Tag: Book Review

Bojagi & Beyond by Chunghie Lee

This book was sent to me by Karen Searle at the publisher, Beyond & Above, after I offered to review it. This edition is, apparently, the revised edition of Bojagi and Beyond published in 2010 and has new material added.

Being the tactile person that I am, the first thing I noticed was the paper. The cover isn’t as thick as other paperback/trade paperback covers of books I have reviewed, but the paper used for the pages has a thick and pleasant feel.

The first pages of the book talk about BoJaGi outside of Korea as well as some inspirations. Since I didn’t know what BoJaGi was before I read this book, I wished that the first part would have included an explanation. The author got around to it after a bit, never fear!

The introduction describes classes at the Rhode Island School of Design and how those students took the art form further and made it their own. “While these classes and workshops outside Korea have produced work to convey ideas and personal expression, the same is largely true of the work made over the centuries by women in traditional Korean households. While those makers practiced the craft as a means to fill a practical need for special ceremonial textiles, they also saw it as an outlet for their artistic and spiritual expression.” (pg.iv) This reminds me of what people say about quilts. In both instances the need for something practical provided an opportunity for women to express themselves when they had few other ways to do so. This is also another example of people from different backgrounds and cultures being more alike than different.

The introduction and foreword applaud the author for her work with students and how that work influenced work in other countries and in other textile disciplines.

The true introduction (called Introduction), was written by Chunghie Lee herself, does describe what BoJaGi are and mentions that a related form called ChoGakBo which involves patchwork. Truly, however, the introduction is a mini-bio of the author’s achievements.

The table of contents comes next and tells the reader that there are many different kinds of Korean wrappings. We glean that some are especially used for events like weddings or for covering a table for a meal, but most of the table of contents leads the reader to making and designing these wraps.

The history of BoJaGi includes their usefulness, a reflection on the lives of Korean women and when and why the tradition of making and using BoJaGi was established (pg.1). The book discusses the oldest BoJaGi in Korea (pg.3) and how they were used in the royal court. In this section ChoGakBo and other varieties of BoJaGi are also described (pg.5). This section says that the wrappings “are named according to function: OpBo are large BoJaGi used to wrap large items such as bedding. SangGo are lined with oiled paper and used as food covers” (pg.5), etc. There is a long description of the usefulness of BoJaGi, which make me look at my Tupperware cabinet with a speculative eye. Colors and symbols are also covered (pg.7) in this section, which is well illustrated with examples of the cloths and symbols.

Examples are shown of the various types of wrappings in the next part. This section is illustrated with watercolor illustrations and I got an image in my mind’s eye of a pile of fabric wrapped gifts at a wedding or other major (graduation?) event (pg.14-15).

In the food covering section, different types of handles are shown, also as watercolor illustrations. These handles could be adapted and used for tote bags, I think.

A gallery of works by Chunghie Lee is included in the book. Many of the pieces are installation pieces and shown in situ (pg.24-25, etc). One outdoor installation piece reminds me of Christo and Jeanne-Claude (pg.60-61). I particularly like the journal shown on page 28. it reminds me of fabric journals I have made in the past. These works, in general, are different in influence, but do not look very different from some art quilts. A number of the works have embroidery stitches and screen printing (or similar). Chunghie Lee uses images of women’s faces on many of her pieces and this practice makes me think of honoring the anonymous women who have made other textiles such as quilts, table linens, pillowcases, etc. She also expanded into kimono shaped robes and other types of wearables, though I hesitate to call the pieces wearables. They may be normal, if large, BoJaGi draped over people (pg.44-59).

The first part of the ‘how-to’ section centers on using a BoJaGi. The illustrations are drawn and show how to wrap and object, including a decorative knot (pg.78-79). Making a basic BoJaGi is a logical next section (starting on pg.80) and includes photos of the product, drawings of the supplies and sizes in both English and metric systems. The process is simple and similar to finishing a quilt without batting in the envelope style. Directions for making the tie are also provided (pg.82), which is immediately followed by some ideas for making the tie more decorative (pg.83). Again, my mind raced to making tote bags more decorative with something like these ties. The directions for other types of specialty BoJaGi are also shown and include pictures. I can see a transformation of the display of gifts for the holidays when you use your plentiful fabric to make these BoJaGi and wrap all of your gifts in them!

A section on embellishing starts on page 105. One of the embellished Bojagi shown looks like a Cathedral Window quilt (pg.109). Another embellishment looks like prairie points (pg.111). The wedding embroidery KiLeoKi (pg.112) are very beautiful and provide a lot of inspiration.

