Quilting Books

There are so many new quilting books these days! Here are a few good ones that I’ve picked up recently, in no particular order.

Here’s the Fat Quarterly Shape Workshop for Quilters by Katy Jones, Brioni Greenberg, Tacha Bruecher, and John Q. Adams, published by Lark Crafts. Written by the creators of Fat Quarterly e-magazine, this new book has 60 blocks and a dozen quilt and project patterns.

The chapters are organized by shape – brilliant! (Also the way I’m organizing the chapters in my new book 1, 2, 3 Quilt.) You’ll learn cutting tips and techniques throughout the book and with the large number of projects, there’s really something for everyone from the beginning quilter to those with more experience. I loved seeing all the different projects from these talented designers, but unlike some compilation books, the projects have a continuity in style, with the same fabrics and colors used within each chapter. I especially love the polygon chapter that shows designs in various shades of blue. The color and fabric choices are great throughout the book and I think it’s clear that the writers all worked together very well. There’s a section on quilting basics and patterns (some need to be enlarged). Overall, this is a great book with so much content.

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I’m sure I’ve mentioned my affinity for Denyse Schmidt. With her simple, modern style with a folk influence, she’s my quilting hero. Her latest book is Modern Quilts Traditional Inspiration: 20 New Designs with Historic Roots, published by STC Craft.

This book is somewhat of a departure from her previous work and seems to represent a return to tradition. The quilts are beautiful and immaculate, combining the simplicity of Amish design with her unmistakably modern style and a more polished look than she’s shown in previous work. The projects are inspiring and the pictures styled with a modern warmth, and seem to have been taken in a quintessential New England farmhouse. Her color choices are impeccable, with most of the quilts made of solids with an occasional patterned fabric for interest and variation. Even if you don’t quilt, this book is beautiful. Be sure to look at more photos from the book here.

The next book I’d like to mention is from the amazingly talented Jacquie Gering of Tallgrass Prairie Studio and Katie Pederson of Sew Katie Did. The book is called Quilting Modern: Techniques and Projects for Improvisational Quilts from Interweave.

As the titles suggests, this book is about freeing your inner creativity to make quilts that are uniquely your own. They provide tips and techniques for getting started and for those of you who are hesitant to dive in the improvisational waters, there are projects complete with supply lists and step-by-step instructions. Twenty-one projects, in fact. The authors have provided you with basic instructions for quilting, so even the novice could pick up this book and get started. They discuss design elements, color, and composition so that you will have the tools you need. And they’ve created some really interesting quilts with some stunning top quilting designs to inspire you. I love when the top quilting of a project works with the composition, rather than fights it, and these really enhance the overall design. Very nice.

 

 

Next up is Alissa Haight Carlton‘s book Modern Minimal: 20 Bold & Graphic Quilts from Stash Books. I think this is one of the first books I’ve seen come out of the U.S. with a truly minimal viewpoint.

The quilts are beautiful and elegant in their simplicity. Alissa has also done a fantastic job with top quilting that works with the overall design of the quilt and one of my favorite things about the book is that she shows you different quilting options. If you’ve followed her Sew, Mama, Sew! Modern Block of the Month series, you’ll know that she often presents variations, reminding us that choice is essential to quilting. And thoughtful choices can make such a difference. Almost every quilt in this book uses solid fabrics exclusively, with just bits of pattern in a few quilts. This, together with her asymmetric designs and use of negative space, captures the essence of the modern quilt movement.

And finally, I wanted to share this warm and inviting new book from Amanda Jean Nyberg and Cheryl Arkison, Sunday Morning Quilts: Sort, Store, and Use Every Last Bit of Your Treasured Fabrics. With the bags of scraps I am accumulating lately, this book will come in handy.

The title is apt as these projects have a relaxed, unhurried feel to them. The front section of the book discusses modern quilt design, fabric tips, and ideas for sorting and storing your scraps so you can get organized before you begin. Then there’s a section on construction basics, and next come the projects. There are 16 projects in all, with a storage box pattern followed by quilts. All of the quilts are bright and colorful and feel like a composition made of memory, as scrap quilts often do.  The book is straightforward and is suitable for a beginner or great for giving more experienced quilters some new ideas for those fabric scraps that keep piling up.

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