My Favourite Books.

Modern Triangle Quilts

Author: Rebecca Bryan

• Ready to take the triangle challenge? Choose from 70 pieced modern triangle blocks and 11 quilts!

• Sew beautiful 3-sided blocks from pieced stripes, chevrons, curves, and more.

• Play with unexpected design elements, choose a winning colour palette, and achieve balance and symmetry.

• Grab your favourite ruler and the included full-size templates to trim up equilateral, isosceles, and right triangle blocks with ease.

• With no tricky seams, these sampler blocks are perfect to mix and match.

Review: My introduction to modern quilting was in one of Rebecca’s workshops: Rainbow Triangles block of the month program. Rebecca is a fantastic teacher and this book was an accompanying resource. The book provides clear instructions with diagrams that outline the process for piecing each block, with a number of quilt projects you can complete. It’s a truly inspiring book!

WALK: Master Machine Quilting with your Walking Foot

Author: Jacquie Gering

• Free motion not for you? How about some "forward motion" quilting with the walking foot? It's time to get that walking foot out of the ditch, take it for a drive and see what that baby can really do!

• Jacquie Gering will be your guide as you work your way from walking foot basics to intricate marked designs as you master machine quilting with your walking foot.

• In WALK, Jacquie shares a comprehensive set of walking foot quilting basics that provides a solid foundation for quilting with ease, quality and creativity.

• She guides you through a series of test drives with your walking foot, allowing you to get acquainted with its features and set yourself up for success with your foot and your machine.

• Then you'll learn how to prepare and mark the quilt, prevent puckers while quilting, and manage large projects.

• Jacquie teaches over forty walking foot friendly designs including channel quilting, matchstick quilting and quilting with decorative stitches.

• With a walking foot, you'll find a level of control and success you never thought possible and you'll become as excited about the quilting as you are about your piecing.

Review: I had the privilege to watch Jacquie speak about walking foot quilting at Quiltcon 2021. She is definitely a master and what she can achieve with her walking foot is awe inspiring. This book is a wonderful introduction to using your walking foot for quilting. It starts out with the basics with ‘getting to know your walking foot’, then test driving, talking about preparation; and then showing you a range of designs you can achieve with your walking foot and all with instructions to guide you through.

Quilts du Jour: Make It Your Own with á la Carte Blocks & Settings

Authors: Marny Buck and Jill Guffy

• Whet your appetite for delicious designs from the creators of Modern Quilt Relish.

• Savor easy-to-sew patterns influenced by modern cuisine, such as the crispy wonton block and tempting turnovers quilt.

• Prepare 18 beginner-friendly quilts and pillow projects.

• Or cook up something totally you with an interchangeable menu of blocks, settings, and sizes to design your own quilt.

• This pattern collection comes with innovative layouts that all quilters—modern to traditional—will appreciate.

Review: I really enjoyed this fresh approach to writing a quilt book. And hey we can all relate to food! Start by deciding from four menu options, allowing you to customise your project. You start with the Appetiser Menu (six blocks to explore); Tasting Menu (quilt projects to satisfy you cravings); Settings Menu (choose size and layout options) and Dessert Menu (tasty alternatives). I often refer to this book for inspiration or layout ideas. There are so many fun projects it’s hard to choose, but the ‘Crispy Wonton Pillow’ is something I plan to make when I get a chance!

Southwest Modern: From Marfa to New Mexico: 18 Travel-Inspired Quilts

Author: Kristi Schroeder

• Design. Travel. Explore. One part travel-guide and one part sewing-guide equals all parts adventure.

• Modern lines and colours meet ancient motifs in 18 easy-to-piece quilts that reflect the colour and mystery of the Southwestern United States.

• From the rich oranges and reds of Santa Fe to the whites and creams of White Sands, each quilt is artfully photographed on location in one of five Southwest regions from New Mexico to West Texas.

• Sew along with author and avid traveller, Kristi Schroeder, as she leads you on a road trip to some of America's most breathtaking scenic locations.

