This I Accomplish: Harriet Powers’ Bible Quilt and Other Pieces
Kyra E. Hicks
Black Threads Press; $19.95
This is a fascinating look into the stories behind the well-known Bible Quilt and Pictorial Quilt and the former Georgia slave who created them. Kyra Hick’s enthusiasm for the subject is truly contagious as she takes you along tracing how the quilts made their way from Harriet Power’s hands to the Smithsonian Institution and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, respectively. She began this study by compiling a bibliography and started to challenge the assumptions about Mrs. Powers and the quilts. In the end, she offered us a compelling narrative with new facts and left herself with a dozen ideas for further research and celebration into Mrs. Powers. Includes an extensive bibliography.
Here’s a link, if you’d like to add it to your library.
Quilt This!
Lynda Smith
American Quilter’s Society; $24.95
We’ve come a long way since the days of “quilt as desired” with no idea for patterns. In this wide format book, Lynda Smith offers more than 80 quilting motifs suitable for both machine and hand quilting. The designs are sorted into four categories: gardens and woods; swirls and curls, motifs and other stuff; and children and playtime. You’ll find patterns that range from elegant swirls to whimsical ducks in waves. The designs can be used as is or as a starting point to enlarge or reduce, combine and adapt.
Here’s a link, if you’d like to add it to your library.
Pretty Little Mini Quilts
ed. Ray Hemachandra
Lark Books; $17.95
Part of Lark’s Pretty Little series, Pretty Little Mini Quilts features 31 projects made by 25 artists. (You’ll recognize lots of the names, including Sarah Ann Smith, Jamie Fingal and Andi Stern.) The projects range from machine and hand quilting to embroidery and trapunto to fusing and embellishment to piecing and painted surfaces. You’ll find traditional and contemporary pieces, none larger than three feet. I like books that introduce a variety of techniques, and you’re sure to find a new technique to add to your toolbox.
Here’s a link, if you’d like to add it to your library.
I’ve always liked circles. A favorite family story is the time I attacked my father’s business papers with the hole punch. And, of course, polka dots make me smile. So did the circle quilts in Leigh McDonald’s book. Leigh’s success with circles comes from cutting them with the Olfa circle cutter and using either a fusible-web or freezer-paper qppliqué technique. Her designs could be adapted to other construction methods; she just prefers those. In addition to basic technique instructions, the book includes eight different circle quilt projects and several pages of fanciful quilting designs to complete the quilt. I found her designs a lot of fun.
Here’s a link, if you’d like to add it to your library.
Do you marvel, as I do, at how someone can take those really tiny patches and piece them into award-winning quilts? Terrie Sandelin not only thinks that miniatures are cute, she can actually start and finish one in a timely manner. After being introduced to the “Fold and Sew” method of Anita Grossman Solomon, Terrie translated the concept to miniature quilts. She provides directions for creating – and finishing – 24 miniature quilts, along with 12 full-size foundations. You’ll appreciate the many close-up, step-by-step photos. If the idea of making and finishing a miniature quilt whets your appetite, Terrie’s’ book might get you hooked.
Here’s a link, if you’d like to add it to your library.
Beautiful Alphabet Appliqué Zena Thorpe
American Quilter’s Society; $22.95
If you’ve seen any of Zena Thorpe’s quilts, you know what a master with the needle she is. Her quilts have won numerous top awards and she was inducted in the Master Quilters Guild, part of the National Quilting Association. Zena has long been fascinated with illuminated letters originally produced by monastic scribes and the letters began to find their way into her work. In 2008 she began showing “Illuminated Alphabet,” which features the 26 letters of the alphabet plus four corner appliqué blocks. You can recreate her quilt or use the letters to create individual wall hangings words of your choosing.
Here’s a link, if you’d like to add it to your library.
Intuitive Color & Design
Jean Wells
C&T Publishing; $27.95
After quilting, teaching and running a shop for more than 33 years, Jean Wells decided she wanted to work more intuitively and create abstract designs. Her initial work with Nancy Crow started her on a wonderful path of exploration that she now shares with others. If you’ve not a class from Jean, this book is your chance to learn from her. To start with she suggests you really learn to see what’s around you and keep a journal. She includes a variety of exercises to help you develop your use of color, design and piecing with such assignments as intuitive angle piecing, proportion, and color and value. Doing the exercises will make you a better quilter, whether you stick with traditional quilts or make art quilts.
Here’s a link, if you’d like to add it to your library.
A Bird in Hand: Folk Art Projects
Inspired by Our Feathered Friends
Renée Plains
Kansas City Star Quilts; $26.95
This book title caught my eye since I will be in Bird in Hand, Pa., teaching this weekend. Renée has put together a varied collection of folk art projects all featuring birds. You’ll find nine quilts varying from lap size to wall pieces; eight sewing “needfuls,” such as pinkeeps and roll-ups for small projects on the go; and four accent pieces, including a pillow, hooked rug and notebook cover. My favorite accent piece is the pair of jeans that became a tote accented by a bird on a vine with leaves and berries. The book is also filled with fun quotes, such as the following Chinese proverb: “A bird doesn’t sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.”
Here’s a link, if you’d like to add it to your library.
Greetings from Tucsadelphia:
Travel-Inspired Projects from Lizzie B Cre8ive
Liz and Beth Hawkins
Kansas City Star Quilts; $26.95
Liz and Beth Hawkins, the duo behind the design team Lizzie B Cre8ive, have put together a fun collection of whimsical travel-inspired projects. (For those not familiar with Liz and Beth, they are sisters-in-law and share the same name, Elizabeth Hawkins, as well as a passion for quilting.) The books title plays homage to Tuscadelphia, a special place they they created for themselves; in reality Liz lives outside Philadelphia and Beth lives in Tucson. The book features stories of travel adventures of Liz and Beth along with 10 quilts and projects, ranging from luggage tags and a travel pillow to a backpack and a quilt inspired by travel postcards. The book is filled with personality, and fans of Lizzie B Cre8ive won’t be disappointed.
Here’s a link, if you’d like to add it to your library.
Crush It: Why Now is the Time to Cash in on Your Passion
Gary Vaynerchuk
HarperStudio; $19.95
Gary Vaynerchuk wrote this book for anyone who has a hobby and wants to make a living at it. (Sounds like a lot of quilters and fiber artists I know!) Using the power of the Internet, Gary turned his passion for wine into his personal brand. Here are just four of the many lessons from the book: 1. Identify and live your passion. (OK, quilters and fiber artists have this one down.) 2. Create a system for using all the social media outlets, such as Facebook and Twitter. 3. Be transparent and live your passion. 4. Be willing to adapt and change. This is an easy read and you’ll come away with several ideas that you can put to use to grow your business today.
If you’d like to add this to your library or purchase it as a gift, here’s a link.
