Quilting Books

As a beginning quilter, this book has been more help to me than I can express. It takes you through each step of the quilting process and gives helplful hints to make it easier and ensure your quilt looks the best! I've loaned this book to several of my friends and they love it too! Highly recommend!

Well written, informative, beautiful pictures. Kathy Delaney explains "the basics" extremely well, at least for a beginner, which I am in quilt making. I appreciate her explanations and her instructions. She does a lot of hand quilting, which I prefer to do machine quilting--but if someone needs to learn to hand quilt, Kathy is the one to teach them. Her instructions are clear and concise and always has a photograph of what she is teaching you to do. Fine needlework is excellent by this quilt artist. I recommend this book to anyone wanting to begin quilting and piecing quilts.

Barbara Smith edits Bear's Paw, which uses the theme of a quilting contest to explore innovations in design and color which participants presented. The Bear's Paw block is displayed to maximum potential in this fine book blending color photos of completed projects with instructions quilters can easily duplicate.

This extrodinary look at contemproary quilts is perfectly represented by the cover of the exhibition catalog, a piece by the up and coming Seattle artist Sandra Altenberg. It shows the diverse direction in which fabric arts is progressing... a treat for the eye and soul.

This extrodinary look at contemproary quilts is perfectly represented by the cover of the exhibition catalog, a piece by the up and coming Seattle artist Sandra Altenberg. It shows the diverse direction in which fabric arts is progressing... a treat for the eye and soul.

I've been quilting for 20 years and this is the one reference book I turn to time and again. I'm buying it now as a Christmas gift. It includes "how-to" on every quilt topic and technique.

Great book with fabulous information. This has everything you need to know to do simple to the very complicated work.

Steps you through techniques and projects -- from simplest to fairly complex. Many of the projects are stunning. Some are no-sew. This book is a 'must have' both for learning to work with and for getting inspired to use Angelina Fiber in many creative ways. A related video is also cool--focusing more on paper embelishment techniques -- quite complimentary: Simply Fused: The Magic of Angelina, Crystalina, and Fusible Film

This book which is out of print is wonderful - filled with great photographs and specific ideas for using this product. anyone interested in working with the fibers would do well to have this book.

I have found few quilt books with as much valuable information as this book on crazy quilts. It is a good book for many types of quilts, but it EXCELS in the area of Crazy Quilts.

This is a very good reference book and design book. I refer to this quite a bit. Easy to use.

A million Afro-Americans are quilters, and some believe recent studies of oral histories telling of their quilting roots have inspired more black women to take up the art. Hicks provides the first comprehensive guide to Afro-American quilt history and modern practice and serves as a reference to the subject, recommended especially for college-level holdings. Black Threads: An African American Quilting Sourcebook compiled by Kyra Hicks includes over 1,700 bibliographic references covering exhibit catalogs, books, newspapers, films, speeches and more -- and offers primary research conducted by Hicks on the Internet usage of Afro-American quilters. Black Threads will prove to be a unique and invaluable guide.

I can't say enough about the importance of this book. Every one who is interested in acquiring a true perspective on the diverse history of American quiltmaking and the role that African American quilters played in that history must own a copy of this book. Kyra Hicks spent many years tracing information about African American quilters that would otherwise soon be lost to us all. She has been diligent, careful and intensely rigorous as a scholar--and, she took this on as a true labor of love. Althugh she received some support from a national organization, Kyra Hicks used personal funds and many unpaid hours to complete this project.

The book istself is extremely well organized, and provides a wealth of detail and resources. Anyone planning to give a lecture or write an article about the history of quiltmaking will find material here that would be very difficult to access otherwise.

This book is also important becasue too many of the other books and articles only focused on the improvisational string quilt or improvisational patchwork quilt, which is only one genre of African American quilt making. Kyra clearly documents that African American quilters worked and continue to create quilts in all forms and genres.

The book has chapters documenting the influence that quilting has had on other artists and art genres as well. One of the remarkable images is that of a quilt designed by Romare Bearden, an internationally known African American artist who is generally known as one of the premier collagists of the 20th Century.

Kyra also conducted extensive online surveys of quilters, and documented very interesting facts about the enormous buying power of African American quilters in the United States. This material alone is worth the price of the book to companies that sell fabric and patterns to the quilt market.

My only regret is that the book had only a few color images. I wish that the publisher would have Kyra create a companion book in color with more of the images of the unique and unusual quilts and lesser known quilters she found.

Finally, the book is a comprehensive reference to galleries and collections for those who wish to explore the owrld of African American quiltmaking further. Buy and keep this book on your shelf--it will be useful and remarkable reading for years to come.

