Cathe Holden’s Inspired Barn | Creative Lifestyle

I’m so excited to share with you my lovely friend Kerry Goulder (aka: Kid Giddy)’s new book. Hold on to your pointy little gnome hat- this book is as sweet as it gets! Sewing Tales to Stitch and Love is a darling collection of 18 stuffed toys and accessories, absolutely perfect for storytelling and playtime, with photos, sewing instructions, and templates to create each. I saw some of these first hand last winter at CHA- the cute factor is off the charts! The delightful projects include everything from gnome sisters, Piper & Sage, to Arctic and Sea Creatures that are incredibly designed. I’d like to line the entire length of my moss-colored studio sofa with a collection of these Magical Mushrooms.But, my personal favorites are Happy & Kitty, the little trailer and station wagon! I SO appreciate a craft book with lots of step-by-step photos and Sewing Tales delivers!Kerry is also sharing bonus Sewing Tales pattern templates on her blog! This is a beefy book with beautiful photography and a story for every project collection inside. Check out all the super cute projects crafted by the other creative bloggers in the hop:

Mollie Johanson – Wild Olive

Jessica Fediw – Happy Together

Abby Glassenberg – While She Naps

Jennet Jones-Rau – Feathered Nest Studio

Sabra Gubler – Sew a Straight Line

Amber Carillo – One Shabby Chick

Caroline Hulse – Sew Caroline

Amy Friend – During Quiet Time

Andrea Taddicken – Knitty Bitties Sews

Miranda Anderson – One Little Minute

Kristi McDonough – Schnitzel & Boo

Terri Harlan – Sew Fantastic

Shari Butler – Doo Hikey Designs

Jodie Carleton – RicRac

Jen Goode – 100 Directions

Justine Henshaw – Sew Justine Sew

Emily Levey – Strawberry Patch Ramblings

Nicke Cutler – Kiss Kiss Quilt

Kate Henderson – Two Little Banshees

I was so excited to be included in the Sewing Tales blog hop, but I’ve been prepping for an event couldn’t finish a project in time for the hop schedule. So in lieu of sewing, I’m passing the fun onto one lucky JSIM reader!

THE GIVEWAWAY

One winner will receive a signed copy of Sewing Tales to Stitch and Love by Kerry Goulder!

Kerry procured some pretty exciting items from very generous sponsors to accompany this blog hop that will also be in the giveaway so the winner can get sewing any project right away!

Fiskars 9″ RazorEdge Fabric Shears (9”)
Fiskars Easy Action MicroTip Scissors

4 Fat Quarters of Heather Bailey’s new Lottie Da fabric from Free Spirit 1 Bag of Poly-Fil by Fairfiled
1 Yard Create-A-Pattern paper by Bosal FoamAnd all of these fantastic items from Dritz: Quick Turn Tools, Bodkin, Seam Ripper, Doll Needles, Craft Needles, Straight Ball Pins, Fabric Marking Pen, Bamboo Point TurnerTo enter the Sewing Tales Blog Hop Giveaway: Please leave one kind and relevant comment below. Entry Deadline: Wednesday, November 13, 2013. Winner will be randomly chosen, notified and announced here shortly after.

The winner- CONGRATULATIONS #25 Cindy G.!

Happy November! Are you ready to switch gears into Thanksgiving mode? Hopefully this will get you started! I found some lovely vintage Thanksgiving postcards postmarked 1909 at a little antique shop recently and could hardly wait to share them with you. Click all images to enlarge & download.

Thanksgiving Greetings Turkey and HarvestThanksgiving Turkey and Strawberries
Hearty Thanksgiving Corn and Pumpkins
Thanksgiving Greetings Homestead & Fall Leaf
There are so many great ideas for using digital images like these, like printing enlarged images to paper and framing, reproducing postcard size images onto printable cotton sheets to make sewing appliqués. You might even want to hone your Photoshop skills and pull favorite parts out to use like I did with this turkey and placard. Upload to online sites to make custom canvas prints or home accessories. You could even print an image T-shirt decal material, trim out and apply to pillow covers!