Quilting Books

Any who would try machine applique may find it a daunting task initially, but Sharon Pederson's book Machine Applique for the Terrified Quilter for the beginner takes the mystery out of techniques, using a lively writing style to provide insights on a wide range of machine applique options. From projects that demonstrate different stitches and alternative options to incorporating applique into a quilting endeavor, Machine Applique for the Terrified Quilter discusses patterns, applique options, and step-by-step methods. Quilting libraries will find this an important acquisition.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

This book is so complete and precise. Sharon covers everything and every question that would arise in learning to applique or learning a new technique of machine applique. The pictures are large and clear and Sharon's written instructions are so easy to follow. She covers everything and I can tell you the end result is wonderful. I highly recommend this book for anyone who loves machine applique and who wants to get the most out of the sewing machine they have purchased.

I wish I lived closer to Ms. Pederson so I could learn in person from her. She has a GREAT book and the way it is written makes me ready to machine appliqué.

Her book starts out like many quilting books --- talking about the tools you need to do it. BUT what her book has that I have never found in any other is a GREAT explanation of machine needle sizes and thread sizes. I now understand it and will keep her book handy for when I forget what she said. (Old age does that to you! hehe)

Another thing I have never found in quilting books is something called "The Brooklyn Revolver". As she says it is not a gun but a very handy tool for gluing up many small pieces of appliqué.

21 pages of "get ready to appliqué" instructions begin Ms. Pederson's book and you should read every word if you are a beginner appliqué-er. If you are a more experienced one, then you should read every word because I know you will find a tip or two you didn't know before.

There are ten different quilt patterns and each has a paragraph about the quilt before the rest of the instructions are given. The material and cutting lists are clear and easy to follow. The step-by-step instructions for assembling the blocks have graphics to help you visualize what you are creating. Templates are provided although some need to be enlarged. And the assembly and finishing instructions complete the patterns.

There are, of course, color photos of each quilts and the finished quilt size is also provided. The final two pages are a resource list and an overview of the author. So, grab a copy and start appliquéing!

This was a book I needed to teach a quilting class that Jo Ann's Fabrics did not carry. So I was glad you had it. I'm planning on looking at other quilting books you offer in the future.

Make Your First Quilt with M'Liss Rae Hawley: Beginner's Step-by-Step Guide - Fabulous Blocks - Tips & Techniques
easy to understand and simple cutting and sewing techniques

This is a great book - simple easy to understand steps. The color coded pictures are perfect to understand which fabric goes where. Love it!

Nature's Patterns is an inspiration tto capture the beauty of nature in an American art form. The instructions can be adapted to any picture one would want. The placement of sunlight, water and flowers is especially good in"Northwest Bounty". Looking forward to making my first watercolor quilt. The calmness of "River Rocks" is a real challenge to create the "water fabric". I would highly recommend this book for a quilter who is looking for something different .

I trace the history of quilting within my family to my great grandmother who used leftover fabric to create beautiful patterns. My youthful introduction to quilts was sleeping upon them, as a cushion to great-grandmother's Oklahoma floor in "Indian pallet" style. These creations comforted me each evening and I was wrapped in "family love" during our annual summer visit. Now I am a resident of the Pacific Northwest, with my home looking to the Columbia River with a distant view of Mount Rainier. When I first read Ms. Becker's "Nature's Patterns", I was immediately struck that "this is no 'how to' quilt book, but rather a book of fine art, centered on the creativity of the quilters, most using the stunning beauty of the Pacific Northwest as their backdrop." If you love art, you will love this book. If you love quilting, you will love this book. If you love nature, you will love this book. If you love this part of the country, you will love this book. If, like me, you love all of these themes, then this book must be on your coffee table, for it is you!

Beautiful, informative and inspiring; I could not wait to start designing my own quilts from my own nature photos.

This book arrived in just a couple of days. I was very happy with the order and would order books from this place again.

Excellent directions. Great patterns for artistic wall hangings. I recommend buying her triangle ruler for her patterns as it's quite helpful. Lots of good ideas and different color suggestions. Accurate piecing directions.

this, and another of her books, _crazy eights_, have enough wonderful designs and ideas to keep me busy for years--and they could be combined.

the instructions are first rate, templates in various sizes are included at the back, and also illustrated instructions for rotary cutting. both books use her kite-shaped ruler.

ms. suit shows how simple but imaginative piecing can be dazzling with the right color choices.

since this is primarily a book on piecing, the instructions for finishing a quilt, while quite good, are minimal (though she has a great tip about NOT using moisturizing soap for marking).

would be good for any quilter with at least some piecing experience to advanced quilters.

