Quilting Books

Lori Buhler's QUILTER'S HAPPY HOUR: 11 QUILTS WITH COCKTAIL RECIPES uses machine-stitched applique to create complex curved designs in 11 colorful quilts. Cocktail recipes pair with these designs for added impact. An excellent addition to any quilting library.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Now here is a combination I would never have put together, quilts and alcohol! Quilts and chocolate were the two I usually associate with quilters, not alcohol.

BUT the quilt projects are very nice! They are appliqué (something I LOVE) and paper piecing (not a favorite of mine). The author explains her way of doing appliqué using interfacing. Give it a try if you have always wanted to do appliqué but never got the results you wanted.

There is, of course, the general techniques of quilting explained before getting into the patterns. Each quilt's name is that of an alcoholic drink except for the last two which are non-alcoholic. Eleven patterns in all, each with a color photo to start you off. The finished quilt and block size are also given.

The next thing you find is a recipe for the drink. Then you get to the project itself. A materials and cutting list is given, along with step-by-step well written directions that include graphics to show the details of the steps. Templates are provided if needed for the project. And, finally, there is a page that gives a bit of information about the author.

This a wonderful book put together by a quilter who is also a talented teacher as well.

The author will inspire you to use interfacing techniques for appliqué by sharing her methods with chapters that are clearly written, step-by-step instructions, lots of pictures, and great tips. This is a great guide for all quilting levels, beginners to those who need a refresher. You will be very proud of your end results.

In addition, the recipes are great to share with your quilting friends.

This is one of the best quilt books I've seen in such a LONG time! Way to go Lori in coming up with something fresh and new!

This book contains a number of foundation piecing patterns for symbols of Winter (snow man, snowflake, cabin, sled, mittens, cardinal bird, holly ivy, and others) which can be used in given patterns of wall hangings, table toppers, mantel banners, place mats etc. Or, you can use the patterns individually and design your own item. The patterns are easy to use which makes it nice for either the beginner quilter or the more advanced quilter. Instructions given are easy to follow for completing the projects. There are 2 other books in this series which cover Spring and Fall by this same author.

This is even better than I envisioned. The items, instructions, pictures and completed items are wonderful and a lot of fun doing. I'm sharing the finished items with my quilt guild and they all ooooh, and aaaah over them. Should have results with the continued purchase of this book by others. Great publication.

Maybe because I love the color blue, but I took one look at this book and fell in love. The book consists of a sampler with many beautiful designs, and additional projects that can be made using the individual blocks in striking and interesting designs for a completely different look. There are pillows, door toppers, mantel pieces, and so on, that are paper-pieced, appliqued, quilted and sewn in this lovely book that will be sure to cure the "blues" on a winter's day. I wouldn't be without it.

The weather outside may be frightful, but quilting is so delightful. This book will give you hours of quilting delight and numerous projects to turn your home into a winter wonderland. The author begins with easy to follow instructions for making a beautiful winter wall quilt. Then she uses the elements of the wall quilt to make other projects including a table topper and welcome banner. This is a great addition to her first book, A Quilter's Home Fall. So go ahead and Let It Snow - Let It Snow - Let It Snow.

16 years ago I played Sarah McKendree Bonham. What a great show! We attempted to make a recording but that effort fell apart. Does anyone know of a recording?

I am trying to talk a director into mounting another production and would love to be able to demonstrate the music.

I am directing Quilters and was overjoyed when the script arrived with in 2 days of ordering in perfect condition.

this play has a good female monologue in it about a woman who just lost her beloved husband. It is a great audition piece for women of any age, as long as you are ambitious.

Powerfully moving, dramatic, deeply stirring. Soul-deep inspiration. Touching, rich in meaning. Definitely worthwhile.

I bought this book for one of our local schools. One of my friends teach grades 4 - 6 basic quilting skills. The students have enjoyed sharing this book.

