I guess I can officially say that I birthed 2 babies this summer. One in human form and the other in book form. (In case both of these are surprises to you…..more on baby Oliver here and more about “No-Sew Love” here.) Well, I guess my second baby hasn’t quite been birthed…..haha, but she soon will be “born” on August 5th!! (Which is also our 9th wedding anniversary. Great day, eh?) My goodness, I’m not sure which birth was harder. Ha!
Truly, such a labor of love. And I’m so glad she’s done — and ready to be loved on!
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***Click any of the links below to order.
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“No-Sew Love” is available for pre-order NOW at any of the links above (many include e-reader versions). Also, it will be available in stores August 5th, including Jo-ann Fabric, Hancock Fabric, (and possibly a few more that I’m not sure about yet…eep!) and other local Indie Bookstores in your area (to see what stores carry it locally, click on the “Indie Bound” icon above, enter in your zip code, and your local bookstores who carry it will be listed).
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::: woven clutch ::: tote :::Â
Really, I’m kind of still in shock mode. Did I really just write a book? And it has been printed? And it’s ready to be purchased? Yep, I guess all of that really did happen. And you know, I’m feeling a lot of “gee, I hope people like it” and “oh man, I hope it makes sense” and a little bit of “did I explain everything just right?” Do you think this is a tiny portion of how a film producer feels when they release a new movie? Or when a fashion designer releases a new clothing line? Maybe??!! I was just realizing that the reason we edited this book a crazy amount of times (seriously, we edited and edited and edited again…), is because this isn’t my blog, where I can just login and make edits when necessary. Grammar mistake?? Meh, no problem…..I’ll fix that right away! But not with the book. So I’m not used to that…….and it’s making my blood pressure escalate. Because what if there was one rascally little error that we overlooked? Or more?!?!  Yeah, I know…….the “what if’s” could kill me. So I better stop! :)
 But when I stop thinking about all of that…….I’m over-the-moon-EXCITED that “No-Sew Love” is here. (((cue hallelujahs!!)))
Oh wait, I wrote a whole book on projects that don’t use one single thread to put them together (nope, not even any sneaky hand-sewing…)?  Yep, that’s right. I know…..you’re totally wondering why a person who loves her sewing machine, would write such a book. Well, here’s why:
There are plenty of sewing books out there—so I really wanted to design and construct items that one would normally sew, but could ditch the needles and thread. So, any person (even those without one ounce of sewing skill) could create items that look like they’re sewn, but aren’t!! So, I created 50 projects, with the following people in mind:
::: woven clutch ::: pacifier clip ::: fabric mobile :::Â
My kiddos are pretty stoked that they’re inside a “REAL BOOK”!!! They know that they’re on the internet, modeling different things that I make for them, etc…..but it’s totally not as cool as being inside a REAL LIVE BOOK!!! Haha…..I could eat these little turkeys right up!
So what’s actually inside this book? Well, it’s divided into the following 6 chapters:
Each of the 50 projects has a finished product picture:
Also, each project has a brief intro, an estimated skill level, a time estimate, a supply list, and a toolkit (which are common items that you’ll most likely have on hand and will use for many of the projects throughout the book).Â
The instructions are patterned after how I put tutorials together here on the blog. Minus the grammar mistakes. (I always thought I was pretty good at grammar, sentence structure, etc. Until I had an editor. Man, she schooled me so many times — and thank heavens she did!)
And yep, there’s a picture for each and every step. :)
There’s also a “Getting Started” section at the beginning, helping to explain some basics about the book.
And a “Helpful Tips” section, where I clarify some techniques used throughout the book. Both sections are good to read before starting any projects from the book.
There’s also an index at the back, to help navigate the book a little easier…
….along with a few sizing charts and some templates for several different projects.
Ahhhhhhh………so much love went into this book. I really hope it’s helpful to some (or many) of you or someone you know. Especially to those who’d really like to try their hand at something they thought they couldn’t. Because truly, there’s nothing that beats that feeling of, “holy smokes……I actually made this!”
Anyway, thanks for your excitement, your really sweet emails, your encouragement, etc. Even though the blog had a few dry-spells over the past year and my children ate cereal many nights for dinner (and my poor bathrooms were neglected, uggh)…..everyone has been so supportive. Let me tell you, I have gotten so many virtual high-fives—it’s unreal! So thank you! Oh, and that husband of mine (remember that Steve guy?)…….he needs his own little vacation for hanging in there through all of this.Â
Gimme a second while I Iet out one big ol’ sigh of relief! So happy to see this whole concept come together as one complete book. Ahhhhhh……it’s FINISHED!
-Ashley