Quit Books Reviewed in 2016

I am happy to review books relating to quilting. I received ebooks or books from a wide range of publishers.

Suzi Parron's books on the Barn Quilt Movement take readers into the American Heartland and across the nation as we learn the stories behind the painted quilt blocks shared on family farms.

Easy quilt-in-a-day projects.

 Don Beld relates the history behind traditional quilt block patterns.

Amish Quilts' extensive social history explains how 'ugly' quilts in the Amish closets were discovered and sold as art, transforming how quilts were perceived, and spurring a market for antique quilts.

One Bundle of Fun presents beautiful and easy patterns for precuts.

 This quilt history book shows centuries of Pennsylvania quilts from Cumberland County.

This HUGE collection of quilts using fat quarters includes patterns by well known quilt designers. Something for everyone1

Amazing quilts interpret all of America's national parks, accompanied by articles written by people who work for the park.

Learn the history of Modern Art and how to design modern quilts with this coloring book.

Sue Reich's collection of patriotic quilts and the Presidential quilts traveling show she organized--including my John Quincy Adams!

Mary Kerr's friends create modern quilts from vintage textiles in Twisted. Her book A Quilted Memory shows how vintage textiles can be repurposed for personal memory quilts.

Quilt patterns from quilts in Bill Volckening's personal collection.

Hmong Story Clothes tells the history of the Hmong people who as refugees developed the remarkable applique art to tell of their people's journey. 

The Fiona Quilt Block inspired four quilts made by me and my quilt friends.

Sunetra's Fiona block quilt top

Mary Kerr's Old Textiles in New Quilts

Twisted: Modern Quilts with a Vintage Twist  is Mary Kerr's newest publication. Vintage quilt blocks and fragments star in new, modern quilts created by 22 amazing quilt artists.

Beautiful photographs show the original vintage textile, how it was used in the new quilt, and the finished quilt. These are bed-sized quilt projects.

I was impressed by the originality of the final quilts. They have the hallmarks of a Modern Quilt: lots of negative space, use of solid color backgrounds, complicated machine quilting, and an overall graphic quality.

Mary wanted to blur the demarkation between traditional and modern quilts. She distributed the vintage pieces to her artists and allowed them to "work their magic". 

Shown in the photo above, Dahlias in the Snow is a remarkable quilt, but you'll have to get the book to see the completed quilt! The use of the original blocks is thoughtful and unusual.

Mary's previous publication A Quilted Memory: Ideas and Ispirations for Reusing Vintage Textiles similarly illlustrates how textile fragments can be employed in a new quilt.

These are small scale projects inspired by her own heirloom textiles and family history.

Kitchen linens, embroidered linens and dresser scarfs, handkerchiefs, doilies, buttons, and even vintage clothing are repurposed to make sweet wall hangings.

Mary shares images of her family and the original textile associated with them and the completed quilt employing the textile.

The photograph above shows Mary's grandmother and the painted kitchen linen she created. Mary paired her grandmother's work with fragments of an 1890 quilt for her completed project.

Mary used her mother-in-law's scarf and a red jacket to make a pillow.

If you don't have heirloom textiles, you can always purchase some! Mary found a set of day-of-the-week embroidered applique towels in an antique shop and used them to make the colorful quilt shown in the above photograph.

I can't wait to have time to play in the quilt room. I have a nice collection of unfinished vintage tops, blocks, and fragments. I am so imspired by Mary's vision!

I previously reviewed Mary's book Recycled Hexie Quilts which you can read about here.

These books by Mary, plus several more she has written, are available now.

I received free books from Schiffer Publishing in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.




Twisted
Mary Kerr
$19.99 soft cover

A Quilted Memory
Mary Kerr
$19.99 soft cover

Quilt Projects Update

I finished my Edgar Allan Poe quilt, complete with a feather pen and his manuscript of Annabell Lee. I made this as the second in my series of poet quilts featuring love poems. 

As I did on William Shakespeare, I hand drew the quilt pattern and made the sections as separate quilts using fusible applique, machine, embroidery and quilting. The purple curtain is pleated and partially loose.

Next I want to do Emily Dickenson! 

