Giveaway, Interview and Review of Miss Scarlet's School of Patternless Sewing

Let me say that I love reading books by crafty peeps about creative people that I wish I could hang out with in real life. That's what Miss Scarlet's School of Patternless Sewing is all about.

Don't believe me?

Well leave a comment in today's post and you are entered to win a copy of Miss Scarlet's School of Patternless Sewing or Kathy's first book Waking Up in the Land of Glitter: A Crafty Chica Novel. I will randomly select two winners who will receive one of her books. Enter by midnight Pacific time March 15th, 2011 and you are in the running for some good reading!
Two of my favorite quotes from Miss Scarlet's School of Patternless Sewing:

"....she was, being made to feel like a misfit minx by the one person who should have been holding her pincushion."

and
"I think it is doggone silly that people wait until January 1st to adjust the volume on their optimism."

Kathy was gracious to take the time to answer a few questions I posed to her on her busy blog tour. (This photo is from her product launch at the Michaels awhile back but I just had to share it.)
Here are her fun answers:

When do you make time to write in your crazy (in a good way life) full of family and crafting?

"I LOVE to write, it is my escape and it calms me. It is a sacred thing, it sounds goofy, but I swear it is the truth. I always write late at night after the family has gone to bed. Even with my very first book, Making Shadow Boxes and Shrines - that was in 2002, I had already settled into my habit of night owl typing! It works well with my novels because my mind is free and clear of "kathy" or "crafty chica" and my world transforms into that of the characters."

Do you scribble ideas on napkins and bits of paper when they come to you? Or do you remember them by emailing them to yourself from your phone? Or.....

"Just like with ideas for projects to make, I do anything and everything. I take a lot of pictures, I carry a mini journal in my purse, sometimes in my bra! I email and do voice memos. They all come in handy because I'll forget. I hate it when I finally go to bed and I get all snuggled in and close my eyes - and then a scene pops in my head. I absolutely have to get up and write it down so I don't forget! Just like with any creative project!"

Do you indulge in retail therapy? If so what are your favorite stores?

"You know, I'm not a big power shopper. I'd rather make my own designer purses than buy them. I'm not a big fashionista. I do love big rings and chunky bracelets. Someday when I die and they read my will, someone will ask "Who did she leave her costume jewelry collection to?"


Are the musical tastes of your characters your own? If not what's hot on your current ipod playlist?

"For the first book, Star's music was the music I listen to. But with Miss Scarlet, I forced myself out of my comfort zone. The music ranges from Glenn Miller to John Coltrane to Perez Prado! As far as what I listen to, right now on my play list I have Bomba Estereo, Michelle Blades, Marina and the Diamonds, Pato Banton and Florence + The Machine"

Have you ever made a "Ten things no on else has probably done list"?

"Here's a few!
1. Thought I had a ghost bugging me only to find out it was a baby lizard stuck in my hair. It fell on me while we were cleaning the backyard shed!
2. Woken in my car up by Ziggy Marley.
3. Fell asleep in the wrong tour van and woke up to find a band of Caribbean musicians all around me! (long time ago!)
4. Honked at a happy couple walking down the sidewalk to startle them out of their bliss because I was mad because I was single. (long time ago)
5. Put glitter on my husband's painting when he wasn't looking.
6. Drinking wine to calm my nerves at my mother-in-law's birthday party, only to get "too calm" and jump in the pool with all my clothes on in front of everyone (it wasn't a swim party). My husband told me that he said "Was that my wife who just did that?"
7. Wrote a love note to my dad's leg with a Sharpie on his leg, right before they took him into surgery to have it amputated due to cancer.
8. Got kicked out of the office chocolate club for accidentally eating all the chocolate. (I didn't know it was the group's coveted stash!)
9. Interviewed Matthew McConaughey right after he got out of the hotel shower, he wore nothing but his fluffy white bathrobe and still had water droplets on his chest!"

More about the amazing book that makes me torn between reading it and sparking my creativity so that I want to go make something!

Miss Scarlet's School of Patternless Sewing
By
Kathy Cano-Murillo

The founder of popular www.craftychica.com pens her second Crafty Chica novel, following Waking Up in the Land of Glitter (2010). Scarlet Santana has abandoned a promising engineering career to follow her passion for sewing. To raise money to attend a prestigious design academy in New York, she works for a local designer, teaches a sewing class, and sells clothes on her web site devoted to Daisy de la Flora, the flamboyant designer who inspired Scarlet's retro look and bubbly approach to life. As Scarlet works herself to exhaustion, the women in her sewing class become their own an unofficial support group. When her big break turns out to be a big bust, Scarlet must consider whether following her dream is worth losing herself. Cano-Murillo lays the quirkiness on thick, but the story amidst the gimmicks has a lot of heart. --Aleksandra Walker