• Along with detailed piecing and instructions for making the quilts inspired by each destination, Kristi shares her favourite places to shop, eat and explore...inviting you to follow in her footsteps.

• Using landscape as your launchpad, Kristi will help you uncover new fabric palates and beautiful designs which you can expect your own creativity to follow.

Review: This book encompasses two things I love - quilting and travel! You’ll discover a wonderful range of locations and the author’s favourite places to stay, eat and drink. As you read about each location, you’ll then find a quilt design inspired by the natural beauty, architecture or other things encountered in her travels. The photographs shot on location in the Southwestern United States are just breathtaking. The book is truly inspirational and I enjoyed making my version of the Dunes Quilt. Now which one should I make next?

Vintage Quilt Revival: 22 Modern Designs from Classic Blocks

Author's: Katie Clark Blakesley, Lee Heinrich and Faith Jones.

• Vintage Quilt Revival is a resource for quilters of any age or style who love to use today's modern colours and fabrics.

• With fresh quilt layouts, detailed instructions on foundation piecing, and a wide variety of traditional blocks and modern projects, Vintage Quilt Revival is at the forefront of the burgeoning interest in the "traditional-made-modern" movement.

• Join the authors and make 20 traditional quilt blocks. Use them to sew a sampler quilt or explore the authors' tips and modifications for making the blocks fresh and appealing and use them to create quilts with a modern flair. Projects range from full-size quilts to a pillow, table runner, bag, and zipper pouch.

• Learn bits of quilting history throughout the book and see design tips on how to take traditional quilt blocks and piecing techniques and give them a modern spin. If you're already knowledgeable about piecing, basting, quilting, and binding, this book is an essential addition to your library.

Review: This book is a wonderful example of using traditional blocks to make modern quilts. I made the Spiced Chai Quilt for my son and found the instructions clear and easy to follow. I also enjoyed reading the designer notes and the history behind the quilt blocks. If you can’t choose which quilt to make, then make the sampler quilt using all 20 blocks!

The Quilter's Negative Space Handbook: Step-by-Step Design Instruction and 8 Modern Projects

Author: Sylvia Schaefer

• Break down the process of modern quilt design with a scientific approach to design principles.

• Applying the concept of negative space in 8 key ways, you'll start with traditional blocks or quilts and transform them into modern masterpieces, step by step.

• Each chapter teaches skills, such as removing elements or disintegration, with a quilt project for each technique!

• Complete with tips on piecing, choosing fabrics, and machine quilting for an artistic finish, this book has something for every quilter.

Review: I haven’t made any quilts from this book yet, but what I love about this book is how you are guided through a number of practical design techniques, allowing you to experiment with negative space in your quilt designs.

By The Bundle: Turn Precuts into Patchwork with 12 Fat Quarter Friendly Quilts

Author: Emma Jean Jansen

• Do you love collecting fat quarter bundles, but don't know what to do with them, or just leave them looking all beautifully tied up with a ribbon on a shelf in your sewing room?

• Former quilt-shop owner turned fabric designer, Emma Jean Jansen inspires quilters to create her 12 quilts specifically designed to use these popular precuts.

• Whether you are using a collection of fat quarters from a single fabric collection, or from a personal collection of inspired favorites, all of Emma's assembly and cutting directions are written specifically to maximize fat quarters to help you finally put these collections to use.

• Photographed on location in her native Australia, Emma's designs range from beginner-friendly to complex, each appealing to modern and traditional quilters alike.

• So go ahead...untie that ribbon and break into your favorite bundle!

Review: If you’re like me and are a collector of fat quarters, then this book has some gorgeous quilt projects to choose from. I also love all the location photos showcasing not only the beautiful quilts but the Australian scenery. Plus, I like to support other Australian designers! The book is well laid out with plenty of photos and each new quilt project being a chapter of the book. There are finishing instructions and templates at the back of the book. The hardest decision is which one to make! I’ve got my eye on the Butterflies Quilt.