I checked this book out of the Cashiers, North Carolina Library and spent a week browsing it. It has many fascinating color plates of North Carolina's historical quilts. There is an early embroidered farm scene quilt that is particularly spectacular and worthy of reproduction. There are also many black and white vintage photos of North Carolina's quilters in period dress. I spent almost as much time looking at the vintage clothing photographs and the names of the women as I did the photos of the quilts. This is not a "how to quilt" book, but I think the photos and historical information in this volume would be beneficial to anyone interested in primary source research in vintage clothing and quilts of southern origin.

north carolina quilts have a distinctive character. you will see quilts unlike any others, many of them beautiful, all of them interesting. there is a good sized section devoted to chintz applique quilts (also known as broderie perse in other states) with several examples i have not seen in other quilts books. there are pieced quilts unlike most i have seen, and some appliqued and pieced and appliqued quilts that are simply stunning. an added bonus is the number of quilts post-1920 that are included. some of these quilts are stunningly quilted, and this can be seen clearly in most of the photos.

the photo quality of the quilts is good, with occasional detailed photos. there are also photos of many of the quilters who made these wonderful textiles, their families and their homes. there are exerpts from letters and diaries.

the text is very well written and well researched, and stays on the subject. the section dealing with north carolina's history is short and deals mainly with the stages of the textile industry.

any quilter, and especially any applique-er, looking for traditional or historical inspiration will find many singular or little known designs.

defnintely recommened.

This book has wonderful photographs of North Carolina quilts, terrific documentation of quilts and their makers, and good historical context.

The photos are great, but the stories of the quilters are really compelling. One touching story describes Rutha Ann Stiles, a lovely young woman who was born without hands. There is a photo of a very serviceable crazy quilt she made with her feet, for a favorite niece. On the quilt, she embroidered a hand. Her quilt is a monument to determination and love.

This book is filled with beautiful quilts and amazing stories. If you love antique quilts, you need this on your bookshelf.

I bought this book about 20 years ago. It was first published in 1929, but it reads as if it were written at the height of the feminist movement in the 70s! The author had a great sense of humor and a marvelous appreciation of how women needed, and found in quilting, an artistic/creative outlet, at a time when just about everything else in their world was controlled or created by men.

She traces the development of techniques and designs, from simple to complex, interweaving her discussion with descriptions of the social and environmental circumstances that influenced design and especially the naming of designs. For example, "It was impossible for the women who every morning viewed nature's most glorious spectacle not to create a 'Rising Sun' quilt pattern. How they loved the sunrise is best proved by the remarkable beauty of the pattern it inspired...It is a triumph of design and is so difficult of execution that only the most expert quilt-makers attempted it. A 'Rising Sun' was post-graduate work, and consequently is one of the rarest and most valuable of quilts."

She traces how pattern names often changed as the quilters' circumstances changed. For example, a pattern that has been known as the "Bear's Paw" (and sometimes as "Hand of Friendship") since the early 1800s in PA and Ohio was called "Duck's-foot-in-the-mud" in Long Island!

Describing Pennsylvania Dutch quilts within the context of the drabness of the Pennsylvania Dutch woman's existence she says, "...it may have been some unconsciously craved compensation for the drab monotony of their days that caused the women of these households to evolve quilt patterns so intricate. Only a soul in desperate need of nervous outlet could have conceived and executed, for instance, the "Full Blown Tulip"...It is a perfect accomplishment from a needlework standpoint, yet hideous" (she describes it in detail and goes on): "This green-red-lemon-orange combination is enough to set a blind man's teeth on edge..."

There are 100 figures (drawings and diagrams) of patterns, 90+ photos of antique quilts (black and white), and sections on sets, wadding, fabrics and dyes, etc. History has not been one of my favorite subjects, but I love this book. I have gone back to it again and again in the twenty years since that first reading, whether to find a pattern or to enjoy again her discussions. I have a rather extensive library on many subjects, and this book rates as one of my top ten favorites.

