You Can Quilt! Blog Hop

Today I'm excited to be a part of the blog hop to promote You Can Quilt! Building Skills For Beginners a book co-written by my friend Leila from Sewn by Leila.

Here's the book in all its glory! You can get your own copy here. Also available so many other places like Amazon. I was able to test three blocks for this book and you can't imagine my excitement when all three made the cover! I'll show them a bit later.

My knowledge of this book and story dates all the way back to October 2010. Leila and I went together to the AQS show in Des Moines. On the way out she mentioned how she wanted to write some patterns or maybe even a book. I was instantly excited for her and having seen her work knew she would do so well.

In 2011 she started the You Can Do It! Skill Builder Sampler Quilt-Along totally not the shortest name but applicable. ;) I was so excited to join up as I knew there were several blocks on the list that I had never attempted. You can see all my efforts here. The sampler quilt was amazingly helpful to my skills and I saw vast improvement! This idea is not just for beginners. I'm sure we can all improve in one method or another, especially with guided help!

Here's my finished quilt from the Quilt-Along. Many of these blocks made it into the book. I organized mine from easiest to hardest.

The hardest being this butterfly block. Honestly, I didn't think it was even possible! This is the final block in the You Can Quilt! book as well and it's totally possible with the skills you pick up throughout the rest of the book!

Now on to more from the book itself. I mentioned how I was able to test out three blocks earlier. You Can Quilt! is broken up into different sections with three blocks per section. The idea is start with an easier one and get harder as you go along. I was privileged to test the Flying Geese section.

Each section starts with an overview so you can see what you'll be learning about in that bit. The flying geese section is particularly awesome because it teaches three different methods commonly used to make flying geese.

These different geese methods are given clear and easy to read explanations and pictures so even a beginner can easily master these skills. I tried the magic method shown above the first time and was surprised at how easily and perfectly the blocks turned out.

Here are two of the blocks I tested for the book. I was a little nervous because historically my flying geese left something to be desired but the book made it so easy to get perfect points this time around. I'm especially proud of the "Breaking Out Block" on the right. You can find these on the cover on the bottom right and middle left!!

Here's the last block I tested for the book. This one used the magic method which is great for so many geese to create them accurately and quickly. This one is also on the bottom right of the cover.

Well, I hope that got you excited about the book! Again, you can purchase it here. However, there is a great giveaway running on Leila's blog right now for a copy of the book and a bundle of fabric. Go check it out here!

Also check out the other stops on the hop...

Nov. 16 - Lee at Freshly Pieced
Nov. 17 - AnneMarie at Gen X Quilters
Nov. 18 - Leanne at She Can Quilt
Nov. 19 - Julie at That's Sew Julie
Nov. 20 - Lyn guest-blogging at Flourishing Palms