Quilting Books

I became very excited when I read this one. Great book for fabric lovers and Pictorial quilters. Raylene Wolff

I was looking for something that would help me expand my creativity along the lines of being 'artistic'. Being of limited talent and budget in the area I needed help! Her techniques and ideas send you in creative directions it might have taken you 20 years to reinvent by yourself. Worth the $. I ended up with a variety of interesting experiments that looked amazingly good when put on the wall. Buy it an go off to 'play' for a while.

I have not made anything yet from this book, but my fingers are itching to. It seems to give very good direction and a good start for your own ideas.

If you are looking for inspiration on 'how to' this is the book for you. Very generous with personal techniques develpoed.

If you like and want to know how to constuct the kind of quilt pictures on the front cover, then this book will show you how, and give you lots of ideas. Joan gives an overview of style, fabric selection, fabric manipulation and construction methods. The major chunk of the book deals with various tree forms and, later, birds and nests. Towards the end there are few examples of Joan's gothic, pre-raphaelite women, and some ideas for finishing. The particular strength of the book is the layering, combination of manipulated and raw edge fabrics, and use of commercial tree fabric and hand-dyes and stamping to create semi-realistic trees. Joan talks us through her process, but she does not teach us how to LOOK at nature. The colour photographs and line illustrations are excellent.
It's great to have in your library, if you have already done some pictorial quilts. It is not really suited to a beginner.

This book has wonderful tips and how to's for the beginner as well as the experienced quilter. The illustrations are outstanding. There are excellent tips to improve your skills and a couple of interesting projects. As a hesitant appliquer but enthusiastic pieceworker I found this book gave me the confidence to attempt applique and be successful.

I love, love, love this book! It has wonderful instructions and terrific pictures to help you all along the way. I'm excited that I'm scheduled to take a class from Linds Jenkins who will be visiting my Quilt Guild in a couple of weeks. Now I will be able to follow along with this wonderful book. I really enjoy doing applique and hope to really master it with the help of Linda and her book

I loved this book because it's explanations are very simple and easy to follow. Everything I wanted to know about appliqué techniques! The steps are richly illustrated. It's very usefull and worth it.

This is a great reference for beginning applique. It was recommended by a cousin of mine who owns a quilt shop. There are lots of details and pictures along with great tips that take the fear out of teaching yourself to applique. It's cheaper than a class, and a reference for life.

I have been taking classes at my local quilt shop to learn hand applique and this is the one book that my teacher highly recommended to buy as a reference tool. It is absolutely wonderful and makes needle-turn applique a "Piece O Cake"

I am a beginning machine piecer...this book was a concise, easy-to-use guide.

This is an extremely practical book.What I really like about it is all the photos. As a beginning quilter, I find it very useful to see the technique illustrated with a photo. With tips on all kinds of patchwork techniques, this book is an ideal second quilting book (with the first book being a more comprehensive book on the entire quilting process, like Fons and Porter's Quilter's Complete Guide). I really like the sections on problem solving in each chapter. I think this book would be useful for intermediate quilters as well (I assume it's too basic for really advanced quilters).

I've always been an inaccurate piercer and this book has solved all my problems. The only reason I'm giving it 4 stars instead of 5 is that Rodale's "Successful Quilting Library" is a fairly large number of books that are slim. They are all excellent, but there's a lot of redundancy. I wish Rodale had put all the information in the series into one large book.

One of the best books I've found on basic piecing. AND the chapter on Foundation Piecing gave me TWO SOLUTIONS for a problem I've been trying to figure out for months. It never occured to me to transfer my foundation design by sewing a bunch of papers together with a needle with no thread. Put the design on top with six blank pieces of paper under it. Then sew the top design. The other papers have the design punched into them. And they tear off easier. A wonderful solution. A real "why didn't I think of that." There's lots and lots of solutions, good ideas, tips. Rodale Press is the best for foundation piecing information.

I love this series from Rodale and have every one in my library. They do not contain patterns, just instructions with full-color step-by-step photographs. This book covers about any piecing method you might want to review, hand or machine. There are lots of great tips along the way . . . even if you are an experienced quilter, you will get some new ideas from this book.