Great book, I bought it for my 9yr. old Granddaughter.
I will be meeting with my Granddaughter this week end so we can start quilting together.

We gave my daughter a sewing machine for Christmas, along with a few how-to-sew books. This is probably my favorite. All of the projects are cute, and we have done a few already. One of the best things about this book is how basic it is. If you are an adult and want to learn the basics of quilting (which many adult books seem to assume that you already learned as a child), this would be a great resource. I'm looking forward to learning more about quilting with my daughter.

Easy projects and simple instructions make it easy for kids to start quilting and seeing results right away.

I enjoyed sharing this book with several classes of Kdg - 3rd grade students. They sat still to listen to it, with breaks to look at my quilt examples. It's a good way to compare the old methods of quilting with the new. A nice cadence to the words. wonderful photos of real quilts mixed in with drawings. Many common quilt desings are named. My girls and I enjoy this book.

This is the best quilting book I have ever read. It explains how quilts are made so that kids and adults can actually understand it. There are pictures of real quilts inside, and I have seen some patterns that I can't wait to try. My kids love it too. This book was not only fun to read, but I actually learned helpfull stuff too. IT is a must read!

I am an avid quiltmaker, especially of children's quilts and doll quilts. This gem of a book is a great gift to accompany a quilt you make for anyone, especially kids. It is a great way to explain and share your passion for quilts and quiltmaking. The text is in rhyme and quite charming in and of itself -- but more important, the authors show-and-tell the history of quilting with very accruate facts and details. It tells the story of how quilts warm not only the body but also our souls! And if you a quiltmaker, watch out: the last line of the book will really get you....

This book gives a clear, rhyming explanation of the history of quilting in America and how it has changed. The artwork is a fun combination of real quilt photos and hand-drawn images. I bought this for *my mom* to read to her grandkids, in the hopes that it will open doors for her to talk about our own family's quilting history. Quilting was an important part of the history of American women and I'm delighted that this book keeps that history alive for kids today.

I found this book dissapointing, the designs are simplistic and not particularly graceful. The pictures carry no hints on execution or drafting and text is almost non existant. Compared to Diane Gaudynski's excellent book on the same subject purchased in the same order it was a poor buy.Quilt Savvy: Gaudynski's Machine Quilting Guidebook (Quilt Savvy)

Quilting Possibilites... freehand fillers is really fun. Most of the desings are easy to do and contemporary. I reviewed the book one night and was able to do some of the techniques on my quilting machine the next day. I did some pencil practice. The patterns start out easy and advance to traditional complicated. The book shows many different block patterns with some examples have different patterns for the same blocks - very educational. This book also shows answers the dilemma "Quilt as Desired. Most patterns show the block with complementary borders. One of the nicest features of Freehand filler Patterns is the size of the examples. The examples are large enough to clearly see the pattern exactly. This book is an excellent start for beginning free motion quilters, shortarm quilters and longarm quilters. I use this book frequently and refer back to it as my skills improve. Many of the patterns can be readily interpreted into overall designs, too. Excellent value.

If you want to learn how to plan and fit fill patterns in a block or borders then this is the book for you. Sue has examples of many common quilt blocks then uses a grid to show how to place the designs within the block. I think beginners will find this book challenging because you'll start training your eye how to see the flow in these patterns. Most of the patterns aren't difficult to follow. Great for free form planning on your quilt.

Sue Patten has provided a valuable resource to help quilters finish their quilts. For anyone who has been disappointed by the final instructions of a pattern, "Quilt as desired," this book will offer welcome relief. I am a long arm quilter and I find the illustrations very helpful in deciding how to compliment a quilt top in the final stage, whether the quilt is mine or a customer's. Very little verbage provides Ms. Patten's useful insigts; the remainder of the book contains just easy to follow illustrations. This book is inspiring.

