NEW SAMPLER QUILT, THE
by Diane Leone
I was flipping through this book yesterday and I found what I thought to be a great tip. She suggests that early in the day (or whenever you have a minute) to thread a bunch of betweens with quilting thread. That way when you sit down to quilt, they will all be ready to go, no stopping to thread and knot!
NIFTY NINE PATCHES
by Carolann M. Palmer
If anyone ever thought ninepatches were humdrum, this should change their mind. This book also has good instructions on quick rotary cutting and piecing techniques. My two favorites in this book were the Trellis Garden which looks like a trellis of interlocking rings with a bright flower garden growing through it and Morning Dew which I would have called Mideastern Fruit Salad. If anyone knows the name and maker of the brightly colored fruit fabric used in this example, I would love to know.
NINE PATCH WONDERS
by Blanche Young and Helen Young Frost
First Star publishers, Tucson, Arizona 1991
Shows what can be done with a nine patch block (interesting color plays, optical illusions, three dimensional woven effects).
The best of traditional designs as well as some original variations. Some quilts are made with all Nine Patch blocks; others combine the pieced blocks with background blocks. Others are variations on the Double Nine Patch design, where pieced blocks are joined with plain squares to form large Nine Patch blocks. Combining the 9Patch with other shapes, such as rectangles or triangles, creates even more variations.
NEW QUILTING AND PATCHWORK DICTIONARY, THE ($12.95)
by Goldberg, Rhoda Ochser
New York: Crown, 1988.
This should be in EVERY quilter's library. It has 1,740 illustrations, which includes all the "classics" of our repetoire plus many charming original designs (a baby bottle block, international signal flags, a pieced panda, etc.)All black and white illustrations, but so comprehensive most people won't even notice!
NEW JERSEY QUILTS 1777 to 1950
by the Heritage Quilt Project of New Jersey
I have a number of state-oriented quilt history books and this one, which
focuses more on the quilts than the makers, I find to be outstanding.
ON TO SQUARE TWO ($17.49)
by Marsha McCloskey
That Patchwork Place, Bothell, WA 1992
Thirty pieced block designs that contain the Square Two unit (a continuation of Back to Square One) and related bias strip-pieced units. Also contains a how to section on the construction details of bias strip piecing half-square units (Square One), quarter-square units (Square Two) and two other related pieced units. General instructions for machine piecing and rotary cutting are provided in the back of the book.
ONE-OF-A-KIND QUILTS
(Simple Steps to Individual Quilts) ($16.95)
by Judy Martin
That Patchwork Place 1989
One-of-a-Kind Quilts are structured scrap quilts--everyday quilts that feature a planned theme or focal area surrounded by blocks made in a variety of patterns, with the overall design developing as the piece is made.
This book takes you step-by-step through the theme blocks and the background blocks, covering everything from cutting and construction techniques to the creative decisions that are made along the way. Suggestions for completing the quilts are included. Master templates and quick-cutting information for the background blocks are provided toward the end of the book. An excellent book.
PAINLESS BORDERS
by Sally Schneider
This book presents 16 cleverly designed quilts and borders in which the border is pieced along with the quilt. My favorite is the twisted ribbon border which looks like a double sided twisted ribbon cascading along the border. She provides lots of suggestions for clever and fast cutting/piecing.
PATCHWORK PATTERNS ($18.95)
Jinny Beyer
EPM Publications, Inc., McLean, VA 1979
This book is written for those who have an interest in using traditional geometric designs or a desire to create their own original motifs.
It explains in a systematic manner a method of drafting patterns which has, in
large, been put aside, and about which no comprehensive book has been written.
She also explains a few simple drafting techniques which are particularly
useful in making geometric designs.
PATCHWORK PLANNER, THE: 350 Original Designs for Traditional Patchwork $27.95
by Birte Hilberg, 1993
David &Charles, Brunel House, Newton, Abbot, Devon.
She did seven years in research and development, using a specially devised computer program (help from her husband), and presents 350 new designs, using combinations of these simple blocks. "This collection provides a rich source of fresh and original ideas to delight all patchworkers, and all designers who use geometric patterns."
