Tag: Book Review

Yesterday was a travel day for me as I jetted off to the Pacific Northwest for a week of sewing, writing, relaxation, and, yes, some work as well. I arrived in Seattle under clear blue skies and crisp fall temperatures. The pilot announced the temperature and I immediately thought of my cozy Polartec scarf languishing in the scarf/hat/gloves basket at home.

After a minor car confusion, we headed off to begin my vacation. When we arrived at TFQ’s house, I was confronted with a lovely pile of books in which she had gathered together for me to review, peruse, read and flick through.

I have seen a number of these books here and there, but some were new to me, such as A Year of Mornings by Maria Alexandra Vettese. She and her co-author, Stephanie Congdon Barnes have also written  A Year of Evenings.

A Year of Mornings: 3191 Miles Apart by Maria Alexandra Vettese

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
My good friend is a great source of new books.

This book is the culmination of a year long joint blog project in which the authors posted a morning picture each day. I liked the idea of this book. It was mostly pictures and could be a source of inspiration. I can imagine putting a piece of tracing paper over one of the photos and tracing an outline of the shapes to get me started on a quilt.

The photos have a certain color and ‘Shabby Chic’ aesthetic, which I think demonstrates the authors’ style as well as their surroundings.

One thing about this book is that it is a celebration of the every day. There are rumpled beds, half eaten bowls of oatmeal, braids and small children reading Calvin and Hobbes at the breakfast table. I like that about this book, because I, sometimes, think that we look for the special and extraordinary outside of our lives and try to draw it in without looking at the specialness of the every day IN our lives.

TFQ pointed out, in the Gwen Marston book, Abstract Quilts in Solids, that the first line is something like “This is a quilt book for grownups.” I love that line, because she goes on to explain that the book does not have patterns, that it is for inspiration and that most people have simple quilt directions in a myriad of other books. Thank you, Gwen Marston!

I don’t want to give anyone the impression that there is something wrong with patterns, because there isn’t. I don’t, however, want to make a quilt just like someone else’s. Also, I am not capable of it. Did you read the wine bag post? Typical of me to change the pattern out of the gate! I know this is an issue that I go on about often. I am still trying to find the right words to express my feelings about patterns, which seem to be complicated!

Quilting Art: Inspiration, Ideas & Innovative Works from 20 Contemporary Quilters by Spike Gillespie

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
To say that I read this book would be just a bit of stretching the truth. I read parts of this book and scanned others.

Letter to the publisher and author: To Whom it May Concern: please write and publish other books like this. I love the lush colors and descriptions of the processes that the artists go through to produce their quilts. Thank you for not including patterns by each of the artists as I do not want to reproduce to their work. You have provided spectacular inspiration for me and I greatly appreciate it. I look forward to perusing this book further and frequently. Sincerely, JL.

This is a book of artists and their work. Among the artists are Pam Rubert, Lisa Call, Jane Burch Cochran, Deidre Adams, Joanie San Chiraco and others I had never heard of such as Joan Dreyer, Angela Moll and Boo Davis.

Each artist is pictured, along with her quilts and, in some cases, her studio, her sketchbook or her surroundings. Details of the pieces are in abundance. The processes of the artists are described as well. The artists talk about how they get their ideas, how they got to where they are and, additionally, where they are going.The reader gleans some hints about the personal lives of the artists as manifested in the work. One of Lisa Call’s pieces, Structures #10 is colloquially referred to as her divorce quilt. There is a definitely a story there.

The detail shots are great. In some cases you can see the stitching up close and personal, which I love.

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Quilters Guild Collection: Contemporary Quilts, Heritage Inspiration by Bridget Long

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
While this book does have projects, the focus seems to be on looking at artists’ process and inspiration. In this case antique quilts were selected by various British artists from the collection of the Quilters’ Guild of the British Isles. Each artist selected elements from the quilts and went through the process of making a new piece inspired by the old quilt. One point I picked up is that the author, in conjunction with the selected artists, was trying to encourage people to look at quilts and elements in quilts in order to give confidence to people in designing their own pieces (rather than using a pattern).

There are different techniques discussed. One quilt, Up the Stairs (pg.5) is covered with trees. The branches of the trees are highlighted with white circles in the background. The half circles in the background really make the branches stand out, without the white screaming for attention. There are a number of fabulous examples of quilting. The quilting in the Triple X Quilt (pg.21) has the most wonderful feathers, and a great stylized egg shaped pattern in the inner border.

Within the first two pages, the author talks about keeping a sketchbook/journal with things that inspire in it. As the book progressed, there was a lot of information about process.  I liked reading about different artists and the process they went through to create their new piece. The book talks about being inspired by old quilts rather than dismissing them out of hand as too old.

