Diane Gilleland

An interesting take on the quilting book. This book went beyond patterns (those were included too), but also attempted to look at why we quilt, what makes us happy about quilting, and the overall creative process. I like the concept of looking at quilting in a deeper way (of overall happiness and the creative process) but in this manifestation it felt forced and overdone. I could have done without many of them. The patterns were good (more modern than my taste, but that is not fault of the authors). The instructions for the patterns were outstanding--some of the best detailed, step by step instructions I've seen for patterns. At the end of the book is an outstanding quilting instruction section that goes over basic quilting skills with great descriptions and detailed photographs.

Overall, the pattern and instructional sections of the book excelled, while the digressions on joy/happiness in quilting were lacking.… (más)

I was drawn to this book because of the patterns inside, but was a little put off by the textbook style design and the "more joyful" theme. There are asides all over the place that remind me of teen mags, but quilting-themed, and honestly the reason it reminds me of teen mags is because I lost interest in little personality quizzes and inspirational habits when I was a teen. This book is all about helping the reader get around artist-block or find new paths to creativity, which is great, but not really want I look for.

That said, I do really love many of the actual quilt patterns inside and would really like a pared down version of the book that focuses strictly on the designs and novel piecing techniques. For example, one quilt is kind of humdrum to me - it's a cross design set into a 3x3 grid of white on red, with the effect of a dozen or so plus signs or Swiss flags. But it is pieced on the diagonal with large HSTs around the 3x3 cross parts instead of square blocks and stripping, which creates an interesting and subtle texture in the background. Another quilt has a similar concept of plus-signs but they are blown up and use the more regular piecing method, which makes a neat contrast, though the two quilts are in different sections and not directly compared.

Other than the textbook/teen mag design and style, I really don't like the little "conversations" between the authors to introduce each quilt pattern. I get the impression that this is fairly standard in quilt books (it's present in the half-dozen or so I've read that had multiple authors), but it's cloying and awkward. Really, I just want to see the quilts and learn new techniques!

Patterns I would like to bookmark to try later, if I hadn't borrowed from the library:
* Elevator Music (I like the oversized graphic design with nested elements)
* Can't Help Myself (I typically don't like quilt designs with a lot of intricate pieces, but this one has a striking kaleidoscopic style that still feels minimalist, thanks to the solid color fabric - I'd like to try it with a limited color palette near to white or dove grey)
* Zig Zag Zig (this one is also an oversized but fairly simple graphic design that plays with patterns, and it uses row-piecing and diamonds, which I love to use)
* Time Stands Still (i love unusual shapes that use big pieces of fabric, and this one is just that with bow-tie or trapezoid sections)
* Talent Show (This one is similar to a lattice but has a neat way piecing triangles onto corners, which I've seen before but really like the effect here - a different lattice, the Patchwork Diamonds, takes a more typical approach with a different look)

Several patterns are fairly standard, or I've seen similar ones many times over, and weren't remarkable to me in the technique or presentation. I wasn't impressed with the fabric choices, either - I think this book is trying to appeal to many different styles of quilters by using a variety of fabric and color types. The authors also included a handful of non-quilt patterns for variety (a pillow, hanging organizer which did inspire me though not to do that specific thing, and a tote bag).… (más)