Ana Paula Rímoli is the creative mind behind Amigurumi World and Amigurumi Two! Read on to see how she comes up with these quirky, adorable toys.

When you were growing up in Montevideo, Uruguay, your neighbor Marta taught you to crochet. How old were you and what was the first thing you made?

I was about six or seven years old. A lot of us kids were always playing outside in the summer, and Marta was always crocheting, so we asked her to teach us! The first things I made were a scarf and a teeny blanket for my dolls.

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We recently had the chance to interview Eva Wiechmann, the popular author of Pursenalities, Pursenality Plus, Crocheted Pursenalities, and her latest book, Simple Stitches.

You’ve become an expert on both knitting and crochet. How did you get started working in fiber arts?

I grew up in Finland, where needlework was always a part of our lives. I learned to knit at the age of four and cannot recall a time when I didn’t have a project or two going. I knitted with my mother, sister, aunts, cousins, and friends. We did not have many patterns, so everything was pretty much our own design. Read more »

We’re excited to bring you this entertaining interview with Debby Kratovil, the author of Quilter’s Block-a-Day Calendar and its companion CD, as well as the recently released Supersize ’Em!

How were you first introduced to quilting?

I’ve always had a love for sewing, and when my daughters were very young I took notice of quilts (early 1980s). Since we didn’t have much money, purchasing one was out of the question. I knew how to sew and began to make small projects using simple patterns in magazines and books. Read more »

This month we have a fascinating interview with Kathleen Tracy to share with you! As quilters everywhere know, she’s the author of American Doll Quilts, Prairie Children and Their Quilts, and her newest book, Remembering Adelia.

Your first two books, American Doll Quilts and Prairie Children and Their Quilts, have been very well received. How did you first become interested in antique quilts?

I became interested in quilts in the ’80s, but didn’t actually start quilting until 2000. I came to appreciate small, primitive, antique quilts with their childlike charm, and I bought numerous small reproduction quilts for decorating purposes.

I’d always been interested in needlecrafts but didn’t begin quilting until after my daughter was born and I started making small quilts for her dolls. Doll quilts of the past inspired me with their simplicity and primitive scrap looks. They seemed easy enough for me to master. Read more »

Mary M. Covey is the author of the popular Follow-the-Line Quilting Designs, which is now in three volumes, soon to be four. She recently gave us an inspiring interview, including a great way to machine quilt with a three-year-old!

How did you first get the quilting bug?

I had always wanted to learn, because I love antique quilts. When my children went to school, I had more free time, so I took a quilting class and was just hooked! Read more »

While at Quilt Market, Martingale & Company held a drawing for shops. There were three shop winners, and each will receive a collection of ten books–one each of our new releases from September, October, and November! Congratulations to the three winners: Snip & Stitch Sewing Center in Nainaimo, British Columbia, The Quilter’s Workshop in Carrollton, Texas, and Bear Paw Quilting and Bernina in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

Congratulations once again, and a big thank you to all the shops that visited Martingale & Company at Quilt Market!

Rose Hughes is the author of Dream Landscapes: Artful Quilts with Fast-Piece Appliqué, which was released in October 2008. She’s an accomplished quilt artist, teacher, writer, and curator. We took the time to talk with her the other day, and she gave us a delightful interview!

The quilts in your new book, Dream Landscapes, use your Fast-Piece Appliqué technique to capture the flowing, sensuous lines in nature. What is Fast-Piece Appliqué?

It’s a form of machine appliqué that makes it easy to sew curves, circles, and other shapes in our quilts. People are amazed when they take my class; they see curves and circles but are thrilled that there are no curved seams. Simple straight stitching makes it really easy. When students design their own pieces, at first they hold back and don’t use curves and spirals, but then they find out how easy these are to stitch.

Fast-Piece Appliqué is so easy, the sewing is the fastest part. Picking the fabric takes the longest, but it’s also a fun part of the design process. In Dream Landscapes, the instructions tell you what colors you need and give you a real guide, so the projects in the book go very fast. Read more »

Nine Patch Media and Martingale & Company have paired up to bring instructional quilting DVDs to your favorite quilt shop. Nine Patch Media, based out of Vancouver Island, Canada, will release 18 DVDs over the next 18 months in their “Quilters’ Schoolhouse” DVD series. The DVDs will make their debut at Quilt Market in Houston at the end of the month. The series includes DVDs from authors like Sharon Pederson, Carol Doak, and Karla Alexander.

Look for these high-quality DVDs at your local independent quilt shop soon!

Some of Martingale’s most popular but out-of-print books have been brought back as downloadable books—Digital Downloads. For less than the cost of a hard-copy book, you can pay for and download the book to your computer all at once. No shipping, no packaging, no waiting by the mailbox. As soon as the book is downloaded to your computer, simply open it up using PDF-compatible software and you’re ready to start some projects! You can print single pages, the entire book, or nothing at all—it’s up to you.

Learn more about Digital Downloads
See what books are available (more on the way!)

Gigi Knits…and Purls author Karen Thalacker is in the news, talking about the process of writing Gigi, and the world of knitting. Check out the article, and learn more about Karen and Gigi, at the Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier.

Learn more about Gigi Knits…and Purls: