Hobby Stash

January 28th, 2009

Pieced Borders The Complete Resource

To me, interesting borders on a quilt can take it from beautiful to fabulous. I love the technique of pieced borders to add interest to your quilt and have used it on my last several quilts.

Pieced Borders The Complete Resource does an outstanding job of illustrating and explaining the technique of pieced borders. It has an extensive section breaking down pieced borders by type and the last third of the book is devoted to complete quilt patterns. Over 200 ready-to-use patterns and a dozen complete quilt patterns. Now that’s bang for your buck!

My Rating:  

Posted in Quilting
By Linda

January 17th, 2009

Learning to Quilt

I recently purchased this book for one simple reason. ..I was looking for a variety of simple blocks I could redesign for Tunisian crochet. This book fit the bill nicely.  Relatively inexpensive as far as quilt books go, $10.95, and I got it for 40% off at a book sale. The book covers 25 lessons and when done, you’ll have a completed sampler quilt. An excellent book for beginners!

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Posted in Books, Quilting
By Linda

January 9th, 2009

Machine Quilting in Sections

Marti Mitchell’s Machine Quilting in Sections tackles the quilt-as-you-go approach. She illustrates some interesting techniques for putting a quilt together after it has been quilted. The illustrations are nice but I find I have to read over the explanations several times before the brain absorbs some of the techniques.

I’ve used the the quilt-as-you-go approach with the last two quilts and enjoyed the technique. But I do also enjoy the traditional approach of quilting after the top assembly has been finished. So I switch back and forth depending on the project.

My Rating:  

Posted in Books, Quilting
By Linda

January 5th, 2009

Infinite Feathers by Anita Shackelford

I bought this book shortly after I first started quilting and fell in love with it. Anita Shackelford does an excellent job of illustrating the step-by-step process of creating your own feather designs, describes the different methods to use for transferring the designs to your quilt,  and provides some excellent illustrations of the result. The book comes with a template to get you started and the last half of the book provides patterns you can copy.

My Rating:  

Posted in Books, Quilting
By Linda

January 4th, 2009

The Quilter’s Apprentice by Jennifer Chiaverini

A very charming story about Sara McClure’s introduction to quilting. She strikes a bargain with an award-winning, if somewhat crochety quilter, Sylvia Compson, to learn how-to-quilt while she assists Sylvia in preparing her estate for sale. The storyline is somewhat smalzy (even for me) but I so enjoyed the quilting descriptions, I plan to try out the second in this series.

My Rating:  

Posted in Books, Quilting
By Linda

January 3rd, 2009

Victory Quilts

I ordered this book as soon as I’d watched Eleanor Burn’s first video on this series.  It arrived yesterday and I spent the evening drooling over the illustrations and instructions. I’m anxious to get started and am debating on which square to start first. I think I might just make the squares in the same order as Eleanor’s videos.

The book itself is absolutely awesome. She provides extensive detail on compiling each block and quilt with excellent illustrations. You definitely don’t need to watch the videos if you have the book. But I enjoy watching her and still highly recommend the videos.

My Rating:  

Posted in Books, Quilting
By Linda

January 2nd, 2009

Applique the Basics and Beyond

I have several quilting projects planned and one of them is an applique quilt. Towards that end, I purchased this wonderful reference.It provides excellent detailed instructions and wonderful illustrations of the different applique techniques and includes some patterns for you to try out.  And I love the fact that the book is spiral bound. This one will be getting lots of use!

My Rating:  

Posted in Books, Quilting
By Linda

December 30th, 2008

EQ6 Simplified by Fran Gonzalez

I actually started out with Electic Quilt 5 and upgraded to version 6 earlier this year. I had the program for awhile but got frustrated because the buttons and screens were confusing at times. I purchased Fran Gonzalez’s EQ5 Simplified and it opened up a whole new world in quilt design for me. I can’t recommend it enough. She walks you through creating some pretty amazing quilts using the programs features and extensive block library. Each lesson builds to the next and by the time you’re done you are anxious to create your own.

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Posted in Books, Quilting
By Linda

June 2nd, 2008

Quilter’s Complete Guide by Marianne Fons & Liz Porter

I’m relatively new to the world of quilting having only been at it for a couple of years. As time goes by my quilting library has grown almost as fast as my fabric stash. This book was one of the first acquired and is still one of my favorites.

If you’re new to quilting, you’ll find this one invaluable. The illustrations and explanations are great and I found some great time saving tips in additon to basic instruction. Fons and Porter are the best…I love their PBS show, their website, and, of course, this book. I highly recommend it!

My Rating:  

Posted in Books, Quilting
By Linda

March 23rd, 2008

1000 Great Quilting Designs – by Luise Roberts

This is a great reference tool for quilting your quilt after it’s assembled. The book is divided into quilting categories and give suggested block sizes and shapes for each design with enlarging percentages for copying.

My Rating:  

Posted in Books, Quilting
By Linda