05 May 2012

Geared for Guys Blog Tour + Giveaway


When Emily Herrick asked me to join the blog tour for her new ebook, Geared for Guys, I jumped at the chance. Emily is the talented quilter, fabric designer and author over at Crazy Old Ladies.

It can be tricky finding the right balance of handmade charm and masculine interest when crafting for guys. Emily's book is full of great ideas and helpful suggestions to solve the problem. Plus, Geared for Guys offers eight new quilt patterns designed for guys of all ages. The quilts are perfect for beginner and intermediate quilters.


My favorite quilt in the book is called Helix. It's a spiral of printed fabrics on a solid background.


Emily uses one of my favorite techniques in this quilt. She combines several nearly monochromatic prints in a narrow color range to produce a kind of made fabric. To my eye, the made fabric functions almost as a solid, but with more movement and interest.


Emily writes the patterns with detailed instructions and clear cutting and piecing diagrams.

The book also contains helpful sections on choosing colors, fabrics and quilting styles for quilts for the men in your life. I especially liked Emily's fabric strategy discussion, where she gives several alternatives to the standard approach of picking a large-scale floral print, then coordinating prints and solids.


The Geared for Guys e-book is available as a PDF download for $14.75 from Emily's Etsy shop.


I have one copy of the Geared for Guys ebook to give away to one lucky reader. Leave one comment on this post for a chance to win! If you've made quilts for guys, I'd love to hear how you approached the design. I'll be choosing a random winner on Wednesday morning.

For more chances to win and more sneak peeks of the great quilts in the ebook, check out the other blogs on the all-month blog hop. Yesterday's hop stop was with Lee at Freshly Pieced. Tomorrow, stop by with Julie at Jaybird Quilts for another look.

55 comments:

  1. This book looks great! Guys need creative quilts, too, and something other than boring plaids and stripes in safe colors.

    I made a lap quilt for my husband with a bold Monkey Wrench on one side (purple, orange, and lime green!), and a simple framed-square pattern on the reverse with lots of dark blues and greens, in case the MW side was too wild for him. Turns out he likes the bright, bold side better.

    Thanks for the chance to win a copy.

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  2. I've made several 'safe' quilts for a guy by I'd love to make something more fun like these. I've made boy quilts too, but those are a different realm altogether. :-)

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  3. I would love to win the book, thank you. My teenage boys like modern designs. My older one wanted a red quilt so I had fun with about 30 red/pink/orange/purple solids and some black making the City Tracks quilt by Cherry House. He loves it.

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  4. This book looks so amazing!! My boyfriend and I have been trying to come up with a quilt design and palette that we both like so I can make US a quilt. :) Having this as a starting point would be really helpful!

    Thanks for the chance to win. :)

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  5. Looks like a great book. I happen to be in need a pattern to make a quilt for my son who will be going off to college.

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  6. Love your blog..I visit often. The book looks terrific and I do like the quilt you chose as a fav. I have many men in my life, some I'd even like to make a quilt for..haha Id make any of them a quilt. Oh wait, I have made some of them quilts. It is nice to see new designs though and the fabric choices that make poople like me look like design superstars. Thanks for the chance to win.

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  7. What fun! A give-away!

    I made off-to-college quilts for both my sons. I focused on choosing patterns that have a graphic design with a secondary design - sort of puzzle quilts. One was a split 9-patch in the colors of DS's guitar and the other was a wonky quarter log cabin.

    Would love to have the book for my resource center because I have 2 nephews getting ready to graduate from high school in the next year or two! Thanks so much!

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  8. ooooh, to say this quilt is eye-catching is quite the understatement. I need to start looking for a quilt to make for my son to take to college--this one certainly fits the bill! thanks!

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  9. I love that Helix quilt too! I could see it in a variety of Carolina Blue on Kona Coal for my Tar Heel loving husband!

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  10. My husband likes grays, blues, and greens generally. He also leans more towards graphic patterns, so I would love to make him something the combines those qualities. The pattern you are showing made with something like Curious Nature would be something he would really like. Thanks for the chance!