 I have all the Bee-autiful Quilt blocks completed and I ordered some fabric for setting it together.

The bunny needs a pom pom tail still.

The bicycle block has been hugely popular. I found bicycle fabric at Hawthrone Threads that had to be in this quilt:

Also from Hawthorne is this honeycomb fabric:

The scale is larger on this honeycomb fabric also from Hawthrone Threads but it will be a great backing fabric.

I am still hand quilting my Austen Album quilt from Barbara Brackman and working on the 1857 Album from Sentimental Stiches. This will take all winter!

I am thrilled to have received a sweet box of review books from Schiffer Publishing!

Sue Reich's World War II Quilts, Don Beld's American Heroes Quilts, and Anne Hermes' Patchwork Pillows.

PLUS Mary Kerr's newest book Twisted and her previous book A Quilted Memory, which already has been inspired to tear into my stash of vintage textiles.

I have also been sorting and organizing my embroidery floss, for some crazy reason, which is taking much longer than I had ever expected!

Works in Process--Books to Come

I have the corner appliqué to finish on these new 1857 Album blocks from Sentimental Stitches. I will do the embroidery on all of the blocks when the blocks are all finished. I am so enjoying these blocks.

Since making my William Shakespeare portrait I want to make more poet portrait quilts. Next up is Edgar Allan Poe. He was quite a craftsman as a writer. You can read how he wrote The Raven in his Philosophy of Composition here.

I want to drape a 'purple curtain' over the quilt because of the beautiful lines in the Raven: "And the silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each purple curtain/Thrilled me-- filled me, with fantastic terror never felt before."

Little Hazel by Esther Alui is sadly being neglected. I failed at machine piecing this block and started hand sewing it. I dislike hand sewing (although I like hand appliqué--go figure) and this is as far as I have gotten...a quarter of a block.

I finally started hand quilting my Austen Family Album by Barbara Brackman, finished a year ago. I expect it will take me a year of quilting to finish!

Quilt Books news:

I will be reviewing Suzie Parron's Following the Barn Quilt Trail from Ohio U Press! They are sending me the book. Perfect timing since last month Suzi was at my quilt guild and I took her workshop.

I have Bill Volckening's new book Modern Roots--Today's Quilts from Yesterday's Inspiration from C&T Publications to review. Bill has an amazing quilt collection. You can see his quilts shared on his blog Wonkyworld.

And the Schiffer Publication's books Inspired By The National Parks and Hmong Story Cloths are on my NetGally shelf.

Also, my review of Thomas Knauer's The Quilt Design Coloring Book will come out in August.

Fiction & Nonfiction

I was happy when St. Martin's Press reached out to offer me Lisa Scottoline's new book Damaged. Apparently they liked my review of Corrupted shared on Amazon. Having lived in Philly for 15 years my hubby and I appreciate Scottoline's books for the setting and enjoy her characters and stories.

I am currently reading Mad Enchantment about Monet and his water lily series and the novel Lucky Boy through NetGalley, and from Blogging for Books The Apache War.

Scheduled reviews to come include the Antarctic love story My Last Continent by Midge Raymond; David Abram's Iraqi war novel Fobbit; the Taming of the Shrew re-imagined in the Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler; Larry Tye's new biography of Bobby Kennedy; an exploration of race in Absalom's Daughters by Suzanne Feldman;  Angels of Detroit by Christopher Hebert; Rae Meadow's Dust Bowl novel I Will Send Rain; the time spanning Mr. Eternity by Aaron Thier; first published in 1864 The Female Detective; The Last Days of Night by Graham Moore (soon to be a movie); The Illustrated Book of Sayings from around the world; and Tara Clancy's memoir The Clancys of Queens.

My NetGalley shelf also holds Victoria:The Queen by Julia Baird; Candace Millard's Hero of the Empire about Churchill during the Boer War; Alice Hoffman's Faithful; The Electrifying Fall of Rainbow City by Margaret Creighton about Buffalo, NY during the 1901 Pan American Exhibition; and The Language of Dying by Sarah Pinbourough called "A beautiful book, honestly told" by Neil Gaiman.

Whew!