Book Reviews

Book Reviews - Fall/Winter 2011

As one is coming to grips with the fact that FALL is here, Need’l Love of Need’l Love Company, Inc. has published Pumpkin Patch Threads for our quilting enjoyment.  A key element of each Need’l Love book is that their projects cover an array of techniques that quilters enjoy doing.  This book is no exception.  There are just so many things to love in this book.  Pumpkin Patch is a full size quilt that incorporates both patchwork and wool appliqué making a gorgeous fall quilt. It also has pillow shams to add the finishing touch. Acorn Wreath, Under the Stars and Bittersweet Twist are wall hangings in wonderful fall colors using both wool appliqué as well as appliqué to create their “look”.  The Pumpkin Crazy Coasters are just plain cute!  The pillows, Harvest Star, Penny Pumpkin and Bittersweet Bird, would look great on anyone’s bed or sofa. There is a punchneedle Traditional Gobbler, a What-A-Hoot pin cushion decoration, a Harvest Welcome and Delicious Autumn picture, Spools Birds (a blackbird you can love) and an Autumn Vines table runner.  I really do like this book and I would urge you to take a look as it will be worth your time.

Bittersweet is another cool book by Nancy Halvorson of Art to Heart.  As Nancy says in her introduction to the Bittersweet  book “Celebrate the bright and vibrant swirl of leaves in the brisk autumn air with this collection of projects for the most bountiful of seasons”.  Nancy Halvorson has been publishing books for several years but she continues to create wonderful quilt projects for us to enjoy and share.  There are projects that range from big to small but they are all very doable. My very favorite project in this book is a small wall hanging that says it all - ”Fall…Fell”.  It just makes me smile.  Many of the projects use fusible appliqué as you all know but these are all pretty cute.  The Harvest Time Mug Rugs are quite practical but would add that festive fall touch to your home.  I thought the Fall Festival Table Runner and Place Mats had a dressy, airy look to them that was quite attractive.  The Autumn Wreath and Welcome Banner both would look great adorning your door or your wall.  Then there is the Splash of Autumn Quilt that I thought was very well done.  It is somewhat simplistic with the fabric and those fusible appliqué leaves doing the talking.  The Acorn Garland that says “Give Thanks” would look nice hanging from a banister or mantle.  Nancy has also included three pillows in the book with that fall flair for you – Changing Leaves Pillow, Acorn Pillow and Bittersweet Pillow.  Nancy continues her creative skill in this book and I think you will like it. 

‘Tis the Season, Quilts and Other Comforts is written by Jeanne Large and Shelley Wicks for That Patchwork Place.  What a happy book for the Christmas season was my first thought when I saw this book.  Many of the projects in this book have a bit of appliqué which some of you don’t like but these quilts are all screaming for wool appliqué in my view.  So when you look at this book, if appliqué is not a good word for you, just remember wool appliqué is your friend.  The book has an assortment of projects ranging from lap quilts to wall hangings to runners to pillows but also has two trios that coordinate the quilt with a pillow and runner.  My favorite quilts in this book are High Strung and To All a Good Night.  The quilts are basic patchwork but the appliqué is just very sweet looking with stockings hung with care and the cutest reindeer wishing you Merry Christmas.  The Joy to the World pillow and the Holly Sox pillow are easy to do but would look great in any room of the house.  I thought the Holiday Stars Trio would add lots of holiday cheer to one’s home.  ‘Tis the Season does contain good basic information on construction and appliqué but the added bonus are the ideas “From the Quilt Patch” and “Inspiring Ideas” sprinkled throughout the book that give you quilting tips and decorating tips.

History Repeated by Betsy Chutchian and Carol Staehle is a book about the block exchange quilts made by the 19^th Century Patchwork Divas.  It is published by Kansas City Star Books.  The 19^th Century Patchwork Divas are a group of women who exchange traditional blocks made with reproduction fabrics from the 1800s.  The completed quilts have been widely exhibited and published in national magazines.  If you are interested in running a block exchange, they give you good information on how to make it successful including the need to have an “enforcer” to keep everyone on track.  These women also remain very true to the era as far as fabric is concerned so they have notebooks of small fabric samples organized by fabric collection, the designer/manufacture and the collection’s time period.  The notebook becomes a very useful tool for deciding what fabrics would work for the time period of the project.  When they call themselves the 19^th Century Patchwork Divas, they do mean it.  The book is arranged in chapters that feature a traditional block with more than one setting option pictured and with a gallery of quilts to show what you can do with the featured block.  The featured blocks are the Antique Flying Geese, Double Nine-Patch, Pyramids, Nine-Patch Pinwheels, Hourglass, Carolina Lily, Blindman’s Fancy, Wheel of Fortune, Cheddar Triangles and Ohio Star.  Many great quilts to give you tons of inspiration to make a few on your own. 

