At LONG Long last, the cases of books have arrived and I will begin shipping pre-orders, with the first orders being shipped first.  All items will be sent via US Postal Service (USPS) Priority Rate Flat Mail envelopes, both domestic and International–the equivalent first class mail.  Since this service is eminently reliable in the US, I won’t contact each of you individually; please DO let me know if there is a problem!   For international orders, the USPS tracking ends when the package leaves the US, so I will send each person living outside the US an e-mail to let them know the package is en route.  I hear that these envelopes take 1-2 weeks to be delivered to Canada, but not sure about Australia.  Someone let me know?  THANKS!

Towards the end of the editing process for ThreadWork Unraveled, my editor said “OK Sarah:  we have two empty pages and three things we could use:  the Index, Resources and the Annotated Bibliography.  Which would you like in the book?”  I chose the Index instantly, since any good reference book MUST have one.  The resources list was shorter, and I really wanted to keep the full bibliography intact.  So I suggested that we add a note at the start of the Resources page that if folks wanted, they could visit here (my blog) to download a FREE annotated bibliography:  From Sarah’s Bookshelf .

The categories include:

• Art Quilting
• Breaking Out and Stretching Yourself
• Color
• Decorative Stitch and Free-motion Embroidery
• Drawing, Design Inspiration and Creativity
• Hawaiian Applique
• Machine Applique
• Machine Quilting and Design
• Miscellaneous Cool Stuff
• Painting and Dyeing Fabric

You can click on the link to download the entire PDF, but when you print it (it is 14 pages long), you can select just one section to print if you only want, for example, Painting and Dyeing Fabric books.  Also, if I decide to update a section (I’ll probably be adding Melanie Testa’s Inspired to Quilt book soon to the latter category), you only need to check to see if a section has been updated and re-print that one, not the whole thing.

If you have any favorite books that aren’t on my list, DO share the information by leaving a comment.  I LOVE books (can’t you tell?).

My book is now available for order, with shipping to begin about October 26.  It’s all about thread, how to use it, how to make it work with you not against you, and having a whole ton of fun with lots of color!

Click here to order and
click here for more information.

Wow…. it’s hard to believe that the time is here… I can now take pre-orders (here) for my book–and yes, I’ll ship outside the US!  AQS worked like whirling dervishes I think; I had the page layout version of the manuscript to edit over Labor Day weekend, and they still got it to the printers who will have it ready in the nick of time to have at Quilt Market in Houston starting October 10th!  I’ll be at Market working to promote the book before I start teaching.  If you’d like to pre-order a copy, read on!

PRE-ORDER My book on understanding and using thread on the surface of a quilt which is now available!

You’ll learn everything you need to know about thread, from how it is made to what will make your life easier, and your quilting better!  You’ll learn how needles, tension, your workspace, sewing machine, stabilizers, and other tools all help you in using all those wonderful threads now available.  I’ll help you understand how and why certain tools and notions work best and when another option is a better choice.  And there are fun projects, from a quick and easy needle-keeper to decorative-stitch leaf appliques, free-motion quilting with fancy-fiddly threads, and a leaf-printed table-runner.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Please let me know if you would like me to autograph or add a dedication in the comments area of your order.

Please note that books will not ship until LATE OCTOBER.  The will be hot off the press in mid-October, when I am teaching at Quilt Festival in Texas.  I’ll need to get home, receive the books and process the orders (hopefully finding a little time to sleep, eat, and say hi to the family, too! )  Books will be sent in a Flat Rate Priority Mail envelope.

Price:  Book 28.95 +  US Delivery  5.00 =  33.95; prices for first class mail delivery to Canada ($11 in postage) and the Rest of the World ($13 in postage) are slightly higher due to postage.  Please make sure when you order you:

1. select the correct shipping (US, Canada, Rest of World)
2. put down correct snail mail and e-mail addresses
3. let me know if you’d like me to dedicate the book (for example:  to Denyse, Happy Quilting, Sarah); if there is no  note, I’ll just sign it on the title page.

Thanks…I can’t wait to actually hold a copy!

OH MY GOSH……….. I am in near disbelief, but I have the message on my machine and I talked to Houston just now…

I HAVE WON A CASH AWARD for Fields of Gold, and you better believe I’m SHOUTING!!!!!!   And yes, I am also in orbit and gaining speed.  (PS–I forgot to mention earlier that this is absolutely my first, major, national-mega-show award!) Here’s the quilt:

Thanks of course go to Lisa Walton of Dyed and Gone to Heaven in Sydney, Australia;  she sent me the metre of her glorious fabric as a gift (AND tells me that if you join her monthly fabric club, this is the sort of delectable goodie that comes in the mail!  and yes…she ships internationally and easily to those of us in the US, Europe, wherever!).  It was on my design wall along with the center window of the quilt while I was trying to decide what to do with the latter.  Then I realized that one portion of the rust-yellow-green fabric PERFECTLY matched the sky and ground……

While deciding how to quilt it, I gave my husband “Fields of Gold” by Sting for Valentine’s on his iPod, and was listening to it…..  that led to the stalks of wheat waving in the foreground.  WOOOOHOOO!  Guess I’ll spring for a more expensive haircut than the usual $14 with no wash at the barbershop!

I won’t know until Festival what I won, but since it is cash (and not one of the top prizes), it will be 3rd, 2nd or 1st in its category.  I *think* I entered it in small art quilts (it is 18 1/4″ wide by 20 3/4″ long)…which makes this all the more astonishing as that is usually a very competitive group and size.  Who ME??????!!!!!!!!!!!!  Shaking head, thoroughly enjoying the rattling!

OK….enough talk…I’m going back to floating around the house!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Please join me in a raucous, really LOUD WOOOOOOHOOOOOO!