Book Release News! Mr. Sunshine, Wandering Camera & One Monthly Goal too!

April Fool's Day turned out to be fun in more ways than one.  I got my husband Jim with a Really Sneaky Prank. This doesn't even begin to catch up for all the times he has scared the wits out of me.  Which, by the way, is not very hard to do when someone is as hard of hearing as I am.  I can't hear him coming and have been trying to train him to walk like an elephant, to no avail LOL.  The kids were texting back and forth all day wondering if he fallen for the prank yet.  It didn't happen until 1:30 in the morning and then his tiredness made it all the more effective.   

Then Judy, who blogs at Quilt Paradigm let me know that April 1st was also the day my book, Crafted Appliqué was made available for purchase on the American Quilter's Society website.  Besides how funny that struck me, it is also cause for celebration!  I can hardly believe that I'll get to see it in print soon!  I began this book writing journey almost three years ago and it hardly seems like it could be real.  I hope you all will stay tuned for the Crafted Appliqué Blog Tour, which begins in May!  There will be lots of great posts and book giveaways from many of your favorite bloggers!

If any of you would like to purchase a signed copy directly from The Author (that would be moi)  I have set up a Big Cartel shop just for that purpose.  Crafted Appliqué is on sale now and available for pre-order.  You can purchase it by clicking on the book photo on the top left sidebar or this one below.  Thank you to all of you for the support and interest you have shown so steadily over the last ... oh... almost two years!

Crafted Appliqué ... New Possibilities

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"Mr. Sunshine" - Blood Cancer Research Fundraiser

I'd like to share a really fun mini quilt project with you, which Amy DeCesare (Amy Made That) designed to support her very good friend Dan who has leukemia.  Dan is fighting back with a fundraising drive for blood cancer research, run by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Man and Woman of the Year Campaign.   

Amy designed "Mr. Sunshine" in Dan's honor and is donating all the proceeds from the sale of the pattern to his campaign.  It's only $3 on Craftsy - a great bargain for a really good cause!  

I love Amy's "Mr. Sunshine"  pattern.  She is an excellent teacher and her patterns are always a joy to work with.  I learned a new way to sew Dresden blades with this one.  It's fun to try out new techniques on something small and it's also great when you need the instant gratification of a quick project.  For my "Mr. Sunshine", Alison Glass Sun Print fabrics seemed very appropriate.  I love the way Amy edged her mini quilt with ric-rac, but chose plain black binding for these modern fabrics.  

Mr. Sunshine - pattern on Craftsy to support Leukemia and Lymphoma research

   

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One Monthly Goal

Heidi runs the One Monthly Goal linky party at Red Letter Quilts and has lined up some really fun prizes and sponsors for those who link up at the beginning and end of each month.  There are still two days left to link up if you would like to set a goal and share your plans with everyone.  I don't know how well I'll be able to meet my goal, but here it is:

I'm hoping to take these beautiful, hand dyed batiks and make an ocean themed improv mini quilt.  I'll probably only get as far as sewing the quilt top, but am aiming toward making a gift for the midwife who delivered our granddaughter Eden.  Cathi went way above and beyond the call of duty, treating Kait like her own daughter.  She loves everything having to do with the ocean, so I think a mini quilt like that would be a great surprise for her.  

Fabric pull for an ocean themed improv quilt.

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Wandering Camera

Thursday is Soma's monthly linky party for Wandering Camera at Whims and Fancies.  It's a great chance to learn more about photography from Soma and practice getting great shots with your camera.  It's also a really fun linky party to hop around because you learn a lot from everyone there, while getting to enjoy beautiful pictures at the same time.   

This last month I didn't get a lot of camera play in.  But I do have a wonderful shot I took of our dog Pip.  I used a fixed zoom lens, which gives the really neat effect of sharpening the focus on your subject, while blurring the background.  Pip's the funniest and klutziest little pup.  We adopted her six years ago after she was confiscated from a puppy mill so terrible that the Humane Society shut it down.  I always say "Who rescued who?"  Pip lightens our hearts and makes us laugh every day:

Pip looking noble - a rare sight

There are always so many wonderful things to share, that my posts can get a bit long.  Thanks for sticking with it through to the end!  

 Click on the pup to leave a comment...

If you are also a blogger, she is highly likely to follow you home!