I bought this book because I wanted to get some fresh ideas for freehand, no-marking machine quilting, and this book delivered. I didn't have to wade through pages of info on how to make a quilt top, or how to baste a top to get it ready to quilt. It jumped right into a huge number of drawings of different designs used in standard quilt blocks. You could copy, enlarge, or reduce the designs if you absolutely must mark your quilt top, but they are meant to be done in a freehanded manner. I would consider this a book for those who are already well versed in machine or longarm quilting, as it doesn't give you step 1, step 2, and step 3 directions like some of the beginning machine quilting books do. So, if you are a beginner, wait awhile before you purchase this book.

I purchased this book as a momento of my trip to the Winterthur Estate. The estate is fabulous and well worth the visit. In the book you not only have some fabulous quilts but you also get the history too. This book would be a great addition to anyone's library or coffee table. Linda has included excerpts from letters, poems and advertising. This is not just "another" quilt book. It is a well researched and written history book.It is a fabulous read.

My wife is a "quilter". While I was on the East Coast attending a family reunion, one of my cousins, with whom I was staying, asked if I wanted to join her in a tour of Winterthur, close to where she lives. I accepted the invitation and totally enjoyed it especially the quilt collection there. I am not a quilter myself - there are some males interested in and "artists" in this art form, but I have become acquainted with it through my wife's interest in it. When I saw this book, examined it and checked out other's reviews of it, I decided it would make a nice birthday gift for my wife. I liked the fact that it dealt with the history of this art form here in the US, the quilt makers of particular quilts, and the progression of technique in "constructing" them. To me it would appeal to my wife's knowledge of this art form through the collection of the H. F. DuPont family.

"Quilts from a material world" is a long-awaited opportunity to view some of the finest quilts in Winterthur's collections, but also to have them expertly placed in social, economic, mercantile, and political context by Linda Eaton's well-researched and readable narrative. This book is a must for quilt and fabric historians, American history buffs, and members of the general reading public who are interested in knowing more about American material culture (in both senses of the word "material"). It is an excellent contribution to the study of fabrics and quilts.

i have barely had time to savour this book. there is so much to interest quilters and non-quilters that it is hard to know where to start to review.

the photographs of the quilts are wonderful, with lots of details. the textile history is thorough and accurate, including a fascinating section on the different techniques of putting pattern on cloth. the history of the quilters is, yes, fascinating, including letters written by one quilter to her fiance and later husband in the early part of the 19th century.

anyone interested in early america, early manufacturing, and the lives of our forebears will enjoy this book as much as any quilter.

Judy Hooworth and Margaret Rolfe's QUILTS ON THE DOUBLE offers dozens of easy strip-pieced quilt projects which tell how to convert one group of strip sets into two quilts. Easy eight-block pieces and fat quarters offer opportunities for literally dozens of designs. An excellent addition to any quilting library.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

One of the best ideas I have seen. Can't wait to have a go at making the quilts in this book.

By the time I had gotten to the second page of this book, I was HOOKED. I thought "Finally, someone who makes quilt blocks easy AND they can be put together in so many ways". This will be a book that our guild can use over and over as we make our charity quilts for Habitat for Humanity and Love and Hugs.

The book shows 15 quilts but I'm going to bet that those 15 are just the tip of the iceberg with what can be done with these easy to make blocks. Showing how the basic block is made takes only one page to explain while in depth directions follow. Six pages show various ways to put the blocks together to make different designs. The authors include a section on choosing fabrics and explaining about fat quarters and their equivalents. They show fabric values and how one color can be many shades.

While you can make many, many designs with the basic block, the authors add another color triangle to the basic block which really gives you lots of possible designs. By cutting the triangles for each quilt, you will have pieces left over to make another one, thus the name, QUILTS ON THE DOUBLE. There are directions for making only one but if you are spending the time to cut for one, why not have pieces cut for a second without having to spend extra time to do it?

