic cotton fabrics. The winner will receive six one-yard cuts from the Amy Butler Organic Soul for Rowan line (fabric to be selected by the fine folks at Rowan; not necessarily the exact patterns shown above.) THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED; PLEASE SEE CURRENT POSTS FOR CURRENT GIVEAWAYS.

Special thanks to Westminster Fibers and Rowan for sponsoring this giveaway! And thanks to Amy Butler for being so fabulous!

First up today I’m zipper over to Ohio to visit my friend Ellen Gormley. Ellen is a talented crochet designer who I’ve been working with for years – she has a new crochet book out and she writes a great blog, Go Crochet. Ellen and I have been talking a lot of sewing lately, though, because it turns out that this summer, Ellen’s project with her ten-year-old daughter was for them both to learn to sew. So they bought a sewing machine and started stitching away. For Ellen’s stop on my blog tour, she reviewed Sewing in a Straight Line from the perspective of herself and her daughter — and to test out the book, they made a project from it! The photos above are ten-year-old “Chickee” cutting, sewing and modeling the Easy Breezy Blouse from my book. HOW AWESOME IS THAT??

I really can’t explain how happy it makes me to see Chickee successfully sewing this blouse! I love to see a young girl learning to sew, and I LOVE that she was ambitious enough to make her own garment. And out of chiffon, no less, which can be really tricky to sew. AND with French seams! This girl is amazing. I also love that Chickee proved that the garments in my book can be made in children’s sizes – because the instructions are all written so that you make the garments to your own body measurements, which means they can be made for any size person.

Well I could go on and on gushing about this, so I’ll stop for now and just say GOOD JOB to Chickee, and keep up the great sewing! Be sure to visit Ellen’s blog to read all about their process of making this top. Thanks Ellen and Chickee for being part of my blog tour!

Next up, I’m winging over to San Francisco by way of Portland, Oregon for a visit with Diane from CraftZine. Diane is sharing a free downloadable pattern from my book – the 15-Minute Shams! That’s right, you can make these sweet little shams in just minutes each, and the pattern is free for the taking over at CraftZine. So head over there to get your copy. Thanks, Diane, for being part of my blog tour!

Finally, it’s giveaway time! Today I’m sharing another great Simplicity product — the Simplicity Deluxe Sidewinder!

Don’t you just hate it when you’re sewing along, all nice and neat, feeling so pleased with yourself because your project is turning out so well…. when all of a sudden you realize that you’re not sewing anything at all because your bobbin ran out way back when, and all you’re doing is poking holes in your fabric with your needle? And then cursing ensues? I hate that too. Well, the Simplicity Deluxe Sidewinder takes (some of) the pain out of bobbins running out, because it allows you to rewind your bobbins separately from your machine, so you don’t have to stop, unthread, and rethread your sewing machine. It’s also great for pre-winding bobbins, and is especially great for winding specialty threads because it allows you to control the tension and speed as you wind. All in all, the Sidewinder is a great little tool! And I’ve got one to give away! (Retail value $99.)

To enter to win, leave a comment on this post and tell me if YOU’VE ever taught a child to sew. (It’s okay if you haven’t – there are no wrong answers!) A winner will be chosen by random number generator. Thank you for playing! THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED; SEE CURRENT POSTS FOR CURRENT GIVEAWAYS.

Thank you Simplicity for sponsoring this giveaway!

Hello! There’s a whole lotta stuff going on today. First, I’m excited to share with you a few peeks at some more projects from my book. The photo above is a the very dandy Mr. Bunny (wearing a bow tie and old man pants, of course), lounging on the Wonky Diamonds Quilt. These are two of my favorite projects. I just love that little bunny with his earnest little face – and he’s so easy to make. Straight lines only! And the quilt was one of my greatest challenges in the book, design-wise. It’s got diamonds with wonky centers, set on point with some tricky angles that make the construction a challenge, and the result is pretty cool (I think!). And of course, the patterns for both are in Sewing in a Straight Line.

For today’s blog tour stop I’m popping over to Grand Rapids, MI, to visit with Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood of CraftSanity fame. Jennifer is single-handedly creating a fantastic crafting empire; a journalist by trade, she now blogs, produces a podcast, appears weekly on TV to demonstrate crafts on her local news station, and has even launched CraftSanity magazine, which is available in both print and digital format. Go, Jennifer!!

I’ve enjoyed Jennifer’s CraftSanity podcasts for years. They consist of a long, leisurely interview with someone from the craft world, and Jennifer has such a great interview style that she makes the listener feel as if they’re eavesdropping in on a long phone conversation between friends – about crafts. (Perfect listening material while working on a project!) I was honored that Jennifer asked to interview me for a podcast – the result is almost an hour and a half of my life story, as it relates to crafting and my career. It was a treat to have a chance to take a walk down memory lane for this podcast. So head on over to CraftSanity to read Jennifer’s blog tour post about Sewing in a Straight Line, and listen to the podcast. Thanks for being part of my tour, Jennifer!

And now it’s giveaway time! Up for grabs today is a complete set of fabric to make the Mr. Bunny and his girlfriend Miss Kitty from Sewing in a Straight Line (pictured above), an autographed copy of the book, and an 18-spool set of Coats Dual Duty thread. Good stuff!

To enter, leave a comment on this post and tell me who you’d make this kitty and bunny for! (It’s okay, you can admit it if they’d be for you.) THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED; PLEASE SEE CURRENT POSTS FOR CURRENT CONTESTS.

