Can I Get A Whoop Whoop? A Book Review and a Giveaway!!!

Hi, all!

Remember a couple of weeks ago when I mentioned that I had passed 900 followers, and that a giveaway would be forthcoming?  Well, I think that's a great reason to whoop it up a bit, so today's the day!  

I was also asked by Christina over at A Few Scraps to review her first book!  Some of you may know that I am a big fan of Christina's blog, and refer lots of folks to her free motion quilting tutorials, which are wonderful - a great way to learn how to do FMQ.  

I was eagerly anticipating this book, but wow, I was blown away by the actuality of it!  The first part of the book deals with the how-to part of FMQ.  There is a section on what you need before beginning, another on the basics of the process, and a third section that covers things like how to decide what type of FMQ to use on a project.  The next twenty-three pages of FMQ design ideas should give you a ton of inspiration!  

But wait, there's more!  Christina not only outlines the basics of free motion quilting, but also has twenty-four (!) great projects to hone your new skills on.  My usual method of deciding whether to purchase a book is to see how many projects "take my breath away" - a minimum of three is require before I'll consider purchasing a book.    When I counted up how many projects I wanted to make in this book, I found at least twenty I want to make, or that will give me a jumping off point for my own interpretation of the technique.  

Here are three projects I've made up from the book in just the past couple of days...

Hopefully by the end of the day tomorrow,
this will be a finished pillow cover!

I can't decide whether to make a wall hanging
or a pillow cover out of this one!

I absolutely love these bowls - super simple to make, and I can think of so many uses for them!  In my studio, I can use them to corral thread, rotary cutters, or even my bluetooth headset that I'm constantly worried I'll cut up when I'm not wearing it!  And on my dresser, I always need little "catchers" for jewelry, change, and the like.  How would you use them?

And guess what?  You can totally flip them inside out and change the look!!  I love it!! 

My daughter looked through the book and decided that she wants me to make matching quilts for the little girls by one of the quilt designs.  (There are six quilt designs, by the way, each one designed to highlight the free motion quilting you've learned to do!)

But by far the most eye-opening section for me was the Embroidered Projects!  I've been doing FMQ for four years now, and never once considered using it as embroidery on non-quilt-y projects.  What an epiphany! I'll be doing at least one project out of this section in the next week.  

The book ends with a very short and concise section about sewing and quilt construction techniques - good information but not a textbook on the process - and a very useful troubleshooting section.  I learned a lot here!  

There's a lot in this book for people new to free motion quilting, people who've been doing it for a while, even those of us who use a long-arm quilting machine!  I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to learn how to do their own free motion quilting, as Christina is an exceptional teacher and shares her experience (and yes, even her mistakes!) freely.  For those of you who have been quilting a while, I think you'll find some fresh new projects and inspiration here.  It's available in paperback and in a Kindle version on Amazon.

BUT WAIT!!  Remember I promised a giveaway?  Well, I was so excited about this book, I decided to put my money where my mouth is, and I purchased a copy to give away!!  So here's how you can have a chance to win (or two or three!).....

1.  Leave a comment!  Tell me something about your FMQ experience - your biggest quilt on a home machine, the most creative thing you've made, or the biggest "oops" you've ever done!  Have fun with it!

2.  Follow this blog, or let me know you already do!  If you follow through something other than Google Friend Connect, I'd love to know how you follow (just for curiosity's sake).

3.  Join the Whoop Whoop Friday linky party!  It's fun and a great way to get encouragement and inspiration! (Your link below will be your entry for this chance.)

3.  Spread the word about the giveaway by mentioning it on your blog and linking back to this post.  Come back and leave a comment letting me know you did!

Leave a separate comment for each entry.  And be sure you leave an email address if you're a no-reply blogger (or think it's possible you might be!)  I ALWAYS reply to your comments, so if you've commented here before and I've never emailed back, you're a no-reply blogger.  Leave your email address so I can contact you if you win!!

You can enter until next Thursday, September 5th at 5 pm CST.  I'll draw a winner and announce it on next week's Whoop Whoop Friday post!  And if you just can't wait to get a copy of this book (and who could blame you?) you can get it sent right to your door here on Amazon!

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And now it's your turn to whoop it up!!

What have you been working on this week?

What's made you dance the happy dance?

For anyone who's new, it doesn't have to be a finish -

just something you're excited about!

I'll leave the linky party open until 

Thursday at 5 pm this week - 

Be there or be square!!

Hugs!

Sarah