I found it very interesting and expect to read it again and again, and will use it when attempting to design quilts of my own using Adobe Illustrator. She has come up with figures, circular designs, lots in color, lots in black and white that could be colored in wonderful ways. She presents her "Tile Library," which could easily be duplicated on the computer (so you could manipulate your own). The blocks/tiles are simple. She hand pieces, but most can be machine pieced easily.
Lots of ideas for developing one's own original designs.
PATTERN PLAY: CREATING YOUR OWN QUILTS ($24.95)
by Doreen Speckmann
C &T Publishing, Lafayette, California 1993
(Not for beginners)
Introduces you to an easy and fun way to design your own blocks on graph paper, then put those blocks into interesting quilt designs. Discusses fabric selection and the techniques necessary for turning graph paper quilts into real ones. Provides scale drawings and photos of some of her favorite quilts, complete with yardages and size-change options.
Down to earth, easy-to-understand method to making your own designs. Excellent, excellent book. She writes with a sense of humour and shows loads of examples to get you thinking. It's an excellent back door entrance to a more "creative" side of quilting for those technician types who don't think they "have" creativity.
PATTERN ON PATTERN
by Ruth McDowell
This is an excellent book.
PRECISION PIECED QUILTS USING THE FOUNDATION METHOD
by Jane Hall and Dixie Haywood
I like this book because it offers a good history, well-described theory and practical examples of piecing on a variety of foundations. It's well written and very nicely illustrated with b&w photos, color plates and instructional line drawings.
PIECES OF THE PAST
by Nancy Martin
That Patchwork Place
PLAIN AND SIMPLE
by Sue Bender
She tells of her fascination with the vibrant colors and stunning geometric simplicity of the Amish quilts. The quilts "spoke directly to me...they went straight to my heart." I highly recommend the book. It was after reading her book that I started learning how to quilt.
PATCHWORK QUILTS TO MAKE FOR CHILDREN
by Margaret Rolfe
Sterling Publishing Co. Inc. New York
I can attest to both of these books as great sources for easily pieced animal blocks. The GO WILD book was a great hit when we had it for the book draw at our guild meeting. It contains 14 North American Animals (racoon, beaver, ducks etc).
My favorite for children. This book hasas a whole zoo, patterns for many dinosaurs, farm animals, etc. In my opinion they are more fun than traditional blocks and make finding naturalistic fabrics fun too.
PAINLESS PATCHWORK ($14.95)
by Rosemary Donoughue
Sally Milner Publishing, Australia 1991
Quick modern methods for traditional quilts. This is a very good book for making the quilts. Instructions are very easy to follow. Great for beginners. No color.
QUILTS: Identification and Price Guide
by Liz Greenbacker and Kathleen Barach. ($14.00 paper).
(340 pages). This book include such topics as: why collect quilts, how to start a collection, history of quilts and quilting, dating a quilt (about30 pages devoted to this chapter), condition, workmanship, repair and finishing, care/cleaning/storage/display, trends in the marketplace, and seven chapters under the heading of PRICE LISTINGS, such as antique pieced quilts, contemporary quilts, art quilts, African American quilts.
QUILTING BY MACHINE ($19.95)
Singer
Cy DeCosse Inc., Minnesota 1990
Beginner's book. (not machine quilting). Quite pictorial. Instructions are very easy to follow.
Can be used as a learning tool if you are sewing your first quilt or as a reference if you have had quilting experience. The piecing, applique, and quilting techniques that are included in this book are quick, easy machine methods. If more than one technique is shown, the easier technique is first.
QUILTS AND QUILTING ($17.95)
by Threads magazine
The Taunton Press, 1991
Series of articles drawn from the first 35 issues of Threads magazine, more than two dozen master quiltmakers share their ideas and techniques.
Great collection!
QUILTS AMONG THE PLAIN PEOPLE
by Rachel T. Pellman and Joanne Ranck
Good Books, Lancaster, PA 1981
Very good study of the amish and their quilts
QUILTING &PATCHWORK DICTIONARY ($12.95)
by Rhoda Ochser Goldberg
1988 Crown Publishers, Inc.
Good reference book.
QUILTING AND INFLUENCES ($29.95)
by Nancy Crow
AQS, Paducah, KY
Nancy, with the help of lots of pictures, explains how she uses her instinctive eye for color and design to create quilt art. 256 pages offer more than 300 photos, most in full color arangement showing Nancy's use of color and unusual fabrics. She also talks about her family and how they influenced her life as far as quilting is concerned.
