The book that will make you giddy

The book that will make you giddy because you can win it! Storey Publishing has generously offered to send one of my readers a free copy of their new release, Fabric by Fabric. In this author interview, Trish Hoskins mentions the challenge of taking a variety of designers projects and translating them into one voice for the book.  My licensing experience with Simplicity prepared me for someone looking at my patterns and rewriting them, so I think it is great. My contribution to the book is my simple kitchen chair slip cover. The book version is different from the PDF version that I sell, so it's all good. I am really excited to have a project in the book (because it makes my mom proud of me all over again.) It is so well done and attractive (read this review for the full scoop) I think it will be a best seller.

A couple of the projects that intrigue me are the lingerie project - I have a bunch of knit fabrics that will be perfect for these. 

And my daughter wants a hat exactly like the one shown below. I think I will help her make it herself.


The book really does have something for everyone. It is the perfect gift for anyone just getting into sewing. It will expand their thinking about what kinds of things they can sew.
HOW TO WIN THIS BOOK
1. You must have a mailing address inside the US
2. Subscribe to my blog or follow it, and let me know by leaving a comment. (Make sure I have a way to get in touch with you.)
3. If you already subscribe or follow this blog, just leave a comment here. Tell me about your favorite fabric and what you did with it or plan to do with it.
DEADLINE Monday, January 2nd at  6PM Pacific time.
I will choose an entrant at random and announce the winner here by 7PM Monday.
Good luck!
Here is a list of all of the contributors to the book who have blogged and are blogging about it:

12/12/2011 Becka's Project Journal

12/13/2011 Craft Buds

12/14/2011 Patch Work Duck Designs

12/15/2011 Patch Work Duck Designs

12/15/2011 A Spoonful of Sugar

12/15/2011 Nifty Kids Stuff

12/15/2011 Becka's Project Journal

12/16/2011 Nom Nom Nom

12/16/2011 Quaint and Quirky

12/17/2011 ikatbag

12/17/2011 Two Brown Birds

12/18/2011 Sharon Sews

12/19/2011 LBG Studios

12/19/2011 Carolina Fair Designs

12/19/2011 Under Construction

12/20/2011 Little Blue Cottage

12/21/2011 Craftzine

12/21/2011 Neuroses Galore

12/21/2011 Emily Steffen

12/22/2011 Jenna Lou Loves You

12/23/2011 Spincushion

12/27/2011 One Inch World

12/28/2011 Sew Sew Etc.

12/29/2011 While Tangerine Dreams

12/30/2011 Studio Cherie

January ‘12 Lu Lu Carter

January ’12 Fiberosity

January ’12 Zuhause

January ’12 Obsessively Stiching

January ’12 No Bad Days

January ’12 Craft & Cackle

January ’12 AfricanKelli

The book that made my mom giddy

Or maybe it was the mimosa she drank before she called me... Fabric by Fabric, sequel to the very successful One Yard wonders book - I signed one for her. She loves it - even before she noticed my inscription and that my slip cover is in there. It is so packed with great projects, anyone who sews will love it. Here is a fabulous review of the book. And here is a great interview with the authors. I will be doing a book giveaway in a few days - 12/30. Tune back in here for your chance to win. Meanwhile, enjoy reading the review and the interview.

More on Framing a Landscape View

Thank you for the nice comments. I am glad my last post is helping some people. I wanted to follow up with all of the options, as I see them. I chose 2 things that are common on Etsy and hard to frame in landscape. Skeleton keys and party dresses. Row one of these examples shows how to back up from the subject and leave room around it. Row 2 depicts giving the item an angle that fits a landscape frame. Row 3 shows another option - using a detail shot. You might consider doing some of each in your shop to find out what works for you.

Portrait vs. Landscape

Letters are written with portrait orientation. Magazines are pages and pages of portraits. People are usually vertical when we are interacting with them. "Why," many of us ask, does Etsy insist on landscape orientation for our product photos? It's a bit of a burden for those of us in fashion. It's an adjustment for anyone new to Etsy. We just don't think in terms of landscape. And it is hard work to bend your leggy model like gumby to fit into a wide frame. Why can't I just let her stand there and look beautiful?  I think the real answer is that they just weren't thinking when they designed the site layout. The fantasy answer is much more fun and useful for me.  Perhaps landscapes make us linger.

A landscape view is sexy.

With a landscape view, online shoppers see more of your shop on every page.

Our computer screens are landscape (this is probably the source of the real answer,) so we need to adjust and make the best of it.
This is how I crop and size my photos so there are no surprises when I see them in my Etsy shop:
If your subject is vertical and you want to capture the whole subject, your first option is to shoot in landscape, farther away than usual, and leave room on the sides for an interesting background.

The perfect sizing for Etsy is 1000 pixels wide by 800 pixels tall. If your original is too small for that, 750 wide by 600 tall also works.
If you do want to upload a vertical shot to Etsy, just know it will get cropped into these proportions - the width will remain untouched and the height will get cropped to width divided by 1.25. The crop will be centered. So I uploaded another version of the photo at the top of this article, and on Etsy it looks like this:

The bottom line is that if you want to make sales online, the most important thing is your presentation. You can have the most gorgeous product in person, but if your photos don't look as good as the real thing, they will not sell. I hope this article helps you frame every product shot like a work of art.

My giraffe bootsocks

My giraffe bootsocks
Originally uploaded by studiocherie

I received so many compliments on my "cute boots" at the Handmade Holiday Show on Saturday that I had to do a photo shoot to show them off here. My "boots" are actually bootsocks sewn from my pattern and worn with my Born mules. I have several pair in different colors and I wear them all of the time. I always get compliments. And the best part - my feet and legs are always warm! The socks are super easy to make from my pattern. Toddlers up to Mens sizes included in one pattern.