As with many books sold today, there are projects included. The directions for the 5 projects start on page 121. The wall hangings don’t look very different from some modern or art quilts, but the other items have a distinctive Korean flair. In general, they have a different aesthetic than other projects in other books.

The final section is about designing for BoJaGi and the thing I liked about it was that the author asks you to consider your materials in a different way. One thing she says is “consider scale in the repetition of elements (pg.138)”, which makes me think of the design series.

There is a lot to look at in this book as well as a lot of inspiration to be had. I would recommend you take a look at it.

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Circle Pizzazz: 12 Vibrant Quilt Projects Easy Curves Endless Possibilities by Judy Sisneros

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I saw quilts made with this design at the San Mateo County Fair. One in particular, a black and white with turquoise beauty, grabbed my attention and inspired me to want to make one. From reading the first few pages, I thought that learning this technique might be better in a class than through a book. Towards the end, I got the idea and feel I could make some blocks using the book as a guide.

The book starts with a short introduction and some information on tools, supplies and fabric. This introduction makes it clear that quiltmakers will be sewing curved seams. Sisneros gets me on her side by admitting that the Winding Paths block is actually, historically, called The Snake Tail block and explains why she changed it for her purposes. I appreciated her honesty and her reasoning.

The project part of the book follows the introduction with making the original Winding Paths block. All the blocks in the book start with this block. Sisneros goes over trimming the block including her Secret of 4 and 6, which is actually a helpful tip that makes sense.

The project section of the book is, first, broken down into numbers of blocks- 12, 20, 36, etc for the original Winding Paths block. In this section, one thing I like is that she gives you the tools to make the quilts (teaching how to make the blocks), but then just shows what is possible when making the quilt. She doesn’t give every step for every quilt and she acknowledges that it is impossible to make an exact duplicate of her quilt. She makes the quiltmaker think a bit and I appreciate her assumption that quiltmakers have brains. Cutting directions and fabric requirements are included for the quilts in the Winding Paths block section.

The information on making the Circle Pizzazz block is a little less clear. I believe, from the images that the maker sews the D-E combination to the A block after it is made. This specific instruction seems to be left out, but makes sense from looking at the photos and the rest of the directions as well as the result.

The making of the Circle Pizzazz block section is, again, followed by a series of projects using this new block. It was a little hard for me to understand where to put fabrics I wanted to show up as a focus or featured fabric. The line drawings made this part easier. This section also has fabric requirements and cutting instructions.

I think that with all that curved piecing, I would want the piecing to stand out more and, thus, would use more contrasting fabrics. Ms. Sisneros’ quilts often have blendy fabrics that obscure the piecing. This might be a good strategy as you get better at the technique, but it is difficult to see the piecing when you are a beginner. There are a number of quilts on Google (type in snake tail quilt) so you can see the original block.

The Circle Pizzazz blocks are followed up with the Interlocking Circle Pizzazz block. This block adds a few more pieces to get a different look. The directions for the block are followed by projects. This book has plenty of illustrations and images, which makes understanding the concepts easier.

The book also includes a section on using the leftover pieces cut away when making the three other blocks. It is a nice idea as some quiltmakers might consider the cutaway pieces waste. I wasn’t particularly enamored with any of the projects shown. Of course, it all depends on the fabric, so YMMV.

I received this book as a gift in eBook form. I was excited because I didn’t have to devote my non-existent shelf space to another book. I started reading the book and also realized I couldn’t make copies of or print out the templates either. I will try a few things and see what works, but I can see this being a problem with the eBook version.

The book includes a gallery of student work. Transparency by Jeanette Pohl is one of my favorites. I like the way the background shows through some parts of the quilt.

The quilt I first saw and liked turns out to be in the gallery. It is by Rose Marie Hackett and called Black, White & Blue By You. The turquoise goes so well with the black and white and the combination really shows off the pattern.

Trails of Confusion by Teresa Williams is also very interesting, because of how the center pattern continues, partially, out into the border.

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Scrap-Basket Beauties: Quilting with Scraps, Strips, and Jelly Rolls by Kim Brackett

There are a number of things about this book that do not fit into my definition of a perfect book, but I like it anyway.

I like the colors on the cover. They are cheerful and drew me in. The colors of the projects pictured in the book are fresh and also cheerful. I also like the fact that Kim Brackett admits that “not all fabrics work well together in a scrap quilt.” Hallelujah. Some authors insist a maker can put anything into a project and end up with a beautiful quilt. I simply do not agree. I find that seeing the words in print make me feel validated.