Debbie Roberts, owner of the Quilted Moose Quilt Shop located in Gretna, Nebraska, has published her first book titled Four Seasons at Minglewood.  The book is published by Kansas City Star Books.  Debbie’s work has appeared in some of Jo Morton’s books so you may be familiar with her work.  While I was attending a family wedding in Omaha, Nebraska recently, I had the opportunity to stop by the Quilted Moose and saw the actual quilts photographed for this book.  All I could say when I saw them was “Wow, they are gorgeous”.  The main quilt in the book, Christmas Traditions, started as a Block of the Month as they decided everyone should have a Christmas quilt – I couldn’t agree more.  As part of this Block of the Month, the participants were challenged to do two blocks each month in two fabric variations so they could see how the blocks would look using different fabric.  This book features Christmas Traditions and Starlit Path as well as large pictures of each block used in each quilt – a Christmas quilt and a very light, bright summery quilt.  Having these large pictures of each block really let you see how much fun it is to make the same block but the look is so different because of the fabrics.  The book includes several pictures of the Christmas blocks in quilts completed using different settings.  The result is a beautiful quilt regardless of the setting.  Additional projects are included in the section titled “Four Seasons of Quilts”.  Florabundance is a large wall hanging that uses appliqué but needle turn appliqué would be easy as the pieces are fairly large.  Porch Swings and Lemonade features a friendship star block and a diagonal look.  I love the look of this quilt!  When you look at Escaping the Frost you may think there are a lot of flying geese blocks but I just think this is a wonderful quilt and would love to find the perfect stripe so I could make one for myself.  Turkey Dance is a nice sized wall hanging with a bit of appliqué and the perfect pieced border of nine-patch blocks on point.  The border makes it “just right”.  The winter project is a table runner named Two of a Kind for the use of the Coronation block.  What I particularly liked about this runner is that it is 22½ inches wide and 39½ inches long. Usually runners aren’t that wide and I sometimes would like one to be wider without just adding borders. It would also be quite easy to make it longer.  This is another book worthy of purchase.

The final book for this installment of the book review is Buttons and Blooms by Terri Degenlolb of Whimsicals.  Terri is another of those designers who always creates something to love in each of her books.  There is a pillow, a quilt, a runner, a pin cushion, a tote, a wall hanging and an owl.  Quilter’s Haven has two samples completed from this book.  The first is On Needles and Pins which is very well done and features a happy wool flower in a spool with an attached needle book.  The other completed sample is the Blooming Runner.  This is another runner that finishes fairly wide at 22 inches by 58 inches so it is a very useable size.   I like the use of strips for the background and rick rack for the stems on the flowers.  It does live up to being whimsical!



It has been a long time since I have sewn any clothes but since I recently retired I thought it might be fun to do some sewing for my granddaughter.  Jean suggested a really cute KWIK SEW pattern to try so I am going forward with that endeavor.  In the process, Jean suggested that I review the three KWIK SEW books she has in stock.  Kerstin Martensson founded the KWIK SEW Pattern company in 1967 and continues to create books and patterns that are easy to use which in today’s busy world is a bonus. The first book it titled KWIK SEW’s Sewing for Baby.  As I looked through this book it reminded me of when I did some sewing for my children – I really liked the short seems because it didn’t take so long.  Sewing for Baby covers all of a baby’s needs from the crib sheets to bath towels and clothing.  The clothing includes sleepers, kimonos, T-shirts, rompers, jogging suits, sweatshirts, pants, bib overalls, jumpsuits and dresses.  Decorative appliqués with several samples are also addressed.  The illustrations for the construction of each garment are clear and concise with excellent written instructions…plus the pictures of the babies are so darling.  The end of the book contains the fabric requirements for each item as well as an envelope that contains the master patterns for sizes small through extra large (0-3 through 12-18).  KWIK SEW’s Sewing for Toddlers and KWIK SEW’s Sewing for Children use the same format as the book for babies.  Toddler sizes range from T1 to T4 while the children sizes range from 4-5 to 12.  Both books have patterns for T-shirts, tops, shirts with plackets, sweatshirts, pants, shorts, and dresses.  The children’s book also has nightgowns and pajamas.  There are additional instructions for design changes to make these projects uniquely your own.  I also liked the hair accessories in Sewing for Children.  One item I need to add is that the General Information section in each book does an excellent job in discussing fabric selection, adjusting the patterns to fit, the type of seam finishes and basic sewing reminders.

Quilter's Haven is located in Rosemount, Minnesota, about 1/2 of County Road 42 (150th St.) on Highway 3 (South Robert Trail). County Road 42 (150th St.) traveling west is accessible from 52 and 55, and Hwy 35W or 77 (Cedar Ave) to the East.

QUILTER'S HAVEN
2930 146th Street
Suite 108
Rosemount MN 55068
Telephone: 651-322-7071
Email Us: quilthav@frontiernet.net