Good coffee table book.
QUILTS SEW QUILT
by Nancy J. Smith and Lynda Milligan
This is the one that has the Ivy Trellis Pattern in it that I asked about on QuiltNet last fall and noone could find the pattern for. It has a number of other interesting patterns in it for large print fabrics.
QUILT ALMANAC 19xx
by Oxmoor House
These are some of my favorites too. The quilts range from very simple to very difficult. The patterns are good and I enjoy the biographies. There's a chapter each year on group quilts or guild quilts and someday I expect I'll see a QuiltNet quilt featured there!
QUILT STORIES
by Cecilia Macheski, editor
Lexington: The University of Kentucky Press, 1994.
This wonderful book is a collection of poems, short stories, and other prose works by various authors over the past 150-200 years, all dealing somehow with quilts and quilting. The book is divided into 5 sections ("blocks"), each named for specific quilt blocks: Memory Blocks ("Stories of Remembrance and Meaning"), Double Wedding Ring ("Stories of Community and Courtship"), Radical Rose ("Stories of Struggle and Change"), Wheel of Mystery ("Stories of Murder and Mystery"), and Old Maid's Ramble ("Stories of Age and Wisdom"). The introduction explains the blocks and the stories a bit, and the editor explains how quilting provided an important link in literature written by women (although there are a couple of selections from male authors).
QUILTING WITH STYLE ($24.95)
by Marston &Cunningham
I would like to list a book that several people in my guild highly recommend as a "every quilter must have" book.
QUILTING BY DESIGN
by Marston and Cunningham
Linda asked about how to arrive at quilting designs. I had many of the same questions, and kept looking for the right book to answer them. This book does so. I highly recommend it.
QUICK COUNTRY QUILTS
by Debbie Mumm
Very explicit instructions using quick piecing methods, well laid out book, lots of photos and diagrams. Apples, leaves, cows, sewing machines, sheep, cats, bunnies, tulips, hearts, houses, etc etc all in the "country" style.
This book has lots of "cute" small projects that are relatively easy to make. I made the "Alley Cats" as a going away present a few years ago and the recipient loved it.
QUILTMAKER'S GUIDE: Basics and Beyond
by Carol Doak
There is a neat pieced maple leaf pattern in this book. It shows four standard pieced maple leaves set in a block so that each maple leaf is pointing towards a different corner.
QUILT PROJECTS BY MACHINE
by Singer, 1992
There is a small section on Bow Ties (about a half doz or so pages) in this book. It shows several arrangements: traditional, zigzag, octagonal, staggered. There are a couple of neat arrangements using color (oh, no, I'm starting to write "American"!) gradations, as well as scrap, necktie fabrics and amish colours. It gives a couple of ideas for borders and sashings as well.
QUILT A KOALA
by Margaret Rolfe.
Sterling Publishing
Another fun book. This one has patterns for pieced blocks featuring native Austrailian birds and animals.
QUILTER'S PATTERN WORKBOOK ($12.95)
by Kristin Olsen
This book has templates for the bow tie block and demonstrates how the block can be arranged with different colors at least 10 times. I've yet to read the book in detail, but she does this with many patterns and it looks really neat!
QUILTER'S GUIDE TO ROTARY CUTTING, THE ($17.95)
by Donna Poster
Chilton Book Company, Radnor, PA 1991
Good technical reference book on rotary speed cutting ; Over 1,000 speed-cut shapes.
QUILTER'S COLOR WORKBOOK: Unlimited Designs from
Easy-to-Make Quilt Blocks ($12.95)
by Kirstin Olsen
Sterling Publishing Co., INc., New York 1990
For a beginner: shows multiple color combinations for a number of quilt patterns; provides ten or twenty starting points. Lots of quilt blocks in a variety of color combinations: pinwheel, ohio star, chimney sweep, mosaic, triangles, wrench, double-nine patch, rabbit's paw, bow-tie, hexagon, pineapple log cabin, log cabin, lone star, tumbling blocks, and irish chain.
Also provides piecing instructions for each block.
