StrataVarious Quilts: 9 Fabulous Strip Quilts from Fat Quarters [Paperback] Review

A great book.Very different from what I usually see.The quilts look like art quilts when they are compelted, but they are so easy.You create "stratas" by peicing together strips, then cut squares or triangles to create the quilts.A really great concept and presented very well - clear instructions and illustrations.

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Product Description:
Slice and sew fat quarters into 9 fabulous quilts with this beginner-friendly strip technique.

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Denyse Schmidt Quilts: 30 Colorful Quilt and Patchwork Projects [Paperback] Review

I am a long-time quilter who loves modern patterns and innovative design; I was so excited to see this book.When it arrived I knew after flipping through it once that I would be returning it--and I never return quilt books. Be aware that hardly any of the patterns are for quilts--most are for household objects. And what's frustrating about those patterns for things like slippers is that they don't seem as though they would produce results that are going to hold up well.Oh well.I'd recommend that non-beginners skip this and get two great Kerr/Ringle books: Color Harmony for Quilters and The Modern Quilt Workshop instead.

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Product Description:
In Denyse Schmidt Quilts, the ultimate resource for the home quilter, Schmidt reveals the secrets behind her most popular designs. Thirty projects range from the simple to the challenging, from patchwork slippers and aprons to tote bags and pillows to her beloved quilt patterns, offering something for every level of quilter. Schmidt reviews the fundamentals of quilting and provides easy-to-follow instructions, patterns, sewing tips, and an artful approach to design basics. With engaging wisdom and beautiful step-by-step color photography throughout, Denyse Schmidt Quilts will inspire beginning and skilled crafters alike to embrace this age-old tradition with a new and modern twist.

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Cookies 'n' Quilts: Recipes & Patterns for America's Ultimate Comforts [Paperback] Review

I am a beginning quilter, and this book has projects that I can do easily, plus others that will challenge my abilities, but also teach me new skills (such as set-in seams).I also appreciate how Judy Martin gives yardage in length and in fat quarters.
I am ordering a muffin top pan soon so that I can make many of the cookie recipes (lots of butter in these recipes, but yummy!)

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Product Description:
Cookies 'n' Quilts features 8 original and complete quilt patterns plus brand-new recipes for 10 of the most temptingly decadent cookies and bars you have ever tasted.
The quilts involve the idea of superimposing one pattern over another. One quilt incorporates Maple Leaves into a Log Cabin block. Another strews flowers over an Irish Chain. Yet another builds a Virginia Reel from logs. And there are 3 star-within-a-star patterns.
The chocolate chip cookie recipe tries to answer the question of how many chips and how much butter can be packed into one cookie. The answer is apparently more than you ever thought possible! Among the cookies are an oatmeal spice cookie with cinnamon chips and a peanut butter cookie with chocolate and peanut butter chips. The bars are all different flavored brownie-like confections on a shortbread base.
Every quilt pattern includes color diagrams, rotary cutting instructions, and full-size templates. The recipes are thorough and easy to follow.

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Crazy Quilts: History - Techniques - Embroidery Motifs [Hardcover] Review

This book is an absolute must for every quilter or quilt collector. The historical information is excellent, as are the photos and technical information. Even if you're not interested in making a crazy quilt, this book is beautiful to look at. I have it as a coffee table book as well as for reference.

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Poakalani Hawaiian Quilt Cushion Patterns & Designs, Vol. 3: Fifteen Original Block Patterns and Designs for both the Experienced and Beginning Quilter [Paperback] Review

I own both this book and its sister (Volume I), and have the honor of attending quilting classes taught by John and his daughter Cissy.
The designs in this book are elegant, and, unlike many designns by other artists, capture both the beauty and spirit of the flowers and plants they represent.
The instructions at the beginning of the book are very helpful. My only complaint is that the overall print quality is rather low, so that it is hard to see the stich detail in some of the b&w photographs.

