Hello friends! We are so thrilled to be a part of Beverly McCullough’s book tour for her brand new book, Make It Mini (Martingale). We’ve long admired Bev’s work and have been thoroughly honored to work with her as both an Aurifil Artisan and an Aurifil Designer.
Bev’s blog, Flamingo Toes, has been a mainstay in the crafty blog world for years, and we generally see it as maker’s go-to for new project ideas and inspiration. She features everything from craft projects to embroidery, quilts to pillows, home organization tips to sewing ideas for kids.
Her second Aurifil collection came out last year and is the perfect partner to a wide range of Bev’s project, offering 10 glorious hues of Aurifil’s luscious 6-strand floss.
We fell in love at first stitch with Bev’s Make It Mini. Adorable, quick, and fun, pieced & embroidered projects? This is Bev’s truly forte and we couldn’t wait to dive in.
The book is absolute perfection… 13 mini quilts with a splash of embroidery. Each pattern utilizes clear, easy-to-follow instructions and gives tips for embroidery best practices, from how to transfer the pattern to which stitches to put where. There is even a stitch guide, with beginner friendly diagrams for how to create a variety of stitches including backstitch, layered backstitch, French knots, satin stitch, and more.
In addition to embroidery, Make It Mini touches on how to utilize traditional blocks like half square triangles and flying geese to make things like farms, hearts, and peaches and offers spotlights on more advanced techniques like curved piecing and EPP. Bev’s books always make us feel as though we’re getting private instruction, so that even as beginners, we can accomplish anything we set our minds to!
Erin Sampson, Aurifil’s Creative Director and self-proclaimed stitchy beginner, chose to try Bev’s Vintage Bouquet.
Erin: I was so honored to create something from Bev’s new book. I chose this pattern for two reasons…
1 – I try to never turn down a challenge. The satin stitching and french knots were definitely new territory for me and it was fun to learn something new!
2 – Ever the ‘last-minute’ gal, I knew that something with less intricate piecing would be more manageable.
Vintage Bouquet was a super fun pattern to stitch! I gave it the full beginner’s test, working solely with supplies that I had on hand. That meant using an embroidery transfer pencil (worked like a charm even though I forgot to reverse the pattern) and a combination of wool & cotton 12wt (double strands) rather than floss. I was incredibly lucky that I had colors that made sense with the pattern and worked well with the Essex Linen from Robert Kaufman and Carrie Bloomston’s Save the Bees from her now out-of-print Dreamer collection (Windham Fabrics).
I’ll admit, I had to spend a little more time on the satin stitches and the French knots, and I definitely need a lot more practice, but I’m really pleased with how this one turned out!
I’m not quite finished… but am hoping to hang this one on the wall in my kitchen before the Summer is through! I’m thinking it needs some big stitch accents to highlight the fabric mason jar. What do you think?
Want to snag your own copy of the book? Grab one right here from Martingale OR enter-to-win the book + Bev’s Colorful Vintage collection by clicking on the button below. The giveaway will remain open through 11:59pmCST on August 5, the last day of the book tour. Winner will be selected randomly and notified via email.
Follow along with Bev for more creative inspiration on Instagram & Facebook and don’t forget to join her fab Facebook group to chit chat with other stitch enthusiasts!
BOOK TOUR SCHEDULE
If you’re just joining in, don’t miss all of the wonderful posts that came before this one. Click on the links below to see a slew of fabulous projects from some pretty remarkable makers and don’t miss Bev’s launch post right HERE.
- July 25 – Pat Sloan
- July 26 – Amy Smart – Diary of a Quilter
- July 27 – Andy Knowlton – A Bright Corner AND Lauren Wright – Molly and Mama
- July 28 – Aurifil (YOU ARE HERE)
- July 29 – Riley Blake Designs
- August 1 – Jennifer Long – Bee Sew Inspired AND Jessica Dayon
- August 2 – Christopher Thompson – The Tattooed Quilter
- August 3 – Amanda Niederhauser – Jedi Craft Girl AND Melanie Call – A Bit of Scrap Stuff
- August 4 – Melissa Mortenson – Polkadot Chair AND Fat Quarter Shop
- August 5 – Amy Chappell – Ameroonie Designs
Will be trying one of the embroidery in the near future, hope to win!!!