I really enjoyed the descriptions of the process some of the designers went through. Dinah Travis’s sketchbook is laid out and included, page by page, which really gives insight into her design and quiltmaking process. Hilary Richardson does something in her process that I would like to try. “When Hilary begins a quilt on a specific theme, she seeks clues in the dictionary definitions of words connected to the theme. She will often make a list words and topics that relate to the theme. She then collects photographs, cuttings and printed material…” (pg.57-58).

One of my favorite artists, Laura Kemshall is also included in this book.

There are sidebars that discuss various topics related to the quilt in the chapter. Many of these sidebars discuss historical aspects of British history.

I would love to see the Electric Quilt Company look at historic quilts, like the 1718 Silk Patchwork Coverlet (pg.7), and create patterns in their software for these pieces.

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After listening to the tote bag episode of the Quilted Cupcake podcast, I went to the Library and checked out a couple of books on tote bags. They didn’t have the Lexie Barnes books, but they had the title below and another, called Bag Bazaar.
Simply Sublime Bags: 30 No-Sew, Low-Sew Projects by Jodi Kahn

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I really only glanced through this book as it is due at the library, but it was a thorough glance! Sadly, I am not going to have much time to get to know it intimately before I have to bring it back. One of the things I like about it is the tone in which the author writes. Her introduction is really nice in that she tells the story of her sewing life.

As with many project books, there are a few projects that I really like and others that I would never make. Still, Jodi Kahn talks about the project in a conversational way. She tells the reader why he is having them do things and gives tips about the materials. There is an undertone of encouragement in the writing, which I like.

I also like the novel materials that she uses. One thing that I thought was a great idea was the t-shirt bag. She uses Duct tape a interfacing, which I think is ingenious.

Definitely worth a look.

Bag Bazaar: 25 Stylish Bags to Sew in an Afternoon by Megan Avery

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I mentioned the introduction in my review of Simply Sublime Bags 30 No Sew Low Sew Projects as being one of the highlights of that book. In this book, the introduction is perfunctory and fairly generic. However there is a section on basic bag making techniques, which I think I really stellar. I especially like the part on creating zippered pockets and making gussets. These hints are very useful!

My favorite project is the Bailey Baby Tote. I don’t have a baby, but it could be modified very slightly to make the pattern into a nice messenger type bag. I saw a similar bag in Amy Butler‘s Little Stitches, but didn’t want to buy that book for one project. This is a suitable substitute.

I also like the Mooney wine tote. It would be wonderful for gifts of wine. I’ll see about making one of those a well.

There are lovely drawings in this book, but no photographs. One shortcoming, which is common in bag books, is that there are not enough detail shots. I want to see what the inside looks like, what the outside pockets look like, what the back looks like, etc.

Megan Avery has really thought through her projects and I found there to be a lot of useful bag types in this book.

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A Single Thread by Marie Bostwick

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Evelyn is having a rough year and this book doesn’t sugar coat her problems. The book is about how Evelyn gets help getting over that rough year, which includes opening her quilt shop. The difficulties she encounters seem like real difficulties that any normal person could encounter. The way she resolves the issues seem like real resolutions as well.

I really enjoyed this book and I think it may be a book that I would want to read again. I enjoyed the sections about the Quilt Pink project, because I think it gets a great project out to people who may not know much about the quilt world. I also thought the book incorporated the quilt aspect very well without shoving it down the readers’ throat. I think this tactic wold make this book appeal to people who are not quiltmakers.

It is a typical feel good chick-lit book, but is written with depth and doesn’t seem to include any affectations. I like books about real people where the things that happen to them seem like they could have really happened. There is a scene or two which made me raise my eyebrow, but this is still a great page turner and doesn’t dwell too much on the medical aspects. I enjoyed the way the characters learned from and helped each other. I want to read about these characters again. I hope Marie Bostwick doesn’t make the mistake that Jennifer Chiaverinni makes when she recounts the previous 3,4 or 5 books to catch readers up with the story. That tactic makes the books seem repetitive.

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Terri Thayer, author of Wild Good Chase, Old Maid’s Puzzle and, the latest in her Dewey Pellicano series,  Ocean Waves, has written in her recent blog post at Killer Hobbies, about a book called Comfort Quilts, which has projects specifically designed to provide comfort and give away.

This isn’t the kind of book that I would normally be drawn to purchase. I am pleased that I got a little exposure to it. It reminded me that it might be time to share some of my good fortune. Also, it occured to me that my Grama may appreciate some patterns since, at 87, many of her friends might be able to use a walker bag or a lap quilt. Her birthday is coming and I might buy it for her as a gift.

