Wednesday, December 14, 2016

Book Review: Quilts With Style



I enjoyed reviewing this book for Fave Quilts  and am glad that I could keep the copy! 

 This is an excellent book by Gudrun Erla who is a fabric designer and an experienced quilt designer.  Although the book contains six quilting patterns there are two completed variations of the quilts shown, the traditional and the modern look, further increasing the number of possibilities for quilt designs are the arrangements of basic blocks in some of the designs.

All the designs have straight edges that make it extremely simple to piece together and yet produce a sophisticated completed quilt. Every pattern in the book has a modern and traditional color variation. Some of the patterns provide variations to convert to a table runner.  Every design provides measurements for the individual block sizes and for the completed quilt size making it easier to plan and choose the appropriate project size.  In addition, detailed instructions are provided for adapting every design to different bed sizes. These are very helpful instructions to avoid running out of fabric while completing the project.

The contrast in the modern and traditional look of the same quilt is dramatic and draws the attention to proper fabric color selection. In addition, the pictures capture the quilting design in the completed quilts and provide ample ideas for finishing the projects.

The Riptide is one of the coolest designs in the book.  Ideas are provided for four additional patterns by using the basic block. There are instructions for using the cut away corners from making this quilt to complete a bonus table runner.  

Just like the Riptide design the Homebound design offers multiple variations of piecing the quilt from the basic block. The simply rectangles design could be used to showcase one of a kind fabrics to make a quilt that could be used as a wall hanging. A young teenager would love to own the modern version of the Simply Rectangles quilt while the Snapshots design would make a great wedding present quilt.

An entire section in the book is devoted to general instructions on completing the quilt. The tips provided in obtaining perfect points when piecing would be helpful to any quilter. Various ways to border the quilt, including techniques to make the binding from fabric are included in this section.

This book will be a great addition to any beginner wanting to take up quilting project.  Experienced quilters will find a lot of inspiration for a new project and will be amazed to see the numerous possibilities with a simple basic block and the differences in modern and traditional variation of the same quilt. 

Read the published review here:

Book Review: Easy Timeless Quilts

I recently wrote a review for this quilting book mailed to be by Fave Quilts.



This book contains seven quilting patterns that are beginner friendly and yet truly timeless.  

These are easy quilts that could be whipped up over a weekend and would make excellent gifts for a loved one. All the designs have straight edges that make it extremely simple to piece together. The patterns provide excellent color combination ideas for choosing the fabrics. Every design provides measurements for the individual block sizes and for the completed quilt size making it easier to plan and choose the appropriate project size.

The Broken Dishes quilt design would be a favorite quilt to make and gift. It seems like a variation of the commonly known Pinwheel quilt design but the choice of fabric colors and the layout make it a truly unique piece. As with all the designs in the book, the basic block can be used to imagine other different creative designs. In the broken dishes design, the basic block is a half square triangle, but the placement of the color schemed blocks gives it a timeless perspective.

Some of the designs in the book like the Plaid Quilt would make a very good gift for a young teenager and could be completed in jiffy. The clever idea of using embroidery floss for tying the quilt could be used to complete any of the quilts in the book. The Friendship Album quilt design can be made for gifting brides and even graduating high-school seniors. It can be used for signing messages with ink or embroidery and makes the quilt even more personal for both the giver and the receiver.

An entire section in the book is devoted to general instructions on completing the quilt. The tips provided in obtaining perfect points when piecing would be helpful to any quilter. Various ways to border the quilt, including techniques to make the binding from fabric are included in this section.

This book will be a great addition to any beginner wanting to take up quilting project and to experienced quilters looking out for inspiration for a new project.


Read the published review here:

http://www.favequilts.com/Books-and-Products/Easy-Timeless-Quilts-Leisure-Arts


Sunday, December 11, 2016

Asterisks Baby Quilt

One of my office mates at work was having a baby shower. I do not work with her in the same team but I got a chance to know her over the duration of working on the social committee. We organized a one day event for the office and there were several committees. We were part of social committee. My office mate is full of enthusiasm and mentioned that she sang in her church choir and hence felt at ease in leading the choir for the event.

Well, over the course of planning the event we shared in her pregnancy journey. When an invite was sent out for a baby shower, I decided to make her a baby quilt instead of donating money towards common gifts.

I had completed this  class from Crafty on  block of the month 2012. It was a free class led by Amy Gibson and I really wanted to try this asterisk pattern. She had two different versions and I opted for the non-wonky version for this quilt.

We knew it was going to be a baby boy so I decided to use blue as one of the main colors. The printed fabric had hearts in blue and yellow and so yellow was also added to the mix and white was an obvious choice to match the printed fabric which also ensured that the quilt did not end up to be a maize and blue quilt representing the Michigan Go Blue colors!

 I love how the arms of the asterisk line up when looking from a distance.

 The binding has all the three colors used for making the asterisks and reads "mummy loves me, daddy loves me, God loves me". It takes time to stitch this on the entire border and in the future I might increase the spacing between the words. The extra detail gives a very good personal touch to the finished quilt.

 I used the stitch in the ditch method for quilting and traced out all the straight lines of the asterisks. If I had more time, I might have tried some of the free motion quilting (FMQ) but did not feel confident enough to try that as yet. That is one of my goals to try FMQ on my sewing machine.


 This picture was taken on the balcony of my apartment and shows my potted herb garden collection!

It was a joy to see the expression of my friends face when she opened the package and everyone in the room gasped. It was fun creating this baby quilt - I enjoyed every part of the process of choosing the fabric, piecing and quilting. I forgot to measure the dimensions of the final completed quilt - should do that in the future for my own reference.