Acorns, Cottages, & ‘Godwinks’

Welcome!… to the first of several posts that I’ll be posting over the next few weeks - featuring my upcoming book with Martingale, called ‘Acorn Cottage’. I’m so excited to show you the amazing photography & the beautiful book that Martingale has put together for me!

I think the best way to start - is to give you a little peek into the background of this book.

I had actually been wanting to create a book… it’s been years since I had & I was getting the ‘itch’ to do one again. I just love looking at quilt books… & even if I never get the time to make anything from them, I think they are so inspiring & at the very least feed my creative side.

I had self-published my books previously, & that was great for me, because I was able to dip back into graphic design - & designing the look of the book. That was actually one of the things that had held me back from working with a publisher, I would have to let that part of it go. (And, to be honest, I am a bit of a control nut, when it comes to graphics…) But, when I saw the proof pages for ‘Acorn Cottage’… I was giddy with how perfect the graphics & the layout were. It was as if the team at Martingale somehow got inside my head. (They even used some of my fabric designs in the layouts!)  I couldn’t be more pleased with all they created.

For over a year, I had wanted to approach Martingale to do a book. I had been asked to be a part of a couple of Moda All-Star books that Martingale publishes, and I was so impressed with how great they were to work with. I knew when it came time to approach a publisher, I would contact Martingale.

But then, Dad’s health took a big turn, & so my life also changed. (You can read more about that in my last journal post, ‘Day-by-Day’.)  When things continued to change, I put creating a book on the back burner. It remained on my personal ‘wish list’, but I knew that I wouldn’t have the time to care for Dad, & create all the designs needed for a book, as well as creating fabric collections for Moda & the quilt designs for them as well. I was honestly okay with that. I was (& am) just so thankful that I get to work from home, doing what I get to do.

Then one Friday, I received a semi-mysterious email from Jennifer Keltner, Publisher & Chief Visionary Officer (don’t you love that title?!) at Martingale. A phone call followed & after it, I have to admit that I was more than a little teary-eyed. I knew… it was a ‘Godwink’. Little did I know - but it was the first of several…

What was discussed was making a book from already existing designs of mine - kind of a ‘favorites’ book. This meant that I only had to make one quilt (as the quilt for one of the designs Martingale chose had already been gifted) - & that was completely do-able for me! (*Godwink #1)

Then, a few months later… I received another email - this one with what the cover would be. Again, I got teary-eyed. The quilt they chose (Morning Star) is a very special quilt to me, & when I saw that the photo that featured it was chosen for the cover I knew it was more than just a random choice. (I’ll tell you more about what I mean in another post… it deserves it’s own.) (**Godwink #2)

Although there are more little Godwinks - (i.e. - the name, comprised of ‘acorn’ - a very special little piece of my design story, & ‘cottage’ - my dream house…) & more - there is one more Godwink that really made me realize what a gift this book is. 

The release date… It’s on my birthday… They had no idea… but I know ‘someone’ did… (!) (***Godwink #3)

I’ll be back soon with much more about ‘Acorn Cottage! I’m so looking forward to bringing you more posts with more peeks of the quilts included in ‘Acorn Cottage’, and their stories.

Until then, if you want to get more peeks at the projects included in the book, Martingale, Amazon, & Barnes and Noble have posted a bunch of photos. You can pre-order at any of their websites (as well as mine), & I also want to encourage you - if you have a local quilt shop - to let them know & ask them to order it for you!

♥ Bren