Like I said, if you are a quilter, and DO NOT have this book - your quilting library is incomplete! I don't have many friends that are into quilting, and they thought quilting is an old-fashioned and "for old people" art, but I crushed those believes by showing them this book. None of them will look at quilting the same way again.
The instructions in the book are very specific, and although the quilts are complicated and constructed from many, many, many pieces, by following Ruth's instructions step-by-step I believe any quilter will achieve stunning results (even I - a full time working mom of 3 kids!)
I could not imagine my house without this book! In fact, I have 2 copies just in case (what a wonderful gift it will make for a quilter!) If you can find this book - do not even question whether or not you should purchase it, question how many copies you will need. Even if you do not quilt yourself - the book is a masterpiece that can easily be displayed on your coffee table - a sure eye catcher!

I liked this book and the wonderful ways in which the author was able to transform a picture into a quilt. All her techniques to this approach were wonderful.

However if found that there was just too many pieces going on in some of the quilts for me. I appreciated knowing how she accomplished what she did and was inspired by her work...i think i will work with a few less pieces...

I borrowed this book from the library after seeing a quilt my aunt made after attending a class taught by Ruth Mcdowell. Ruth is an amazingly talented artist, and for her to even compile and explain her techniques to us...wow! I can honestly say that I am overwhelmed and more nervous than even to try and learn how to piece like she does. But the book is definitely inspiring and one I can look at over and over again. The book is set up in such a way to be a step-by-step, hands on guide. The quilts featured in the book are fabulous and mind-boggling. This book is not for beginners to sew from, but for quilters to dream from!

This book has been out for a long time, but remains and important reference for anyone who wants to make a quilt with complicated piecing. Her technique LOOKS complicated, but is actually easy once you study the basics. It's a definite MUST HAVE for any quilter's library. My skill at piecing intricate curves, points and seams increased substantially after working with this book.

This is a wonderful book. It really helped to unleash my creativity. I have been gathering fabrics ever since my first glance at this book, to put together my new masterpiece. I am really excited about trying some of the techniques. I don't have time to write anymore...I have to get started on my new project!!! Lynne

The book arrived fast, in excellent condition, and as advertised. Julie also promptly answered some questions I had regarding the sale. Great transaction!

As someone who has just started to learn pottery in a class, this book gives detailed information that your teacher may not provide. Even if you are learning by yourself the step by step (very detailed) lessons by themselves gives the beginner good and easy to understand steps for success! Lots of great pictures too.

The text is detailed, but easy to understand and the pictures do an excellent job of reinforcing the concept. I have been throwing for about a year, but reached a point where I was "stuck" and couldn't seem to move forward. After only ONE day of using the techniques in this book, I was able to double the amount of clay I could successfully throw and the results were better than anything I had previously produced. This is the best book there is on throwing.

I bought this book for my wife who had just finished ten weeks of throwing lessons. She read the book and was able to improve her work in just a few practice sessions. She is so pleased with her new knowledge and skill. The fine detail and the pictures of sectioned pots were easy to follow. The accompaning text was clear and the summeries allow for quick reference.

We can only recommend this fine book to anyone that wants to improve their skill.

I bought this book 25 years ago when I started pottery and my well-thumbed copy is an important part of my studio. I'm a Canadian potting in Japan and though most of my students are non-English users, the photographs in this book speak thousands of words. It is laid out logically and the cross-section cuts of the whole process from entering the centered clay to finished work are everything a student or teacher could want in an instructional book. I was very pleasantly surprised to discover it is still available and my student is looking forward to having her own copy.

A Patchwork of Devotional Thoughts
Mary Tatem
ISBN: 978-1-59789-999-4
Barbour, 2000
5 Star
Great gift idea...
Quilters will love this book. Just as the quilter take pieces of fabric and fits them together to form a quilt, the Father takes the pieces of life and fits them together to form a beautiful life. There is even a section of quilt tips! Every devotion begins with a scripture and continues with a short, heartfelt story. Some of the devotions will bring smiles and some tears. The stories are easy to read. The Quilt of Life will make a great gift.

What a wonderful story teller. This is filled with life lessons at it best. Filled with blessings to share and enjoy. Good stories, quilting advice and christian living. Relax and spend some time for you.Be good to your self and back to your roots.

These devotional stories are very well related to quilting. Mary Tatem has written several Christian books and this is a good one to start with. She is easy to read, genuine, and speaks from the heart. It is hard to limit yourself to only one devotional a day.

