up front admission:  I’m a cover girl!   Yes, the quilt on the cover is the Elusive Batiki Bird designed, patterned and made by me!

Pretty Little Mini Quilts is the latest installment in Lark Books’ successful “Pretty Little” series, which is an 8 x 8 inch format book, in this case with 31 projects to make. The projects range from paper-pieced hexagons, to a nearly mixed-media house-shaped piece on stretcher bars, pieced quilts, appliqued quilts and quiltlets, and more all 36 x 36 inches or smaller.  Some are variations on traditional patterns such as the nine-patch (and would make great table toppers as well as wall art), others are contemporary abstracts, and others are whimsical or contemporary applique.  I liked that there is a wide range of techniques and ways to present the quilts.

I am TOTALLY in love with the bunny, by Aimee Ray, who appears on p. 5 (pattern on p. 86), with a birdie perched on his antlers/ears/branches! This piece is small, embroidered, with limited piecing.  It is just adorable!

Not only do I love the bunny, but also my friend Kathy Daniels (blog here) has a lovely piece called Spring haiku that, at 16 x 14 inches, would make a lovely accent on a small wall anywhere in the home. Pattern on p. 80.

My quilt, seen on the cover, p. 31, and patterned at p. 118, is 26 1/2 inches…just the perfect size to be the front of a Euro square pillow for the bed or a decent size on the wall.

The book begins with a quick (p. 11-27)  review of some quilting basics, followed by the 31 projects.  As you might guess from the size of the book, the instructions are not in-depth, as you might find if you spent $10-12 for a single pattern.  As a result, total beginners might find some of the instructions a bit spare.  However, if you are at the confident beginner stage (or have a nice quantity of gumption even if you are a total beginner) or up, or have garment sewing skills, you’ll be able to follow the instructions.   If you want in-depth coverage of some techniques, such as crazy quilting embroidery stitches or painting on fabric, you’ll want an additional book that provides the in-depth instruction, but I think it’s a good thing to expose folks to the range of styles and techniques out there.

One reviewer commented she couldn’t figure out who would be the intended audience for this book.  My guess is the 20- and 30-somethings who are relatively new to sewing and quilting, are setting up their homes, sewing for children and friends and personal satisfaction, but that doesn’t mean the projects don’t also appeal to the rest of us who are looking for something fun, fresh, and that won’t take forever to make.  I expect that someone will buy this  book for a single project–with the $17.95 cover price, it isn’t too expensive–but may then find themselves tempted by something else, too.   Like that bunny.  I LOVE that bunny!

PS–Thanks to Lark Books for making me a cover girl again…. I was also on the cover of Creative Quilting with Beads… I think I like Lark!  I blogged about that one here.

There is a new book out from Lark Books in its “500” series, 500 Art Quilts.

I was thrilled when I received word that two of my quilts would be among the 500 (made by 369 artists).  A whopping 432 pages long, this book is, pure and simple, eye candy!  Edited by Ray Hemachandra with quilts juried by Karey Bresenhan, founder of the International Quilt Association and quilty godmother to hundreds of thousands of quilters for her incredible energy and devotion to quilting and the quilting industry–she’s one of the forces of nature behind International Quilt Festival in Houston (can you tell I think she’s the bee’s knees?).

Now that I have received my artists’ copy, I am even more thrilled—and humbled and astounted—to be included on these pages.  All I can say is that you MUST get your hands on a copy of this amazing compilation which summarizes the state of art quilting around the world today.  It is simply STUNNING!

My quilt A Sense of Place:  The Wall, has a page all to itself (on left):

And Koi (yippeee!) is included here, top of left page:

Throughout the book I was tickled to see names I know well, and equally excited to see quilts and names I’ve never seen before.  What a wealth of talent and creativity we have in this medium!  Karey did a fantastic job selecting a representative range of styles and techniques (jurying was blind, meaning she did not know who made which quilts), and Hemachandra and staff did a great job placing the quilts in groupings that complement the quilts.  There is almost no text, just name of the maker, size, materials.  The artwork speaks for itself…and it is singing in joyfullness!

OH MY!   It isn’t often that I get a book and immediately want to go run dig out my dyes and cloth and start playing!   The sad news is that three-plus months later I STILL haven’t had time (and now it is winter, the basement is too cold to dye, etc), but boy do I want to!  That is what Melanie Testa‘s Inspired to Quilt has done to me, and that is a very, VERY good thing!  You can order it from Melanie, Interweave or Amazon.

I’ll also be honest… Melanie’s art and quilting inspire me, blow me away, make me think—all of these are wonderful things!  The book, published by Interweave, is well laid out, with great page layout, graphics and color inside, truly enhancing Melanie’s work, words, and instructions.  No boring white pages here, but creative inspiration all around.

