Prelaunch Beginner Book and DVD!

This is the Prelaunch Sale, so from now until September 30th, you can get a terrific deal on the new book and DVD, plus be one of the first to receive them when the shipment arrives.

Just in case you have totally missed out on hearing about this new book and DVD, here’s the skinny on these two items:

Way back in June, I decided it was time to retire Free Motion Fillers Volume 1 and Volume 2. I did this for many reasons, mostly because I’d noticed that the quality of these DVDs just really wasn’t as good as some of the new videos I was producing.

I had also made the decision back in January not to continue the Volume series simply because I never had any intention of creating 18 separate DVDs of all 365 designs (only 20 designs fit on a regular disc, so that could get really expensive really quick!)

I also realized that it would be better if the designs were organized according to difficulty level so beginners could have a DVD of just beginner level designs.

So this became Beginner Free Motion Quilting Fillers and this DVD features 30 designs from the project, restitched in clear, high quality videos on black fabric with white thread.

Each video is around 2-4 minutes long and features detailed instructions, including tips on holding your fabric and marking registration lines to make some designs easier.

This was the first time I created a quilt with all the quilting squares from the DVD, and I even share how to put one together at the end of the video so you can create a sampler quilt too!

If you’ve been following along with the blog, then you probably remember back in July the DVD project hit a snag because my video editing software just could not cut it when it came to creating the master discs.

Finally I decided to enlist the help of a video professional, and while time consuming, the DVD has been put together so it should work perfectly on both DVD players and computers, in every country, all over the world!

Of course, this was a very time consuming process. There were long periods where there was really nothing I could do, so I started clicking around one day and came across some small photo books created at lulu.com.

If you remember back to this post, I really started to think about writing a physical book and featuring just photos of each design back at the beginning of July. Everyone was so supportive, I realized this would be a big hit, so I began playing around to see exactly what I could come up with and what it would cost.

Unfortunately all the automatic photo book generators like Lulu and Mixbook are actually very expensive and not really set up for people wanting to print large quantities. It became apparent that I needed to find a book printer if I wanted to keep the costs down and make the book affordable.

More searches online, days of research, and new questions kept popping up all over the place like “What size should this be?” “Could this be sold in stores?” “Should I get an ISBN?”

I’ve gotta say that there were times that I got so frustrated with all the millions of questions self publishing a book created, all I wanted to do was chuck the idea out the window!

But eventually things started to make sense, and I found that it’s actually not that difficult or intimidating to get an ISBN number or a Library of Congress Control Number. It just takes patience and determination to find the right answers and the right way to do it.

Looking back on the first sample books I got way back in July, I’m so glad I decided to venture down this bumpy self publishing road! The final book looks SO much better than the original!

Because this book is so much bigger, I was able to go into detail on the different filler design types and where each type of design works best in a quilt.

I’m very proud of all the photos and illustrations, which clearly show each design. It really has turned into the perfect little reference guide for free motion quilting inspiration right next to your sewing machine.

So that’s the story behind the book and DVD. While it’s been a long summer working on the two of them at the same time, it feels great to see them together now!

The book, From Daisy to Paisley, is 79 pages long and features 50 beginner level designs, plus stippling, paisley, and pebbling.

The DVD, Beginner Free Motion Quilting Fillers, is a 2 hour, dual layer DVD that features 30 beginner level designs, plus information on how to put all your quilted blocks together to create a Sampler Quilt.

And of course, I’ve put the two together to create the Beginner Combo Kit for an extra special price.

So that’s it for this Feature Friday! Today really got away from me so I’ve decided to wait to post Section Quilting Part 3 and 4 until next Sunday. Have a wonderful weekend and enjoy the beautiful changing weather!

Let’s go quilt,

Leah Day