Quilting Books

Very nice projects. Even if you work with other fabrics rather than Mary's, I am sure I will get wonderful things for my house. Well explained step-by-step instructions.

If you like applique, you will like this book. The applique projects are complemented by Ms Armstrong's orginal hand quilting patterns; the quilting seems to continue the pictures painted by the qpplique. In addition to "blooms and butterflies", there are also frogs, turtles, moths of many kinds, bees, ect. This is not a beginner's book. Some needle turn experience will be helpful. Detail work is completed with simple embroidry stiches. All the projects are small, meant for wall hanging. A lovely book that will inspire.

I love the patterns in this book. Great color schemes! I thought it was very easy tracing these patterns onto fusible web, adhering to fabric, and then placing on my quilt top. I made a 50" x 50" quilt in a weekend utilizing 14 of the butterfly designs, and everyone that saw it raved.

Caryl Bryer Fallert is one of the most exiting and innovative artists quilting today. This book covers her work between 1083 and 1995. The early quilts are failry traditional and display the technical mastery we have come to expect from Caryl. What sets them aside from the norm is her brave and wonderful use of colour. Her quilts developed from this tradional base through a series of 'twisted tuck' works to the wild and beautiful flights of fancy we see in the later quilts. Her use of colour, both in fabric and in quilting, is inspiring. Saturated colours flow into each other, only to be suddenly highlighted by a contrasting appliqued shape. Her colours are always stunning, yet never garish. Does this book serve her talent well? Oh yes. Each quilt is given two pages: one page being covered by a picture of the quilt and the facing page giving a few paragrphs of information about the quilt accompannied by a detail of it. The reproduction of the quilts is excellent. It does justice to the quilts and the fabulous quilting - we all know how rare that is. Buy this book, read it, read it again or just oggle at the photographs.

Whether you are just getting started quilting or have been doing it for a while, this book is a great addition to your library. The author's advice is a wonderful antidote to all the worrisome quilt-police books that tell you that matching points perfectly is the be-all and end-all of a quilter's existence. Ms. Strobel believes in a relaxed and fun approach that lets you enjoy the process and still come out with some very goodlooking quilts. The projects are all written for various sizes, and are very doable, unlike all the ones you see in other books that have you cutting 782 perfect parallelograms from 86 fabrics and sewing them together in complex order in set-in seams. If you want projects that will actually get done, look no farther. As my busy sister says, this book is the "Knitting Without Tears" of quilting--which is high praise coming from a former knitter.

I love the look of cathedral window quilts, and Laura Nownes book makes it seem easy. The directions are easy to follow, and the book includes several pages of full-sized pattern templates. The book covers both traditional circle/square pieces, and some unusual designs using oblong/rectangular pieces. I also love the photos, which include some gorgeous examples.

This book is a sort of history of the rise in popularity of quiltmaking. It follows the growth of C&T Pulishing, one of the best quilt book publishers operating today. I loved the timeline of book covers at the bottom of each page. I couldn't believe how many of the books I have in my collection. There are also lots of tips and stories from their authors, including Alex Anderson, Ruth McDowell, Roberta Horton, Elly Sienkiewicz, Harriet Hargrave, Judith Montano, Jean Wells and so many more. The last part of the book features 70+ original blocks (with ilustration) created by the authors.

Excellent choice of Celtic patterns. Good description of the process of Celtic quilting along with illustrative photos.

Although Celtic applique is by no means a beginners job, Philomena makes it a lot more do-able than I had thought. Beautiful, inspiring pictures and very very clear instructions. The reason I like this book so well, is because there are so many quilting books out there, but very few of them are geared to something other than traditional quilts and will actually also be a "must have" for experienced quilters like myself. There's nothing like trying something new and going right to it. My kind of quilting book. This books title could have been inspiration (all in capitals !!).

Add flowers and stems to the traditional Celtic bias-strip style applique, to make a really classy design. The author gives directions and patterns for 9 blocks, and includes information on technique and color photos to really inspire you.