Book Review - Freemotion Quilting Idea Book

I think a lot of quilters are like me - we enjoy learning! Even if we think we have all the answers, we can't resist seeing how other quilters approach an aspect of what we do.

For this reason I recently added the free-motion Quilting Idea Book by Amanda Murphy to my library. I have been free-motion quilting for many years but it is nice to see new books with more quilting ideas.

Amanda's book didn't disappoint. The first thing I love about it is the spiral binding so the book will lie flat near my sewing machine.

The book includes basic machine quilting tips that are also a  good refresher for those of us with more experience. There is a pattern for the table runner pictured on the cover of the book and Amanda shows several ways to quilt the runner, with reference to the designs included in the 'Designs' section of the book.

I think the 'Designs' and 'Blocks' sections are the best sections of the book. A wide range of quilting ideas are presented for many traditional blocks.  Quilters can use these ideas just as they are or they can jumpstart your creativity for your own particular quilt.

Later in this blog post you will see how I  used some of the design ideas in a table runner.

The book is a Stash Book, an imprint of C&T Publishing.

C&T has just announced the companion APP for the book too!  I bought it right away - I wanted to see how some of the material in the book would be presented.  Here is the first screen that you see when you open the APP:

And this screen shows one of the Allover Design Tutorials. This one is for 'Paisley'. You can see the Design Steps (what you see in my picture) PLUS there is an animation of the stitching PLUS there is a video with Amanda showing you how to stitch the design.

There is also a Video Library. Amanda shows topics like Getting Started, Loops Designs, Small Fills and more.

I used some of the information in the book when I finished the quilting for my Chic Flowers table runner. 

I used the 'Paisley' design in the dark blue portion of the blocks and stippling in the centres of the blocks.  

I adapted one of Amanda's ideas for quilting Flying Geese blocks for the flower 'petals.

This is a great book to add to your quilting library.

On My Bookshelf

Have you heard about the Modern Quilt movement? A new generation is discovering the joys of quilting and making it their own!  Characteristics of these quilts often include bold graphic design and use solid fabrics. I have been curious about the 'movement' and when one of my students shared her excitement about a book she recently bought I decided I needed my own copy to review it in more detail.

Modern Minimal, 20 Bold & Graphic Quilts is written by Alissa Haight Carlton, one of the founders of the ModernQuilt Guild. Publisher is StashBooks.

A variety of project sizes are patterned, from Baby Quilts to full size bed quilts. A wide range of colours are used in the projects, many using monochromatic colour schemes. It would be easy to choose your favourite colours for these designs.

Each project is beautifully photographed in a room or environment setting and a full page flat photograph of each quilt is included too.

The first thing I noticed is nearly all the quilts are made with solid fabrics; only 5 designs use print fabrics - and then only 1 square or rectangle in the design or the binding for the project. This certainly makes fabric selection easier; no need to audition a variety of prints to see if they 'play well together'.

I particularly liked the section on Improvisational Piecing, including the Cobblestones pattern. The contrast between the vertical strips and randomly arranged squares is appealing to me.

  

The author also presents two quilting options for each design. I'm glad the statement 'quilt as desired' is NOT in this book!

  

Although the book appears to be written for beginners I feel some of the general How to Make a Quilt instructions are lacking. The steps for cutting large pieces of fabric to make these projects are not described in detail. Attending a class to learn rotary cutting techniques will help beginners with these projects.

The rest of the steps are covered fairly thoroughly with excellent graphics or photographs. The binding steps are particularly well-described with easy-to-follow diagrams.

All in all, if you have basic quilting skills, this book is an excellent addition to your library.