Felties by Nellie Pailloux is a soon to be released book (28th of September in Australia RRP $19.95 AU) that is filled with fun little “felties” from quirky cats to a polar roo as shown on the front cover above.

Felties or plushies as they are sometimes referred to are small stuffed  soft toys that are only limited by your imagination. These little characters are perfect for hand sewing whilst traveling or commuting (on a bus,train or plane not whilst driving)

This book has 18 designs to captivate and inspire you.

For your chance to win this Penguin Books Australia review copy simply enter your details here.

Competition Details

Open – Worldwide

Closes – 1st of October

Book review written by Editor  Shellie Wilson

•  A basic infant bib, plus a patchwork and appliqued version.
•  A basic toddler bib, plus a patchwork and appliqued version.
•  A toddler bib with a storage pocket that doubles as a crumb-catcher!
•  A basic burp cloth, plus a patchwork and appliqued version.
•  A burp cloth with an innovative storage pocket!
•  Three styles of changing mats.
•  A very cool diaper clutch with instructions for 2 looks.
•  A textured securtiy blanket to keep little fingers busy!
•  A satin lovey.
•  A very simple, super-quick quilt!

All of these projects are boutique-quality, assuming of course that you construct them of quality materials. 

The instructions are straightforward and are geared toward those with limited or no sewing experience.   (Experienced sewers can probably skip straight to the patterns and use the instructions just as a quick reference guide.)  If you’ve wanted to learn how to sew but haven’t known exactly where to start, sewExpecting is a good place to begin.  The beginning of the eBook gives quick instructions for basic sewing, applique, and patchwork skills that you’ll need to create the projects.  Most of the projects are constructed with from simple shapes, with minimal fuss.

sewExpecting is available from Strawberry Truffle for $22.00.

By now, I know there are more than a handful of you who want a copy of sewExpecting for your very own.  And so Leigh Ann has graciously offered to give away one copy of the eBook to a lucky Craft Gossip reader.  Here’s how it will work:

To enter, post a comment on to this Craft Gossip post telling me which SewExpecting project (listed above) you think will be the first one you’ll sew.  One entry per person, please.  Deadline is Friday, August 7, 2009 at 10:00 pm CST.  I’ll choose a winner at random the following day.

Printing by Hand: A Modern Guide to Printing with Handmade Stamps, Stencils and Silk Screens by Lena Corwin is a fabulous resource for various methods of fabric printing. The author offers some beautifully modern designs and some gorgeous project ideas not to metion such easy to understand instructions that even a super-novice will be printing in no time!

Subversive Seamster: Transform Thrift Store Threads into Street Couture by Melissa Alvarado, Hope Meng, and Melissa Rannels is their follow up book to Sew Subversive.

I really like the second book. They have some great top ideas including a fabulous little strapless number. And as the title promises, you can get some groovey ideas to transform thrift store clothing or just scour your closet for goods to make-over!

I was scoping around to find some ideas to transform my new Stitch n’ Pitch tee shirt giveaway. It is a pretty cute logo comprised of a baseball and knitting needles.

T-Shirt Makeovers: 20 Transformations for Fabulous Fashions is created by Project Runway alum Carmen Webber and her design partner who go by the name Sistahs of Harlem. They have some great halter top ideas as well as a few other super sexy transformations.

Rip-It!: How to Desconstruct and Reconstruct the Clothes of Your Dreams by Elissa Meyrich is a good book if you are a beginner and pretty new to sewing but I found it a little boring and truly wish it offered more “construction” as apposed to just embellishing.

99 Ways to Cut, Sew, Trim and Tie Your T-Shirt into Something Special by Faith and Justina Blakeney et al has not only a great title but a fantastic idea to turn your boring tee into a fierce back lace-up number! Yum!

This book is packed with tons of ideas for sprucing up your place. There are many sewing projects to add some creativity and pizazz to your home. Among the adoreable projects is a cute little garden apron and a darling sink skirt. Tres chic!

Sewing a Travel Wardrobe by Kate Matthews has some good ideas but unless you are adept at knocking off patterns and are an avid sewer, this book may not enough instruction for you.

Made for Travel: 50 Easy-Sew Gifts and Accessories for Everyday Trips and Special Journeys By Mary Mulari, is a great basic book for sewing travel items. Although the fabrics she uses are not very stylish or modern, her techniques are flawless and easy to understand.

She also teaches a super fun zipper treatment that I adore. It’s worth checking out! I’ve used this book as a resource so much, I even made a video based on some of her travel projects.

Dream Sewing Spaces: Design and Organization for Spaces Large and Small

Whether you have a sprawling room or just a tiny nook to devote to sewing, this book will give you a ton of ideas for organizing, furniture placement and storing your fabrics and notions.

And when you have a dreamy space to sew in, sewing is so much sweeter!

There are two books that I have found just so fabulously inspiring to create little loveable, somewhat subversive creatures.

Plush-o-rama- Curious Creatures for Immature Adults by Linda Kopp is awesome! There are some really cool projects in here complete with patterns. My fave is Moopy Bunny by Carly Schwerdt. It is adorable!

My newest discovery is Plush You! Lovable misfit toys to sew and stuff by Kristen Rask. Kristen is the owner of the super fun store Shmancy in Seattle, WA.

As I spend a few months of the year in Seattle, I have visited this store many times. They used to carry my favorite pincushions by Sew Dorky in addition to stocking a slew of wacky plush toys. This book, an extension of her store is packed with fantastic projects and amazing ideas.

With my new obsession, my studio is about to resemble a toy store!

Kathleen Maggio’s Altered Clothing: Hip Fixes and Transformations with a Needle and Thread (Domestic Arts for Crafty Girls) is a fun book full of ideas to get your imagination going. I adore what she comes up with transforming shoes and has a cute men’s shirt to feminine top project.

My friend Shannon Okey created Alternation that has some great, stylish ideas to transform your wardrobe. And it is photographed beautifully as illustrated in the above picture.

Generation T by Megan Nicolay is a fun, easy to understand book chock full of great things to do with tee shirts.

Happy Recycling!