In honor of Quilt National 2009 opening soon, I finally wrote the book review for QN 2007 from Lark Books.
Quilt National 2007: The Best of Contemporary Quilts by Lark Books

My review

rating: 2 of 5 stars
I have to admit that I have a love-hate relationship with Quilt National. I love the idea. I often intensely dislike the quilts the jurors choose.

In this year’s work, I love the photos, but, in general, my initial reaction was that the quilts look the same: lots of squares intersected with a square or another piece of fabric. I felt like I was judging the book too harshly, so to be fair, I went back and read the entire book and scrutinized each quilt and thought about them.

The jurors, Tim Harding, Robin Treen and Paul Nadelstern (whose work I greatly admire), seemed not to be as motivated by notions of beauty or status as they were intrigued by the possibilities of transformation.

Nelda Warkentin’s quilt, Harmony, has a calming ocean-like feel to it. Part of her description/artist’s statement includes the words “quiet, flowing movements,” which I think describes the quilt very well.

Spring Cascade by Virginia Abrams reminds me of calming fences and certain motifs in my my quilt The Tarts Come to Tea. Next to Abrams’ quilt is Dress Circle by Thelma McGough, a black and white piece with umbrella reminiscent motifs. Although it is made up of photos, it retains its quilt-like quality.

Weeks Ringle also has a piece, Tankini, in this book. Hearing the name and looking at the piece don’t mesh instantly, but the concept comes together after a bit of gazing. I love his piece because of the simple lines and the fact that she uses commercial cottons in an innovative technique. It isn’t just the type of fabric she uses, though. The simplicity does not mean simplistic. I think that there is a lot to look at in this quilt.

I am not a fan of realistic faces made into quilts. They freak me out for some reason, but Kristin Tweed has created a successful quilt in #42 Big Head Series: The Gladiator. One successful part of the success of this quilt is the lack of quilting on the face.

There are some good designs in this book. Mostly they are simple, linear designs. There is more digital photography manipulated into blocks and quilts than I remember from the past.

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Ocean Waves by Terri Thayer

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
You cannot blast through this book. I did and I didn’t understand it at all, which meant that I turned back to page one and started over as soon as I finished it. Terri once told me that every word has to count so writers these days prune, prune, prune. I may have realized that with her other two books, Old Maid’s Puzzle and Wild Goose Chase, but it came home to me with this book when I knew the killers and didn’t understand the ending.

Dewey’s character is developing and I like to be able to see that in the book. I also enjoyed seeing her develop as a quiltmaker and am glad she didn’t bail on her class.

Terri has a knack for characters I love to intensely dislike and this book was no exception. One was a control freak and the other had a huge chip on his/her shoulder. I am glad I won’t be seeing THEM again.

This was a pretty exciting book. The ending was fabulous. Terri did not fulfill my fantasy of killing off Kym, but I liked what Terri did with Kym in terms of moving her along with her life. I would have liked a little more background on what has gone in Kym’s life since she was fired from QP, especially since, despite Dewey’s heroics, Kym doesn’t move beyond her self centeredness.

The sad part about books, though, is that we only get a few days of Dewey’s life and I could really use more. Perhaps Terri should write a blog by Dewey…in her copious amounts of spare time!

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Bead One, Pray Too: A Guide to Making and Using Prayer Beads by Kimberly Winston

My review

I heard about this on the CraftSanity podcast and it sounded really interesting, so I borrowed it from the library. The author said that she gave an inroduction to a variety of religions in the course of the book and crafting sounds like a great way to learn about religions of the world!

An Illustrated Life: Drawing Inspiration From The Private Sketchbooks Of Artists, Illustrators And Designers by Danny Gregory

My review

Danny Gregory has been recommended to me many times, especially by Amy of the Creative Mom podcast, a very creative and high quality podcast. I bought the book she uses as her bible (it sounds like), The Creative License after I had reserved An Illustrated Life at the library. Of course I received them all the same week. I think that this book will be by the Jennifer New book, Drawing From Life: The Journal as Art, but I will let you know after I have given it a thorough going over!

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Inspiration Odyssey: A Journey of Self-Expression in Quilts by Diana Swim Wessel

rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is one of best books about creativity I have ever read. This book was written when quilt book publishers still thought that quiltmakers had brains and didn’t insist on spoon feeding us repetitive patterns with no challenge or thought required. Diana Swim Wessel takes the reader through a variety of exercises to get those creative juices flowing. Useful for more than just quiltmakers as the exercises and ideas apply to a variety of different artistic endeavors. I am very sorry that this was her only book and she seems to have disappeared.

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