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Product Description:
Fifteen more quilt patterns from Hawaii's celebrated quilters, John and Poakalani Serrao.

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City Quilts: 12 Dramatic Projects Inspired By Urban Views [Paperback] Review

In City Quilts, one of my favorite quilt designers, Cherri House, demonstrates how basic geometric shapes and the use of boldly-colored fabrics can create the breathtakingly beautiful quilts.The patterns and textures of cityscapes, both architectural and the layout of a city itself, inspired these quilt patterns.The simple lines and shapes in these quilts coupled with the bold use of color provide a "wow" factor that is sure to delight quilters from novice to expert.

I especially loved Cherri's discussion on color, and her reference to "a quilter's palette".She gives a brief, but thoroughly informative discourse on color schemes, which serves as a springboard in one's own palette discovery or a challenge to an quilt dog to try some new color tricks.

In City Quilts, Cherri shows us how we can train our eyes to see more than what's in front of us, and to see a quilt in everything.Bravo!

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Product Description:
Turn your love of urban cityscapes into beautiful quilts. In this book, you'll discover the secrets of minimalist design-how to find beauty in the basic elements of your environment. These projects deliver exciting, vivid results with solid color fabrics.

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Quilts from the Civil War: Nine Projects, Historic Notes, Diary Entries [Paperback] Review

"Quilts from the Civil War" not only contains project for reproducing numerous quilts of the 1850s and 1860s, it also contains an excellent discussion of the role quilts played in people's lives.Barbara Brackman describes quilts made for freedom fairs, by the Sanitary Commission for use by soldiers, and quilts made to express patriotic fervor.Brackman goes beyond a mere discussion of quilts, however, to discuss the development of chemical dyes, women's involvement in the war effort in general, the effect of the blockade on southern textile production, the need to hide quilts from occupying Yankee forces, and even the relationships that developed between quiltmakers and soldiers who received the donated quilt.
Brackman also examines the argument that quilts were used as clues for slaves escaping on the Underground Railroad, and concludes that these tales likely were a myth.(Nevertheless, she includes a Jacob's Ladder-style quilt that honors the Underground Railroad.)In evaluating this theory, she discusses the history of the Log Cabin quilt.
Period photographs of women and children, engravings of Sanitary Fairs and other gatherings, photographs of original and reproduction quilts and original dresses beautifully illustrate this book.Excerpts from journals, letters and newspaper articles and reprints of ads calling for the production of items for soldiers add further interest.
Brackman provides a unique timeline that combines both traditional historic events, such as "March 4, 1864 - Grant becomes Commander-in-Chief of the Union Army" with social or women's history, such as "August 1864 - Ladies Christian Commission of San Francisco sponsors a Grand Fair" and "October 5, 1864 - Mary Jones of Georgia records paying $16 a yard for calico."
Footnotes provide directions for those interested in further research.
One drawback is that the projects contained in the book do not faithfully reproduce the historic quilts.Some are fairly easy to adapt to make more authentic, such as the Underground Railroad quilt, which adds 8-pointed stars to a Four Patch in a Strip pattern.Since the book contains a picture of the original, a quiltmaker can easily see that by leaving off the stars, she can make a quilt that's closer to the original.Other patterns will take a little more ingenuity to adapt, but again, pictures of the originals should help.
Those mostly interested in southern quilts would probably do better with "Southern Quils: Surviving Relics of the Civil War."Brackman concludes that few quilts were produced in the Confederacy due to blockade-caused shortages of fabric, needles, thread and other necessities.
For those interested in trying some of the projects contained in the book, the directions are clear and easy to follow.Brackman provides strip quilting directions for some of the quilts (such as the Underground Railroad) but not for others where this technique could speed production (such as the Log Fence).The appendix contains excellent information on batting, quilting styles, binding and other details to give quilts a more period look.
Overall, despite projects that are more inspired by historic quilts than faithful reproductions, "Quilts from the Civil War" is an excellent source of information about textile production during the 1850s and 1860s.

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