QUICK &EASY QUILTMAKING ($26.95)
by Mary Hickey, Nancy J. Martin, Marsha McCloskey and Sara Nephew
That Patchwork Place, 1993
This book introduces cutting techniques originated by each of the authors. Teaches the authors' special techniques for making quilts with a variety of triangular shapes. Organized for easy use. Good for a beginner. 26 projects featuring speedy cutting and piecing methods
Tips are presented on various pages throughout the book to help clarify a technique or to teach a fast (er) way to do something. This book worth it just for the tips presented throughout.
QUILTS! QUILTS!! QUILTS!!! ($21.95)
The Complete Guide to Quiltmaking
by Diana McClun and Laura Nownes
The Quilt Digest Press, 1988
Great book.
Includes patterns that beginning quiltmakers can complete successfully, as well as designs an experienced quiltmaker will enjoy working with. Popular and traditional patterns--and all the instructions for the techniques required to make them.
The patterns are arranged in a progressive sequence, incorporating new designs and utilizing more difficult techniques as you move from the simpler patterns to the more complex. Some patterns require more precise work than others, but with careful work all can be completed by the quiltmaker who begins with the simpler patterns, moving onward as experience warrants.
QUILTS, QUILTS, AND MORE QUILTS
by McClun and Nownes.
This book is just as good as their first book (see above).
QUILTER'S ALBUM OF BLOCKS AND BORDERS
Jinny Beyer
Great black and white illustrations of blocks to give you ideas for blocks and the shading of the blocks. (re: black and white quilts).
ROMANCE OF THE PATCHWORK QUILT IN AMERICA, THE
by Hall and Kretsinger
(answer to question on pattern for Seven Sisters) This book has a picture of a "Seven Stars" block on p. 54 that appears to be a similar, if not identical, pattern.
RADIANT STAR
by Eleanor Burns
Quilt in a Day Series 1990
Good book for making stars.
ROTARY ROUNDUP
Judy Hopkins &Nancy Martin
That Patchwork Place
Both books (Rotary Riot below) have about 40 color prints of quilts. These quilts are made from traditional block patterns and have instructions for rotary cutting and quick piecing. Nancy Martin owns the publishing company that published these two books.
I had Rotary Riot, so I had to buy this one too and I'm not one bit sorry. I love to get ideas and inspiration from these books and this one is full of great colors,beautiful quilts. Their books are the only ones I use when I need to make bias binding as it shows the flat cut method. The only times I tried to do the continuous circle, it ends up in a mess.
ROTARY RIOT: 40 Fast &Fabulous Quilts ($21.95)
by Judy Hopkins and Nancy J. Martin
That Patchwork Place 1991
The authors of this book take 40 traditional blocks that appeal to many quiltmakers and adapted their construction to template-free techniques. Begins with Nancy's basic review of rotary-cutting techniques and information on multi-fabric quilts. The pattern section includes step-by-step directions for forty favorite quilts, all clearly illustrated and written in a Template-Free format. Some of the patterns feature bias squares, some cut with 8" Bias Square and several use simple strip-piecing techniques. The patterns are graded with symbols as to difficulty (beginner, intermediate, advanced). Judy has written a section on Finishing Your Quilt and has included some of the overall repeat quilting patterns for which she is known. Also included is information on crow footing, utility quilting and other tacking techniques.
REMEMBER ME; Women and their Friendship Quilts
Lipsett, Linda Otto.
San Francisco, Quilt Digest Press, 1985.
Pb, 140 p, col &b/w ill.
One of the very best quilt books ever Linda Otto Lipsett began with her own collection of 19th century friendship quilts. Her book tells the stories of eight women and eight quilts made between 1840 and 1895. Many of the stories are sad stories of leaving family and comfortable homes in the East to undertake arduous journeys in pursuit of new homes in the West. Using letters, diaries, interviews and the quilts themselves the author unfolds the everyday lives of eight real women, following them from youth to old age. Photos show the women, their families, their homes, and especially their quilts. The excellent color photographs show full quilts, details of blocks, signatures and ornaments, and the best close-ups of 19th century fabrics I have seen. There are also pictures of other typical friendship quilts, patterns for three quilts prepared by Laura Nownes, and complete references and bibliography.
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