One of the things I need to do a lot more is play, work in a sketchbook, and suss out different ideas, images and concepts.  I am usually so overwhelmed with stuff “to do” that I never give myself this freedom.  It is work, Work, WORK all the time, and then scramble to make any quilts at all.  Mostly for the past couple of years it has been samples for the book or classes, and not nearly enough creative development time.  Now that this book has sat for a while waiting review here, I think I need to go through it again, inspire myself all over again, and more than anything, follow Melly’s example and work with my sketchbook. The book covers:

• The Fabric Foundation
• Technique Application
• Creating Quilts Inspired by your Journals
• Sandwiching and Quilting
• Embellishment
• Finishing
• Smallworks, Series, and Exploration

One of the things I like best is how the illustrations show how Melly builds her cloth and designs, from white to finished, as in the example above of the leaves.  The same goes for this bird, where progressive washes of color create the image, just as she did in her sketchbook:

I love that she shares her notebooks and sketchbooks:

One of Melanie’s signature techniques is to screenprint and dye a sheer overlay fabric to work with the base fabric.  She has detailed information on dyeing, printing, creating stamps and screens–plenty of information to get you going without having to buy a separate book on surface design (tho it may whet your appetite for more!).  The photo below shows four steps in creating the transparency layer that brought the sketchbook work on the left to life…

There are several projects that are just plain fun (merit badges for grown ups, including one that is a hippo–I love it!) and help you try out these techniques on a small scale to get a feel for them. I particularly like how she combines hand stitching with machine, and there are also many examples to inspire.

In sum:  If you are or want to be an art quilter, and are willing to just do it on your own, this is a great book for you whether you are a beginner or moving on to (or at) advanced!  There is plenty of instruction, more than plenty inspiration.  If you want your hand held…well….. buy the book anyway!  Be inspired, find out if Melly is teaching anywhere that you can reach, and give it a go.

Definitely need to put this one back on the (re-) read pile by the sofa before tucking it onto the shelf….or into the DO NOW pile!

Yippeee!  It’s time for the winners of the Double-Giveaway here and over at Susan Brubaker Knapp’s Blue Moon River blog and website.  Yesterday, Paul’s minor surgery  (the reason for the delay) went well, we got home last night, he’s doing great, and this morning I asked both him and our younger son to pick to a number between 1 and 64 (the number of comments by deadline time yesterday).  Eli was first, and he picked the number for Carolyn who therefore wins Applique Petal Party

Carolyn wrote:

“I have been crazy in love with her bohemain bouquet for a long time. I may just have to take the plunge and go for it! Love the new petal party as well. I would be thrilled to win any of the great give aways! Keep up the good work!”

Paul came downstairs next, and he picked the number for Jane who will win Susan’s Pinata Purse pattern , who wrote:

quiltsmiles.blogspot.com

“Love her Bohemian Bouquet pattern, and I thank both of you for your generousity. Love your blog and I do enjoy stopping by to see what you’re up to. Thanks for sharing.

Jane”

I agree with them both…Bohemian Bouquet is one of my favorites of Susan’s, along with Round Red Barn and Glasgow Rose… I love more traditional quilts that combine circular designs with geometric/squared.  I also LOVE LOVE LOVE that quilt she is wrapped up in for her photo on her home page…great photo, great quilt!

Susan has picked the winners over on her blog, and I truly hope the winners enjoy ThreadWork Unraveled and my Nourish the Body, Nourish the Soul pattern.  The prizes will be in the mail post haste!

What a FUN little book!   This is definitely not for everyone, but if you love to sew, and wonder what all those weird gadgets do that came with the old sewing machine you inherited or found at a jumble, this is the book for you!

The book has mostly illustrations from what would be dubbed “vintage” sewing machines:  from the 1960s and before, or more basic current models.  This book does NOT teach you basic sewing, but it does show you various iterations of a wide array of funky feet and attachments including:

• Seam Guide
• Bias Cutting Gauge
• Binder
• Bias-Tape Maker
• Tucker
• Ruffler
• Hemmer
• Edge Stitcher
• Gathering foot
• Shirring foot
• Adjustable zipper/cording foot
• Felling foot
• Darning/free-motion foot
• Walking foot
• Seqiun foot
• Buttnholer
• Underbraider (I’ve been sewing and studying sewing for 46 years, since I was 6, and I’d never heard of or seen that one!)
• Zigzagger
• and a few more

WOW…now, I like all this cool old-timey stuff.  And the price of the book on Amazon can’t be beat–a whopping US dollars $ 11.55!  Special issues of magazines cost more than that!  Some of the reviews at Amazon weren’t happy that the book description didn’t explain clearly that the illustrations and attachments were just that…attachments and not the snap-on presser feet found on machines today.  I do agree that a few extra words would have been useful!  BUT, that said, a zipper foot works the same way now as it did when my beloved Singer 221 Featherweight was made in 1934!  The vast majority of the information in this book can be applied to most current machines without having to stretch one’s brain very far at all.  Ahem.  Yes, I DO expect people to think <grin>! Ditto for rufflers, binding attachments and many other goodies.  There are instructions on how to use these things, but for the most part you will need to grab some scraps, follow the outlines provided, and figure out the adjustments for your own machine.  It’s kinda like a car engine…they all work on more or less the same design, but the fan belts may not all be in the same place, made from the same materials or in the same size.  You can’t expect one slim book to cover the myriad possibilities for each and every one, but it DOES give you a great start!
In sum:  a fun book at a very modest price, and worth having if you love old sewing machines, or want to have a clue what those odd presser feet are in the drawer or tool kit that came with the machine.  If you want a hold-you-hand guide to the exact presser feet that came with your every-bell-and-whistle-computerized (does everything but pick up pins off the floor) sewing machine, then you’d best move to a different sort of book.  Personally, I think it is a gas of a book!