Quilting Books

I am new to quilting & have found this to be an invaluable reference! I took a quilting class in a store & even the teacher liked it. She would explain things in class & if I forgot what she said I could check it in the book. For instance she taught us how to make a "quilter's knot". When I got home I forgot how so I went to the index & found the instructions on page 6-2. Beautiful color displays with explicit instructions. I then copied this page & sent it to my cousin who has been quilting for 6 years & she really liked it. She in fact did not know about a "quilters knot" (probably because she is firstly a sewer). Since I am a beginner I have not used any of the charts, etc. One reviewer stated there was wrong information in this area.

The pictures of various types of quilts are reason enough to buy the book. Two really pretty picture sections are "QUILT BLOCK GALLERY" on page 3-11. It shows all types of quilt styles. Also, "QUILTING DESIGN GALLERY" on page 11-17 shows 47 quilt photos that you can use as reference to design your quilt.

I actually did not buy the book from Amazon because I wanted to see it before I bought it. I can save you a trip to the bookstore & say that this is THE BOOK to have on your bookshelf. BUY IT NOW!

I bought the book for my girlfriend who is just learning how to quilt. She said that it's helped her find patterns and also taught her how to do the back of the quilt. She loves it.

Great book full of very useful information. Only drawback was that I had to get it in paperback with out the spiral spine.

I've been teaching beginning quilting for years and this is the best book I have found as a recommended resource for my students. It takes them from the basics all the way into more advanced techniques. BHG always does a great job with photography and it shows in this book. The step-by-step photos are a great help to more visual learners.
The binding technique on page 11-7 makes mitering the two ends together so easy. My students can refer back to this, and all the other techniques I teach, long after the class, to refresh their memory. We even have the spine cut off and have it spiral bound for a lay flat, easy to read, book.

I've been quilting (self-taught) for 18 months and bought this book about 6 months ago, so I'm not quite a beginner but still have plenty to learn. I use it as a reference work, but unfortunately I have learnt to use it with a pinch of salt. I made the mistake of using one of the tables for calculating how to cut a certain type of triangle. Thankfully I double-checked with a template before cutting my fabric, as the formula given was wrong, although I then had all the trouble of cutting fabric with two sets of markings on it. The formula for calculating the width of binding is also incorrect. I've not checked any of the other formulae, but I'm extremely wary of using them now.

This book has no overall contents section, which is awkward, although there is a contents page for each section at its start. It is divided into the following sections, and the pages are renumbered at the start of each section, e.g. 8-12, which again is an awkward way to do things, although it is useful that the section name is printed in the outside margin of every page.

1. Tools, notions and supplies
2. Fabric and colour
3. Planning pieced blocks
4. Planning the quilt top
5. Cutting
6. Hand piecing
7. Machine piecing
8. Hand and machine applique
9. Assembling the quilt top
10. Basting and backing
11. Hand and machine quilting
12. Binding and finishing
13. Specialty techniques
14. Glossary
15. Index

As you can see, this covers the whole process of traditional quilting fairly well, and as it's a long book, there is plenty in it. There are oodles of nice clear photographs, good headings, diagrams, charts and formulae (which may not be correct!), separate instructions for left-handers where applicable, and spaces at the end of every section where you may write your own notes.

Where techniques are discussed (a few aren't - bargello quilting gets a paragraph saying what it is but no instructions, for instance), they are usually discussed thoroughly. There are usually several ways to do anything in quilting, and a lot of the time this book will describe several options, though not always. For instance, it gives a variety of options for joining multiple pieces to make backing, but only one option (and not the most popular either) for joining two pieces of batting. I'm not wildly happy with the basting instructions generally, though they're certainly useful when used alongside other instructions. I also feel that a lot more space should be given to hand-quilting technique, where only one page is devoted to the all-important quilting running stitch. I can't judge the sections on machine-sewing as I have yet to learn how to use a sewing machine, but as is usual for quilting books, machine-sewing is assumed to be the norm. Where it comes into its own is in giving a lot more information about hand-sewing than most quilting books these days do, and as a hand-sewer I'm extremely grateful for that.