I bought this book about 20 years ago. It was first published in 1929, but it reads as if it were written at the height of the feminist movement in the 70s! The author had a great sense of humor and a marvelous appreciation of how women needed, and found in quilting, an artistic/creative outlet, at a time when just about everything else in their world was controlled or created by men.

She traces the development of techniques and designs, from simple to complex, interweaving her discussion with descriptions of the social and environmental circumstances that influenced design and especially the naming of designs. For example, "It was impossible for the women who every morning viewed nature's most glorious spectacle not to create a 'Rising Sun' quilt pattern. How they loved the sunrise is best proved by the remarkable beauty of the pattern it inspired...It is a triumph of design and is so difficult of execution that only the most expert quilt-makers attempted it. A 'Rising Sun' was post-graduate work, and consequently is one of the rarest and most valuable of quilts."

Describing Pennsylvania Dutch quilts within the context of the drabness of the Pennsylvania Dutch woman's existence she says, "...it may have been some unconsciously craved compensation for the drab monotony of their days that caused the women of these households to evolve quilt patterns so intricate. Only a soul in desperate need of nervous outlet could have conceived and executed, for instance, the "Full Blown Tulip"...It is a perfect accomplishment from a needlework standpoint, yet hideous" (she describes it in detail and goes on): "This green-red-lemon-orange combination is enough to set a blind man's teeth on edge..."

She traces how pattern names often changed as the quilters' circumstances changed. For example, a pattern that has been known as the "Bear's Paw" (and sometimes as "Hand of Friendship") since the early 1800s in PA and Ohio was called "Duck's-foot-in-the-mud" in Long Island!

There are 100 figures (drawings and diagrams) of patterns, 90+ photos of antique quilts (black and white), and sections on sets, wadding, fabrics and dyes, etc. History has not been one of my favorite subjects, but I love this book. I have gone back to it again and again in the twenty years since that first reading, whether to find a pattern or to enjoy again her discussions. I have a rather extensive library on many subjects, and this book rates as one of my top ten favorites.

I bought this book about 20 years ago. It was first published in 1929, but it reads as if it were written at the height of the feminist movement in the 70s! The author had a great sense of humor and a marvelous appreciation of how women needed, and found in quilting, an artistic/creative outlet, at a time when just about everything else in their world was controlled or created by men.

She traces the development of techniques and designs, from simple to complex, interweaving her discussion with descriptions of the social and environmental circumstances that influenced design and especially the naming of designs. For example, "It was impossible for the women who every morning viewed nature's most glorious spectacle not to create a 'Rising Sun' quilt pattern. How they loved the sunrise is best proved by the remarkable beauty of the pattern it inspired...It is a triumph of design and is so difficult of execution that only the most expert quilt-makers attempted it. A 'Rising Sun' was post-graduate work, and consequently is one of the rarest and most valuable of quilts."

She traces how pattern names often changed as the quilters' circumstances changed. For example, a pattern that has been known as the "Bear's Paw" (and sometimes as "Hand of Friendship") since the early 1800s in PA and Ohio was called "Duck's-foot-in-the-mud" in Long Island!

Describing Pennsylvania Dutch quilts within the context of the drabness of the Pennsylvania Dutch woman's existence she says, "...it may have been some unconsciously craved compensation for the drab monotony of their days that caused the women of these households to evolve quilt patterns so intricate. Only a soul in desperate need of nervous outlet could have conceived and executed, for instance, the "Full Blown Tulip"...It is a perfect accomplishment from a needlework standpoint, yet hideous" (she describes it in detail and goes on): "This green-red-lemon-orange combination is enough to set a blind man's teeth on edge..."

There are 100 figures (drawings and diagrams) of patterns, 90+ photos of antique quilts (black and white), and sections on sets, wadding, fabrics and dyes, etc. History has not been one of my favorite subjects, but I love this book. I have gone back to it again and again in the twenty years since that first reading, whether to find a pattern or to enjoy again her discussions. I have a rather extensive library on many subjects, and this book rates as one of my top ten favorites.