Each quilt is shown finished and its size is given. The materials list shows what is needed for making one or both. Cutting and finishing instructions are clear and graphics show what the directions are talking about. Finishing is left up to the maker. Quilting basics are covered for a new quilter or to refresh your memory if needed. And the final page gives a bit about each author.

This is not just a book about variations in color and/or fabric style. The quilts you can design using the simple (yes, really simple) sewing and cutting methods are so varied that it's hard to believe they came from just 2 strips sewn together. The design possibilites remind me of the many ways there are to set together log cabin blocks; the difference here is that by beginning with 2 different sizes of strips sewn together,you end up with blocks that look really different from one another. You'll have top triangles, tail triangles and side triangles. And then the fun of designing begins.
The book has very clear and detailed instructions, many illustrations, and advice for using prints, solids and stripes. (There is a great section on the specifics of using striped fabric successfully, something I've struggled with before.) Bravo to the authors for giving us all access to this great design concept!

Overall, I really enjoyed this book! Unfortunately, I bought it because I thought the designs were copies of Ruby McKim's. I was very surprised to read that the author had "re-drafted" the designs and made "slight changes" to them (page 47). So be warned! If you are a quilter interested in making an exact reproduction of Ruby McKim's quilt, you are going to have to research the designs yourself.

Simple patterns from the 1920's revived for today's quilter. Projects can be completed by children and adults together. A good family project.

Ms. Filo's book is informative and fun to read. Anyone who is "into" quilting knows of the creator, Ruby Short McKim. This book is geared to the novice as well as the expert. Her adaptations of the patterns make them applicable in a variety of ways besides the traditional baby quilt. The story of RSM is fascinating reading and leaves one wanting more information about this early pioneer in quilt syndication. Ms. Filo appears to be following the path of success from her new-found mentor. I hope Ms. Filo will continue to adapt the patterns of RSM, both the easy ones that can be used with children and the more difficult ones that stimulate the more experienced quilter. This is a rich American legacy that should be shared with this generation.

If you are interested in redwork, or embroidery, this book is well recommended. It is full of history of Ruby Short McKim, and includes the evolution of the patterns on the 75th anniversary of the publishing of this book. It has a nice ring binder so that you can open it up fully without breaking the binding. Lots of ideas.

This book is very thorough about the history, traditions, and designs of the art of sashiko. I learned much more than I expected from a design book--I expected just a small introduction to the art and then a few projects and designs to begin with. There is much, much more! The author also shows how to put together designs of your own so there are no limits to where you can go with the knowledge from the book. However, the drawings are small and will have to be enlarged to be useful--also I wish there was at least a small section about sashiko by hand--but the title says it all--Machine Embroidery. I'll be trying it out tomorrow.

I recently took Mary's beginner Sashiko one-day class and it was the best class I have taken and I've taken a good deal. This book thoroughly explains the process we learned in class. This is such an easy way to do exquisite Sashiko designs. This is not free-sytle quilting. You just stitch along the lines. You will be amazed at the product! It helps if your machine has a needle down feature. The book shows illustrations of the finished projects, which she brought to class. I highly recommend this book to those who have a ruler, compass, and graph paper, and Sulky ink transfer pens, and are willing to prepare the paper sheets for fabric design transfer. Her method is easy and precise. This is by far, my most valued book. I am a quilter and have quite an extensive library. You will love this book and the history behind the designs. The designs range from beginner to advanced and there are many to choose from!

The techniques and sample patterns are very inspiring especially for sewists that are becoming bored with plain fabrics. If you don't know how to stitch a straight line, this book will help in that area as well as teaching you a multitude of stitching design/styles that one can use on garments and home deco.
Very compatible with Marcy Tilton's patterns particularly, the one she released in 2003.

This book is both for the beginner and the advanced. It explains the basic techniques, how to transfer patterns, which materials to use. And then it brings various projects, each with a list of materials and tools, photos of the final product, patterns and designs. The book concludes with about 100 patterns/designs you can use, very clearly illustrated. A wonderful book.