There are very few troubleshooting sections, which is a particular loss in a book which is giving out incorrect formulae: if you follow this book's instructions to the letter, you're going to run into problems. There are definitely gaps. For example, the only method suggested for marking up fabrics is to use templates, when many quilters prefer to calculate the piece sizes and draw them straight onto the fabric using an acrylic ruler (a method that is, in my experience, far more accurate and far quicker). It doesn't even discuss making sure your shapes will fit together the best way possible to use up the minimum fabric (personally I always sketch them out on graph paper first), let alone how to calculate how much fabric to buy.

The most serious omission is that this book is only interested in old-fashioned quilting. If you plan to spend your entire quilting career sticking to traditional geometric patterns based on repeated square blocks, you'll be fine - as long as you don't expect the book to teach you how to make any of these blocks! Some basic units, such as flying geese or a square within a square, are covered, and there are discussions on the grid underlying blocks as well as five pages of pictures of traditional blocks (a couple of which I'd say are wrong), but nowhere does the book walk you through putting together a traditional block. This is unusual in quilting books aimed at beginners, which usually give instructions for a few blocks and indicate the level of difficulty for each. If your only source of quilting instructions is this book, half of the blocks in the gallery will be beyond you, since there is absolutely no information on how to sew more complex blocks depicted such as the Mariner's Compass or Double Wedding Ring. To be honest, an encyclopaedia-style book should really have a much fuller block gallery than this.

If you want to learn how to make art quilts, or how to piece quilt tops that aren't made of geometrical repeating blocks, there isn't a word to help you. Ruth McDowell is a good author to go to there, and there are many books and websites discussing more unusual techniques.

I've reluctantly given this book three stars. There are too many important omissions in this book, and for a book that sets itself up as a start-to-finish bible, readers may be deceived into thinking that it will cover all of their needs. More importantly, some of the information is plain wrong and will wreck a quilt if followed literally, and some of the instructions give rather odd methods while ignoring the most commonly-used ones. If you take all of that with a pinch of salt, and have other quilting books around to fill the gaps, as well as checking techniques before using them on a full quilt, then it is certainly a very useful book to have in your quilting library.

As a beginning quilter, I found The Elm Creek Series to be a wonderful series to read. I loved the character development and the struggles that the characters face daily in their lives. With each book, Jennifer introduces new characters that serve to enrich the series. I was so happy after reading just the first book, that I purchased the entire series. The Elm Creek Quilt Series is like comfort food to the soul and once you start reading they are hard to put down. The description of the quilts that the women create makes me want to see the quilt and try to make it. I look forward to reading the other books.

This was a gift for a friend, who has been reading and enjoying it since its arrival and will share it with other friends when she has finished.

I'm a quilter, and my son-in-law gave me several books in the series. The Elm Creek Quilters books are good reading for women of all ages, quilters and non-quilters. But quilters and women who like the "country" decor are probably this series' greatest fans.

And, of course, Amazon did the usual good job of shipping.

If you are into quilting, the Elm Creek series is perfect for you.
This book is the first 3 books combined in the series. Well written and very entertaining. Even has some good quilting tips!

I think this is a good book, not great, make sure you are a fan of quilts before you read it.

An Elm Creek Quilts Sampler: The First Three Novels in the Popular Series (Elm Creek Quilters Novels)
Although I have received An Elm Creeks Quilts Sampler; First Three Novels, I have not begun to read it but I know I will enjoy it as much as I did another Jenniver Chiaverini novel I have read. I found it to be a very relaxing enjoyable book that makes you feel like you are there. I also ordered the Quilting Pattern books so that I can follow along with the types of quilts written about and hopefully even attempt my hand at making some of the various quilts. The author has become one of my favorites and amazingly she lives in my home state, not very far away. I am looking forward to reading the entire series and hope for more to come.

I have half a dozen machine quilting books and have taken just as many quilting classes from nationally known teachers but this book is really the foundation of it all. If you can only buy 1 book, buy this one! It covers all the basics like stabilizing IN DETAIL. Many books skip this or are so vague that they are not useful. This book covers everything in detail. Read this book cover to cover and then practice and that is all you will need.

Really appreciated the highlighted tips. The photos were sparse, but the instructions are clearly written. I would have given 5 stars, but there is a considerable amount of reading to do. If you are more of a "hands on" person, then taking a class would be better.

I found this book very informative and interesting. Harriet Hargrave explains almost everything in detail and is excellent at not confusing you along with giving you her opinions on what she found to be easy but lets you make a decision as to what will work for you. I will purchase other books from her.