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  11. Guess who showed up in my reader! FINALLY.
    I love Emily's stuff. Her schoolhouse was one of my favorites from Houston. The book looks rather promising. I'm excited to see more. Whee!!

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  12. Thanks for the peek and this giveaway!
    I recently made one for my hubby: plain 8" squares in a selection of fabrics chosen by Quiltdad aka John Adams for the Fat Quarter Shop, a mix of blue, green, aqua and grey. Simple and much used already! :))

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  13. My brother-in-law wanted a quilt, but one that was not too fussy. He liked the bento box block he saw once so I made his quilt out of a single block, in maroon, grey, and black solids, scaled up to king size to fit his 6'6'' frame. It was a challenge, but a lot of fun too. Thank you for the chance to win Emily's book. It looks fascinating!

    mheldmyer(at)bellsouth(dot)com

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    1. oops! my email is mheldmyer(at)bellsouth(dot)net

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  14. Ive made a few quilts for my dad, he loves to get those things from me, lol. Id love the chance to keep surprising him, thank you for the chance

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  15. I like the offset spiral!
    I stick more to earthy tones when making a guy quilt. I'll use darker tones for my cool colors and simpler prints on my brights; more tonals than large patterns too, but a lot of large patterns are really "girlie!"

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  16. I have made one "guy" quilt, and I stuck with a simple 9-patch on point for the design. I used masculine-colored plaids and solid brown.

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  17. I have to admit that I never made a guy-ish quilt (my two little boys don't count as guys, do they?!) but there are two due... one for my husband and one for my dad. So I could need a bit of help or inspiration. I would love to win a copy! Thanks for the chance!

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  18. Finally, a book geared to the guys! Although, I must say, I like them too! Thanks so much for the giveaway.

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  19. My 28 year old brother has completely worn out the quilt my grandmother made for him as a child. (He sleeps with it every night) She made every grandchild a full size quilt before she passed away. He has asked me for a replacement and I am working out the design now. Scrappy black and white wonky stars in various sizes over a solid background. I'm so excited to get started! Thanks for the giveaway....I'm always looking for inspiration.

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  20. It looks like a great way to use scraps. I especially like the 60-degree tilt. I think it would work in any color combination, not just monochromatic.

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  21. I think this book looks awesome, and not just for guys. It's more modern than anything and that's what I love! Thanks for the chance to win it!

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  22. for the guys in my family i chose quilt patterns that i changed just a bit to fit the guy [6 quilts] and made up patterns for two more, one i enlarged and fixed up a place mat that i liked, and another for a young great grandson, made a quilt from a cute quilt block i saw. for some of them, i appliqued on the back something special for them. a dragon, a chevy impala logo, a fish. am out of ideas; this book would be a help! thanx for the oppotunity to win it.

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  23. I made my husband a quilt out of his old tshirts and super hero fabric cuz he is my super hero! I make a lot of boy quilts for charity, but they are harder to make than girl quilts. Thanks for the chance to win some great patterns for guys. They are always tough!

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  24. Beautiful quilt. Looks like a wonderful e:book.

    SewCalGal
    www.sewcalgal.blogspot.com

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  25. That spiral quilt is amazing, anyone would be happy to have that in their home. I usually stick to darker colours for guy quilts, it seems more manly somehow, with the dark colours you can even get away with dark florals :)

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  26. Great idea for the book. I'm sure many men receive some very sweet and romantic floral quilts and appropriately appreciative, but these not really make their soul sing. The book opens the possibilities to some better choices. I'll definitely hop over to the next blog featuring this book tomorrow. Thanks for sharing!
    Kim

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  27. I love the faux monochromatic look too. Makes a pieces dance.The few manly quilts I have designed have all been earthy on colour and prone to reflect architecture. I did do one log cabin for grandfather in reproduction fabrics.

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  28. The peeks I've seen so far show bold design with calm colors. I tend to play it too safe and would love to try these ideas to learn more about contrast. My husband used to help his grandmother hand piece and I think some of these designs would inspire him to sew again.