It's a thin volume, and I usually like a little more meat to my quilting books, but Blendable Curves has everything one would want to know about easy cutting and piecing of freehand curves and numerous well illustrated examples. Another sign of the quality of this book is that a full-color page is dedicated to a professional photo of each of the finished quilts. It frustrates me to read an quilting magazine article or book that does not show a clearly visible finished product. I also love the suggestions on quilting designs and appreciate the concise instructions for easy binding with mitered corners. Too many books gloss over these important finishing steps. Peggy Barkle has written a quality book.

Have you been looking for a pattern to use up that collection of black and white prints? Check out the log-cabin based Pleasantville. Bored with the Sawtooth Star? I love how the author takes the points on the traditional Sawtooth Star and makes them curvy. It adds a delicious interest to the ubiquitous block and the resulting quilt.

Our quild members produce a prodigious amount of 9-patch blocks and I think Blended Nines would be a wonderful technique to add some interest and fun to the quilts we make for donations. There's nothing wrong with a Nine patch block or quilt, but they can get a little boring in the making.

I have a set of 64 sixteen-inch Log Cabin blocks that I have been avoiding putting together because after working on them for so long, I'm just bored silly of looking at them. The Curvaceous Cabins pattern would spark my interest in finishing the quilt and creating a more exciting finished result. Although I never intended slashing my blocks through the middle, I'm inspired now to do so.

I just got to talk to Peggy and now I know why I love her book - Blendable Curves. She takes basic blocks that are simple for any quilter - like nine-patches - and cuts them in half with a free form curve. THEN, she has you sew the curved sides back together to complete the block.

I know what you're thinking - I don't sew curves. Well I didn't either, until now - because once you've sewn the curve, the block is re-sized! Nothing has to match - shoot, it's not SUPPOSED to match - so this is the perfect beginner project. You can just have fun with color and design. And while you're at it, you can take all of those blocks that WEREN'T perfect - and transform them into works of art!

Our local guild just hosted a nine-patch exchange. As you know, not all seam allowances are created equal, so the blocks are not all exactly the same size. Peggy has the perfect solution. In "A Leap of Faith" she used the "blended nines" to create a breathtaking backdrop for an applique quilt.

Pleasantville is my favorite quilt in the book because it is very graphic - reds, whites and blacks - or if you are in Buckeye country, we swear it reads as Scarlet and Gray! But, for those of you who cheer for the wrong team, this quilt would work just as well in other school colors.

In this particular quilt, Peggy inserted red piping between the curved sides of the black and white log cabins. It gives the whole quilt an "art deco" look with a very masculine feel - and as a mother of four boys, I love finding a quilt that the men in my life appreciate!

For those of you who loved Piping Hot Curves by Susan Cleveland, this is a natural progression.

Peggy describes this as a transitional book. First, beginning students can learn to make the traditional blocks - half-square triangles, nine-patches, quarter-square triangles, etc. There is no pressure because if their points don't match, they will learn how to "curve them up" in the next class! She has totally eliminated the intimidation factor!

Once the students have learned the basics, they can bring those blocks to a "Blendable Curves" class and let their imagination soar! Now that they have learned the rules - Peggy can promptly show you how to break them - with absolutely stunning results!

And, PLEASE take the time to read her instructions!!! I know it is more fun to skip to the projects, but this woman knows what she is doing. I especially like her explanation about how to press seams. AND, she actually gives instructions - with graphics - on how to bind a quilt the right way! Keep this book by your machine so you can pull it out every time you finish a project - you'll be glad you did!

Once you have explored her techniques, you will want to play with all of those loose blocks in your stash left over from other projects. Remember, the blocks are resized after the sewing is complete so you are free to mix and match to your heart's content! The skies the limit!

This book is full of different ways to put borders on your quilts and make them fit the quilt in proportion. This is an older book with just good information.

This book is packed full of not just pieced borders but detailed instructions on how to create your own borders. It's an excellent book for those who are tired of plain fabric borders and want to add interest to their quilts by including the border in the overall design of their quilts. There are photo's of the same quilt that has different borders, which are excellent for showing how a border can enhance a quilt.
I love to join in round robin swaps and have found this book essential.

I'm just starting to try to develop my own quilts. This was very informative on material types. Would recommend.

This is a clear and concise book.A good choice if you ever wanted to learn to do landscape quilts. The instructions and pictures make it very easy to understand. Her method for making and attaching bindings is worth having the book besides all the other useful information.