A must have if you want to do machine quilting. Every aspect is explained well from the tools to the actual techniques. Also have wonderfull library of photo's for inspiration.

This is a basic must-have reference by an expert machine quilter, that puts information and help in one place.

I thought I would always have to send my quilts out to be quilted, even though I had bought two quilting machines. This was expensive and not always satisfactory due to the results. So I finally broke down and bought this book. Now I do all of my own quilting, and because of the confidence gained by this book, have recently purchased a long arm. Harriet's ways are understandable, easy, and comprehensive. A real
"NEED TO HAVE" for any quilter!

I have this book and it is the bomb! I've used it for years and even bought the revision to it, it was so worth the money. If you only ever get one machine quilting book, this is the one to get.

Heiloom Machine quilting is just the best if you want to learn to quilt your own quilt top on your sewing machine. This book explains everthing so well and why you need to do certain things to get the job done. I just enjoy this book There are quilting patterns in this book to use and the step by step on how to do them.

harriet hargrave is a master, and continues to become even more amazing. if you are interested in machine quilting, get the next edition of this work--it includes her most recent tips, discoveries, etc.

From the outset, learning why some things are done this way rather than that, I wanted to gather and destroy the five quilts I've made because they don't even approach "good" quality (forget heirloom quality). Getting past that, there was really useful information that made completing the quilt I was currently working on much easier and showed why some of my earlier ones are in the shape they are (sigh - if only I knew then...). The information on batting was comprehensive and very helpful. I still prefer polyester for its economy and fluff, but am going to try cotton and now know what the differences are (besides price). I am not a total beginner but quilts are only one part of my sewing. I consider myself a "hacker" rather than a serious quilter. I have read other machine quilting books which were very good, but I would have to say this is the best, with the most practical information. Note: there are no patterns for quilts, though there are quilt photos throughout the book. There are quilting line patterns to copy, however, with directional arrows to guide your machine quilting.

Ths book is a 'must have' for every quilter. Every page is jammed with useful information about quilting, shows, websites, teachers, history, products, etc. The format is very readable and every page holds something of interest. Meg Cox's many years at the Wall Street Journal show in her attention to detail. It is a thick book and I read every page and plan on re-reading it!

The Quilter's Catalog: A Comprehensive Resource Guide
Chuck full of information for the beginning or advanced quilter. A must-have for reference.

I read it cover to cover like a novel. I am new to quilting (1 1/2 years) and this book gave me answers to a lot of questions. I think it's a must have book for any quilter.

Unlike some other people, I wasn't immediately attracted to the book when I first saw it in a quilt shop. But after happening upon several good reviews and realizing this was the book I'd seen, I ordered it. I love it! For a quilting junkie, it's just a fun read--lots and lots of stuff about our passion. For a newbie, lots of info I wish I'd had when I first started, and a great introduction to the world of quilting. Well-indexed, it's a sort of quilter's almanac, but I'm also really enjoying reading it straight through. It's a keeper.

This book received great reviews in my quilting magazines but no one mentioned that it was almost entirely black and white photos. Quilters love color, and I would not have purchased this had I known. No wonder my favorite quilt shops did not carry this!

This book is excellent. I have never quilted before and it was exactly what I wanted.

This is a wonderful book and I received it in good condition from the seller. I'm very pleased to have it.

This book is very concise. From what fabrics and items you'll need to making the quilt, Jinny Beyer makes each step less intimidating than other books I've seen. She also includes personal anecdotes on some of her quilting experiences.

This book is extremely well written for new and experienced quilters alike. It has fabulous photographs of quilts and also instuctive designs in photographic form.
A must as a browsing book or as a book to use and to learn from. Also a book to enhance your handquilting skills

Quilting is my passion and this book 'feeds' it. Clear pictures and instructions, exciting use of colour and shading, personal comments by Jinny Beyer. The quilts in the book are not simple to make but can be regarded as a personal challenge to achieve the desired finished product. A satisfying reference book for all aspiring quilters, even if you do not decide to make any of the featured quilts.

Well done! Book arrived safe and sound within two weeks.
Lovely photos and informative text that shares information and detail about the lives and motivations of these amazing and unique quilt makers.

I enjoyed this book so much. It is well worth the cost. I received it quickly after ordering.