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  29. Being the parent of 2 men and the grandmother of 4 grandsons I would love to have a book geared to the men of the family. New ideas are always welcome, thank you for this chance at your giveaway.
    Marge

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  30. I made one of blue/green stars in frames for one boy, and an orange gradient for another. Actually, the orange quilt was Emily's Fine Print pattern. I like how it turned out in orange only.

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  31. Uso sólidos,xadrez,listras,quadriculados etc...com blocos tradicionais,ou simples como emendar quadrados e ou retângulos.Obrigada.tiacarminhapezzuto@gmail.com

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  32. This could be fun to try. I design my quilts based entirely on the design preferences of the recipient, regardless of gender. If they like bright colours, they get bright colours; etc.

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  33. What a brilliant prize! I'd love this!

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  34. Oooh, I love that Hexie quilt. And with three boys, I could really use this book. ;) Thanks for the giveaway!

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  35. I made a 20th birthday quilt for each of my two stepsons. In both quilts, I used indigo denim and homespun plaids, and I incorporated scraps cut from their dad's jeans, although the overall design was quite different for each quilt.

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  36. This book is right up my alley :)

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  37. Wow, another great quilt. Love the combination of colors.

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  38. Although these quilts are "geared for guys", you could change them completely with just a color change. Love quilts like that! Sure hope I win!

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  39. Geared for Guys looks like an awesome book. I can't wait to get my hands on a copy!

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  40. I'm so excited about this quilt - I would feel confident that any quilts I made for my hubs were "adequately manly" :P

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  41. Looks like a terrific book! I've been looking for a masculine-quilt-that-isn't-sports-themed pattern. Thanks for hosting a fun giveaway!

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  42. It's fantastic to see pattern ideas for boys/men that isn't based on novelty fabric!

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  43. The quilts that I've made for the men in my life tend to be in neutral colors. I try to choose quilting patterns that aren't too flowery:)

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  44. I'm in the process of making a lap quilt for my hubby (he was so jealous when he saw me all snug with my Heather Ross lap quilt! hehe). He loves cows, so I'm going to use black and white solids, with Robert Kaufman cows in sky blue and lime green, some cow print. Not completely sure on the design I'm going to use yet...

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  45. Very cool. I love monochromy! I'm still new to quilting and haven't made a quilt for a guy yet. I do have a little list of guys that I'd like to make a quilt for someday and would love the guidance.

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  46. I love the look of this book! I recently designed a quilt for my 7 year old son with his help - and he has chosen the fabrics.

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  47. The helix quilt is fantastic. That's the first photo that I've seen of this quilt. I want to make quilts for my brother and an uncle and this book probably has some that will fit their personalities. Thanks for the chance.

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  48. I'm currently making a quilt to give to my siblings. It's made from all the custom shirts I made for my father who died this January. It's an emotional process that is full of great memories and is helping with my sense of loss.

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  49. I've never made a quilt for a guy yet... but I'm a newbie to quilting and being in a family of guys I've been thinking of ways to make quilts masculine. This book looks fabulous! Thanks for a chance to win! :)

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  50. Can't wait to get my hands on a copy! When I make quilts for guys, I start with fabrics, usually quite neutral and as far from girly as possible. For my dad, I started with browns and greys that had a textural print as opposed to anything visibly discernible from farther than two feet, and added a red solid to use minimally. Then I figured out the design. Simple but interesting. Concentric squares, paper-pieced, alternating one fabric with the red for half the blocks, the rest were squares with one quarter/corner being a different fabric. He loved it so I call it a win.

    Thanks for a chance!

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  51. I really am loving everything I see from this book so far! I really haven't made any quilts for a guy yet, mostly just baby quilts, but still this would be great to have.

    chancyf (at) gmail (d0t) com

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  52. I really like this spiral! My quilts are generally geometric, but I haven't made anything geared for guys.

    dakewlone
    (at)
    gmail
    dotcom

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  53. Am I too late??? Would love to win this so I could make a quilt for my son. haven't made any for a male yet.

    trilliumcreates AT gmail DOT com

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  54. Has the ebook been given away yet? Would love to win. I haven't been very successful in making guy quilts. Usually, I use masculine colored plaid fabrics and simple patches.

    Thanks for bringing attention to this new book!

    -Beth in AL

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