This is, without a doubt, my favorite baby quilt book. These quilts are all so dynamic and creative. The colors are to die for and the fabrics are lucious. I have never been more proud than I have of the quilts I have made from this book. Need a bonus? Well, with all of these solids you SEE all the quilting. Everyone that has seen these quilts made up, say they are out-of-this-world!!! It's a *must have* for anyone who wants to make a very special quilt, for a very special baby.

This book has the most adorable baby quilts I have ever seen. I want to make every one. I may be a little biased because I love anything Patrick Lose does, but I know anyone would love these designs. They are colorful, cheerful, and bright. I made the Wish Upon a Star banner for my friends baby and she wanted to hang it in her living room it is so cute. I have started the I Love You This Much quilt for my neice's upcoming baby. The teddy bear with his arms open is just too cute. If you are looking for baby quilt ideas, this is your book.

I enjoyed making a baby quilt from this book and find Patrick's patterns and directions easy to do. I made a charity quilt in one day and it was a hit. It had a new home for a new baby within the week! I made it with scraps of red, white and navy, instead of the usual baby color pallett. Use your imagination. I also used patterns to create stuffed hearts for my Christmas tree!

As a quilt maker I found this book to be a great source of insuration.

One of the best I've seen for art quilting or Pictorial quilting. Example wise or pattern wize. Raylene Wolff

If you interested in creating quilts from photos, this is a wonderful book. The first part of the book is all about the construction of the quilts. The second part is a gallery of photos and the quilts which were created. There are a lot of tidbits that I found very interesting in this second part. I like knowing about the decision-making process in choosing fabrics,etc. All in all, an excellent book.

I am an Arkansans who has recently started quilting and I have learned several of the patterns. I have started my own yo-yo quilt. I love the quilts featured in this book. One of my favorites is plate 13.

A Piece Of My Soul: Quilts By Black Arkansans showcases more than seventy-five individual pieces of patchwork quilt art in full-color photography. Each is accompanied by Cuesta Benberry's informative commentary as she details the importance of quilting to black Arkansas and the extensive holdings of African American quilts in the Old State House Museum in Little Rock, Arkansas. Enthusiastically recommended reading for students of Black History, southern popular culture, and the needlecraft arts, A Piece Of My Soul explains the quilt's uses, materials, and construction, as well as what each piece featured says about the needlecraft artist and her beliefs.

Cuesta Benberry has been a well-respected and internationally known quilt curator and historian for many years. With this book, she again "raises the bar" for those who research and wish to preserve the history of American quilt making. For many years, the dominant critical voices ignored the full range of quilt making by Black quiltmakers of the past. Ms. Benberry now has written and published a thoroughly documented and exciting work that clearly documents that Black quilters were part of the mainstream--not an exotic offshoot. In fact, one could argue that it is just as likely that some of the traditional patterns might have been invented by Black quilters--as easily as we assume that all the patterns were Euro-American inventions!

The State Museum of Arkansas, whose collection she is documenting, is to be congratulated for their support. Most importantly, her book can be used to challenge other state museums, regional quilt collections and national museums to seriously track, document and collect a full range of all types of quilts by Black quilters from the 19th and early 20th century--before this powerful and important legacy is lost forever. As a contemporary Balck artquilter, I am so grateful to Ms. Benberry for her continuing work! This book belongs on the shelf of anyone interested in the history of American and African American quilt making.

Terrell Sundermann's Pieced Roman Shades tells how to transform traditional quilt patterns into roman shades for the home. Quilters who want more practical display applications for their projects will relish new ideas on making practical window hangings out of quilt designs. Highly recommended.

The author explains in clear words and many helpful diagrams how to design and construct a Roman shade from a quilt top. This is just the kind of book that makes you say, "Why didn't I think of this?" Then, once you have a look at the instructions and photos, you realize that she has done her research thoroughly and combined the best practices of quilting and of shade construction.

The book includes instructions for making several Roman shades and a valance. It also teaches you how to adapt your own favorite quilt pattern to make a shade for any size window. The math is kind of complicated but just takes a little time to understand. If you can quilt or make a Roman shade, you can do this.

Although I have made many Roman shades and a few quilts, this book provides ideas, instructions, and tips that make it worth every cent and more.

A great book for quilters looking to display thier quilts in new ways. This book is very detailed so that you can create accurate and wonderful roman shades that help to insulate your windows. A great buy that I have refered to many, many times to make the roman shades that I now have in my house.