I was fortunate enough to see the Gee's Bends quilts when they toured in Houston, and they are astonishingly beautiful. The women who made these quilts found an artistic outlet in their functional craft, and these quilts represent the truest form of modern art, sewn well before painters used oil and canvas that mimic the quilt designs. This book does a beautiful job of presenting the quilts for the enjoyment of all those who can't see them in person.

In July 2006, I saw the exhibit of the Quilts of Gees Bend at the DeYoung Museum in San Francisco I didn't fully realize the importance of the quilts, so I didn't buy the book and regretted it. The quilts and their story, are haunting. Since then I have heard the quilts referred to as the the most outstanding example of US art.

Whenever I talked to quilters, I wished that I had the book to show them. Now I have it and I am very happy with the purchase. The book is beautiful and the photograhs of the quilts are great.

Because of the personal stories, the beautiful layout and large, clear colorful pictures this book was like candy to read. I learned about the history of the area, the closeness of the community and families, and the sharing and pride of a folk art. I love when people find an outlet for their art in surprising and practical ways.

I found this to be such an enjoyable book about color and its relationship to nature and how we can use this information in all aspects of designing with color. I had originally ordered the 3-In-1 Color tool by Joen Wolfrom and I love it and then I purchased her book Color Play.

Gift to a friend. Have not seen or used item. Recepient indicated she liked it.

I admit I am a quilt book addict, and when in doubt, I buy it. Many books turn out to be of little value, but this book presents important concepts that every quilter, especially beginning quilters, would find helpful. We know the simplest design can be a knockout if the colors are eye-catching and somewhat of a surprise; this book shows you how to make it happen. Joen presents these important concepts in an easy to understand way, with plenty of pictured quilts as examples. It's a reference book that quilters would use often when planning a new project. I keep a color wheel taped to my sewing room wall; this book will encourage you to do the same.

This book is an excellent resource book not only for quilting but for other forms of artwork. The author gives myriad examples of color interplay. I learned not only about complementary colors but aslo about triads and other color settings. Although the author provides photos of quilts to illustrate certain points, this is not simply a dictionary of quilts; it is truly a book about the use of color. Not only do I review this book when planning a new quilting project, but I peruse the pages just for fun, even when I don't have a specific project in mind. This book is a "must-have" for quilters.

I have purchased many quilt books over the years and this is by far one of the best I have seen. I use is for both my personal use and for my textile classes.

This book is my first introduction to crazy quilting and it covers everything you need to know. Including fabrics, stitches, embellishments, patterns, squares, techniques, ... everything! With this book you could go right out and buy the materials and get started! Highly recommended!

The best part(s) of this book are the stitching techniques demonstrated right along with the sample quilt(s). You're able to see how the stitching will look as the quilt comes together. Beautifully done with excellent diagrams and photos. The historical information is also very good. A great book to have for your quilting repetoire.

Just received this book and it exceeds my expectations. Made my selection due to the reviews of this book and thanks to all for the comments because this is a great choice. I wanted a book that gives basic instruction on making crazy quilts plus some of the more frequently used stitches,and thats just what I got. Author gives 20 pages to show different stitches and their various possiblities on a project. Inspiring photos, and suggestions for applications of crazy quilt method. This has been a find for me, doubt anyone will be disappointed with this books and all it has to offer. enjoy.

I prefe the books by Judith Montano. This was well written and illustrated. It was for the beginner, ideas were limited.

In my opinion this is the BEST book out on making Crazy Quilts. I have four others but this is my favorite. You'll love it.

The book is very clearly written and provides precise directions for the many kinds of applique. It would be a valuable resource for a sewer/crafter of any level of expertise.

There are many techniques clearly shown for each skill in this beautifully illustrated book. Stems alone are shown four different ways, all of which worked for me for both 1/8" and 3/8" trials. The patterns are lovely as well.

This is a Fantastic Book! It is great for both the novice quilter and the nore experienced one! The book covers all the methods of machine and hand applique plus it explains how to embelish! It comes complete with projects and patterns! It has everything you could want about applique in one place!!!!

The book has all the different kinds of applique techniques. It is a great reference book.

This book is great for the beginner or advanced sewer. It shows many ways of applique that all make sense. This book has clear illustrations and wonderful pictures. There are detailed instructions that are clear and easy to follow.