Everybody should read this book. This book will help you get past a lot of infirmities in your life. Very easy reading.

A great book to share with others. Wonderful quilt tips.Encouraging Bible thoughts. Enlightening quilt descriptions and stories.

When I first started teaching myself to make quilts (in 2007), I purchased this as one of my first books. It's essential for any quilting newbie, but also a very valuable reference/teaching tool for anyone who is still building skills. Unless you're a quilting guru who has been sewing for MANY years, this book needs to be in your library.

very informative and has everything I wanted to know to start quilting for the first time

this book seems to have everything in it that you need to know to quilt. I have found it very, very helpful.

What a great book to have for a reference. The spiral binding is sturdy, giving the book the ability to stay open and lay flat. The smaller size is very handy and fits well next to the sewing machine in the work area. A general all purpose book with lots of helpful information.

Great book with tips for every level of quilter, from beginner to advanced. Very handy for quick reference, the book is a convieniant size, and has very good illustrations. I would say this would be a welcome addition to every quilter's library.

I received "Quilts of Virginia 1607-1899" as a gift. It's not the kind of book that I would have been inclined to buy for myself, simply because quilts are way beyond my customary range of interests. However, the hidden delights of "Quilts of Virginia" fit easily within my areas of interest. It is not merely a book about quilts. "Quilts of Virginia" is a history book, an art book, a photography book, and in parts, a book about both poetry and the law. The book has nearly as many facets as the quilts that it so vibrantly portrays. It captures the readers' attention, even the attention of individuals whose range of interests might not include quilting. The photographs are abundant and excellent. I found "Quilts of Virginia" to be an unexpected delight, highly informative, and extremely interesting.

This book is a work of art (Barbara Tricarico's photographs are stunning) but at the same time, it is a thoroughly researched, comprehensive history of quilting in Virginia - the authors did a wonderful job - I loved it!

Quilts of Virginia, 1607-1899: The Birth of America Through the Eye of a Needle
Congratulations to the creators of this book, the Virginia Consortium of Quilters. This is beautifully illustrated and very well written. I very much enjoy reading the history of quilting and learning about the States of America, this book is one of the best that I have read. Virginia is such a rich source of inspiration and the material that these authors have found is just wonderful. Sometimes history books can be a bit dry and technical, this is one that should find a home in every quilters collection.Well done and I look forward to any further works that may be currently a "work in progress".

Fantastic Book. Can't stop looking at it. Fabulous addition to my
quilt library!!!!

I have almost every State Documentation book published, and this is one of the best. There are wonderful stories that go with every quilt. The pictures are in gorgeous color. Loved every page.

I have enjoyed immensely Return to Elm Creek quilt patterns. This has answered many questions from reading the series of books. Being able to comprehend the amount of time AND talent involved by many of these women from 100+ years ago is overwhelming at times. I am enjoying work on Sylvia's Bridal Sampler.

After reading the Elm Creek Stories. I have been inspired to start a quilt. All I need is the time. The Projects are as intricate or simple as you would what them. I think I well pick simple to Medium and chose my own colors.The Quilter's Homecoming: An Elm Creek Quilts NovelThe Quilter's Legacy: An Elm Creek Quilts NovelAn Elm Creek Quilts Sampler: The First Three Novels in the Popular Series (Elm Creek Quilters Novels)

If you've read the novels you will find this book of special interest. It shows examples and gives instructions for some of the mentioned quilts. If you are a quilter you will have been looking forward to this book. Hapy Quilting!!!

Book gives insight to blocks that were relevant to that era as well as those still loved today.

I especially enjoyed memories of the delightful Elm Creek books intermixed with the patterns for the quilts from those books! It was like enjoying the stories all over again.

I have taken classes from her and this book is a great source for ideas.

Another book from Ruth with exceptional information regarding quilt design, use of fabric and techiques.

This book by Ruth B. McDowell is amazing. It contains many suggestions, with demonstrations, that can encourage individualism with designing your own quilts. I love this book and it is worth every penny that I paid. This information is not offered in the general, informational, quilt books. Thanks again, Ruth!

This book is inspiring and precise. Each step of the process of creating challenging curved pieces is clear. Just love her encouragement and helpful hints. I have learned so much following her clear directions.

Good book, well worth the time to read for any innovative quilters. Ruth does a really workmanlike job on her books.