Sew Wild: Creating With Stitch and Mixed Media

I love the blogosphere and the many creative people we can find there. But some people just seem to be in a league of their own and Alisa Burke is definitely one of them. This woman is so creative and inventive it just puts us all to shame, but she does it in such a way that it's impossible to be jealous or feel inferior. I think it's because she's so generous in what she shares on her blog. She has her very clear own style and seems to like nothing better than to inspire us to find our own style as well. So naturally I was curious when her book Sew Wild came out and I was not disappointed.Sew wild is a book and dvd set about creating artful fabrics and then stitching them into interesting projects.So this is not just a book about stitching some things together, there's also a ton of information about surface design.You can create custom fabrics with paint, markers, stamps, stencils and many more techniques and give them extra interest by doing free motion stitching on them. I like how for instance she puts paint on fabric that already had a printed pattern on it, that would never have occurred to me!There's of course a chapter with ideas for easy projects to do with these decorated fabrics and even though they were not all to my taste I liked the possibilities with which I could make them my own. This is not a book where you are invited to copy the projects of the author (although you could), but to take the ideas she gives further and make fabrics and sewn projects in your own style. I liked that.The dvd that comes with this set really ads to the content and is not just a repetition of what's inside the book. In it she combines several techniques and gives some extra project ideas. It's very enlightening to actually see how she puts some surface designs together. It makes you feel like you could pull this stuff off too. ;-)All in all I thoroughly enjoyed this book, even if her style isn't always my taste. The ideas were building up in my head because of it and that's much better than just having a book where you ooh and aah over the pretty pictures. It's a book that makes you want to get your hands dirty and make some fabric of your own!

I've admired Alisa's art and worth ethic for several years and have had the pleasure of taking most of her online workshops...I know she worked really hard on this book, and all I can say is it was well worth the wait! This is a great book for beginners and for those with more experience. She keeps the supply list short and, as she does with her workshops, she tries to keep the list of supplies as inexpensive as possible. She is a great instructor, and makes every technique and project very doable with outstanding results. As a bonus, she has included a DVD where she demonstrates some of her techniques up close and personal such as free-motion stitching on her sewing machine.The book is beautiful and filled with lots of colorful pictures and examples...she also includes some patterns for some of the projects.The best part of the book for me is learning how to combine several of the art mediums and techniques that I love using to create my own surface design for fabric. Now I can really create 100% of my own designs!The book is divided into five sections:1. Materials and Tools (lots of pictures and detailed descriptions)2. Color, Pattern, and Inspiration (she takes you by the hand and shows you how she gets inspired and where she gets her ideas)3. Stitching Techniques (she demonstrates not just how to sew on the sewing machine, but how the stitching can add to the overall design and/or project)4. Projects (one dozen projects including bracelets, belts, laptop and phone cases, pillows, aprons, scarf, and hat)Alisa also includes a list of recommended reading and sources for some of the supplies.I had this book on my wishlist since it was listed here at Amazon. It was well worth the wait!

I have been sewing for longer than I care to admit. I've made everything from home items to baby and kid clothes to tailored suits for myself. I have some experience. I bought this book for the FUN element that I thought it would offer, not necessarily because I need to learn a lot about sewing. I'm really glad I got it. I had the author's Canvas Remix, so I had a small idea what I might find with this book. The thing I like the most is the surface design ideas [have lots of experience there, too]. The directions are clear, but not so leading that they inhibit your own creativity. the ideas are basically a jumping off point to do your own work. The back part of the book has some projects, and I probably won't get into those very much, as I'm pretty "old" for most of them! [eek I can't believe I said that]. A really nice bonus is the DVD with actual video of many of the techniques.If you want to pass along a love of sewing, get this book for a young person who is interested, but hesitant. It will help them get into the process and loosen up - loose their fear and have FUN!

This book has so many fun and easy things you can do. It is very good with detailing the steps to the projects inside. It was a used book but is in excellent condition. I would buy from this seller again

I have been enjoying this book and disk ever since receiving it a couple of weeks ago. I find it both exciting and inspiring! Freeform work is exactly what I want to do to get out of the 'box' I have been in for far too long, and Sew Wild does the trick! It's already gotten me to take a blank piece of muslin and start drawing on it, even though I don't normally draw at all. It was daunting, but I kept going and after awhile, I felt looser, and not so judgemental. And the work itself, when viewed as a whole, looked just fine! I'm finding the painting as much fun and releasing. Free motion stitching is what's next for me and I'm anxious to get started and keep practicing until things smooth out.Very happy to be inspired to sometimes walk away from patterns and directions and just let the lines and colors tell me where to go next.

迅速&丁寧な対応をして下さいました。有難うございました。DVDでも楽しめ、内容はとても可愛いいものばかりでお気に入りの1冊となりました。

This book is full of inspiration. Burke takes an artist's approach to her work. She talks about the process, ways to explore and reflect on your work, ideas for journaling and strategies for establishing a practice. There are project ideas as well and the instructions are clear and easy to follow.What I like about Burke's approach is that is encourages readers to go beyond completing individual projects. Her suggestions about exploring colour, texture and dimension has taken me in new directions.

This book has a lot of good technique instructions on surface design with paint, etc. This book is filled with projects that would mostly be enjoyed by the younger generation. It is not my style but is a good instruction book for someone looking to design and sew projects in a new unconventional way!

No matter how old u are this book will expand your mind and delight your creative nature. I think this is the best how to book I ever bought

may be ok for absolute beginners that don't want to spend much time making things - all projects seem to be quick and rough edged, repetitive technique of just sewing over lots of patches of fabric with scribble style free machine quilting. Really disappointed. Received and repacked to return within 10 mins. Photography looks nice, bright and colourful throughout but doesn't disguise the lack of originality of projects or technique used to make them.....I do wonder if those that have left such great reviews have simply been seduced by pictures and not really looked at the content.