PS: A few other announcements to share:

• Thanks to Crafternews for posting about my book and providing a free, downloadable version of the One-Hour Skirt. So now you can see how it’s made in video, and download the print pattern too. Be sure to keep an eye on Crafternews for more goodies on my book as well as a variety of crafting wonderfulness every day!
• If you quilt and you live near NYC, this weekend is Quilters Take Manhattan! This special weekend-long event benefits The Alliance for American Quilts and features parties, exhibits, fashion shows and more. Check it out!
• Thanks to Craftsy for posting a guest post from yours truly, where I talk about my inspiration for the book – and there is a copy of Sewing in a Straight Line up for grabs!

Today I’m winging my way over to San Francisco, CA to visit with the lovely and talented Natalie Zee Drieu of the blog Coquette. Natalie is such an interesting member of the craft community, I’m not quite sure where to start describing her! I first met Natalie several years ago, when she was the Editor in Chief of CRAFT. She served at that post for quite some time, making CRAFT into one of the strongest DIY online magazine out there. She’s since moved on, and now writes on her own blog, Coquette, where she merges her interests in fashion and technology, with a bit of crafting thrown into the mix, too — Coquette has been rated one of the top 50 fashion blogs in the world, how cool is that? Natalie has also authored several books on technology, you know, no big deal. Girl can do everything. So hop on over to Coquette to see what Natalie has to say about Sewing in a Straight Line from the perspective of a fashionista tech guru crafting maven!

Thanks for being part of my blog tour, Natalie! xoxo

And now it’s giveaway time!! Today I have something a little different to offer. I’m going to start giving away some of the fabrics I used to make the actual samples in my book. In many cases I bought more fabric than necessary, so I thought why not share it with all you beautiful people? Today I am offering one yard of the fabric I used to make the zippered throw pillow shown here:

…along with an autographed copy of Sewing in a Straight Line and an 18-spool set of Coats Dual Duty Thread!

To enter to win this little packet of goodies, leave a comment on this post and tell me what your other interest is, besides sewing/crafting. Natalie is into fashion and technology; I’m into baking and Jello… what about you? I’m curious!

A winner will be chosen by random number generator tomorrow. Thanks for playing! THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED; PLEASE SEE CURRENT POSTS FOR CURRENT GIVEAWAYS!

Hello! I’ve got a lot to pack into this post so let’s get started! First off, I’m zipping over to Houston, TX, to visit my very good friend Drew, aka The Crochet Dude. (That’s us above, at TNNA.) What can I say about Drew – I just love this guy. We met about five years ago through the crochet industry, when Drew was first hitting the scene as a designer. We really became friends though once we started working together on Knit and Crochet Now (Drew is one of the crochet experts on the show). These days, Drew is a true crochet mogul with several books under his belt and his own line of Boye crochet tools – he’s a real A-list crochet-lebrity. So head on over to Drew’s blog to see what he has so say about Sewing in a Straight Line, and to see how he’s progressing in his plans to take over the crochet world! Thanks for being part of my blog tour, Drew!

Next up, I’m back in Brooklyn to visit with my bud Nikki Smith on her blog Style Schematic. Nikki and I met several years ago when we worked together at SoHo Publishing. When it comes to sewing, Nikki is the REAL DEAL. She’s a sewing editor and a true expert in construction and fit. Nikki was super important to the making of Sewing in a Straight Line because she was one of the ladies who helped me sew some of the projects for the book (yes, I did have help with all that stitching!). I turned to Nikki for help in working on some of the garments because she is such a garment whiz – and I really don’t think the fashion chapter would have been as strong as it is without her. Not only did she generously share her brilliance on many technical issues (especially on sewing some of the specialty fabrics like chiffon and vinyl, which was not my forte) – but this girl even loaned me one of her sewing machines when mine started to act up close to deadline. Now that is a good friend. When I finished writing the book, I had a short list of people in my head who I knew I couldn’t have done it without – and Nikki was one of them for sure. So head on over to her site to soak up some of her sewing brilliance (including lots of killer tutorials and fashion sewing inspiration), to read her post on Sewing in a Straight Line – and to enter her giveaway to win a copy of the book! Thank you for your post and for all your help, Nikki!

And now, it’s giveaway time! Up for grabs today is this super-duper Simplicity Bias Tape Maker machine (retail value $99.99). Can I just say, this thing is the bomb. I really love it – you feed strips of fabric through the machine, and the little elves that live inside the machine fold the strips into bias tape of any size you need and press it nice and neat, producing yards and yards of finished bias tape in mere moments, while you sit back and drink a cocktail! Or paint your nails! Or whatever relaxing thing you like to do. Seriously, it is awesome. To be honest I’m not always a big gadget person – which I’m sure comes from so many years of living in tiny NYC apartments and learning to work with minimal tools – but this is one machine I would always make room for. It’s just that good.

So! To enter to win this magical invention, leave a comment on this post and tell me what you use bias tape for – for quilt binding, to finish garments, to trim home decor? Or have you never tried it before? That’s okay – there are no wrong answers. I’m loving hearing from all of you about how you craft and sew; what you’re into and what you’re not.

A winner will be chosen by random number generator on Monday. Thank you for playing! THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED. PLEASE CHECK CURRENT POSTS FOR CURRENT GIVEAWAYS. THANKS!

And thank you to Simplicity for sponsoring this wonderful giveaway!