This book talks about using 2.5″ strips and pre-cuts. I don’t, usually, buy pre-cuts, but I have a ruler and a rotary cutter and have the ability to cut as many 2.5″ strips and squares as I want to make these quilts.

After a short introduction, the author provides into a lot of information about 2.5″ strips. The bottom line is that the reader does not have to buy pre-cuts; s/he has to have fabric and scraps. From those s/he can make the quilts in this book.

The section also includes information on strip swaps and ‘strip clubs.’

Hard on the heels of the 2.5″ strip section is the ubiquitous ‘Basic Quiltmaking Instructions (pg. 11).’ The information found in this section is basic and, mostly, a review. Still, it is always useful to be reminded how to avoid cutting a V in a fabric strip. Aside from the normal “how to sew a quilt together’, this section also includes a little about chain piecing and Folded-Corner Units (like Flying Geese). There are charts to fill in on creating Side-Border Strips and Top- and Bottom-Border Strips.

Quilt patterns start on pg. 20 with a peach confection called Sanctuary. This is primarily made with four patches within four patches. The patterns could do with alternate color ways on the last page of the pattern to spread the wealth of the information. Scrap-Basket Trail is one of those quilts that would appeal to many more people if the brown and reproduction backgrounds were removed and the quilt was shown in, say, pinks.

Cross My Heart (pg.30) looks really great in various Bonnie & Camille fabrics. Hourglass (pg.36) is bright and cheerful and pretty interesting in the piecing department. Almost all of the patterns have something intriguing about them.

One of my favorite patterns is Beachside Bungalow. I love the rings and the colors. I also like the grey used in the background. My absolute favorite pattern, which I intend to make…sometime, is the Triple Star. some of its charm comes from the scrappiness, but it is also an interesting block with a lot of pieces. I also really like the blue background.

No index and a brief table of contents.

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1001 Patchwork Designs by Maggie Malone

This is a bit of a cheap date review for a couple of reasons: little text, old book, iffy quality. Since I have been talking about blocks and their structure I am going for it.

I don’t know why or when I originally bought this book, but it was awhile ago. The publication date in my copy is 1981. The age and some of what the author says makes me think it may not have the same level of scholarly research that the Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilts or Jinny Beyer‘s The Quilter s Album of Patchwork Patterns. This is not a bad book, but I think, at the time, the provenance of blocks may not have been considered important AND there is nothing about where the author got her information I don’t think anybody thought it was important, but this book may have been a step in the direction that ended up as the two books mentioned above. There is a bibliography at the end, but no footnotes or reference notes.

The books starts with an introduction in which the author describes her theory of teaching as well as a bit about the book and block structure. The introduction also directs the reader to a section on drafting.

This book has one of the best lines about drafting I have ever read, “The major advantage of being able to draft a pattern is the flexibility it allows you in designing a quilt.” The section goes on to enumerate the variety of ways knowing how to draft a pattern can help you in your quiltmaking. It was awesome to read why drafting is important. While I prefer to draft blocks in EQ, knowing how to draft really helps in the process and in designing quilts in general. The thing I like about this section is the practical tips on how to use the drawings in the book to start learning about drafting. There is an example of some of the math that is useful.

After a couple of pages of introduction and the few pages on drafting, there is a very little additional text in the middle of the book. All the rest of the book is comprised of pictures of blocks until a few sections at the end of the book. I actually like this, because I have enough text in my life and sometimes I want to just look at blocks. I tend to focus on the text, and skim the photos, so little to no text is better in this kind of book. I also like it that the blocks are black and white, mostly line drawings. It keeps the distractions minimal.

Towards the end of the book, there are the ‘obligatory’ pages on Determining the Quilt Size, Fabric Requirements, Quilting and Setting the Top. The final pages of the book include a bibliography and index.

In looking through the book, I saw a lot of blocks that are now showing up in the Modern Movement, such as some of the circle blocks (pg.192-193) so popular in quilts now such as The Circle Game. The #854, the Rising Sun, looks pretty familiar as well. The Snowball Wreath, #974, is also shown, though none of these blocks have any piecing directions. This is an inspiration book only and you have to know how to draft in order to use these blocks. Of course, there are directions elsewhere on the web.

I hadn’t ‘read’ the book in a while. It called to me when I was looking for blocks to suggest to TFQ. When I pulled it off the shelf I was pleased to see that the blocks were divided into section by the structure of the blocks, as mentioned before. When I started looking through the first section, I had to wonder if all of the blocks were categorized in their proper structure? One I wonder about is #274, Golda, Gem Star. I can see where it could have a Nine Patch structure, but I still wonder. It is not listed in the index of Beyer’s book, though I see blocks that look similar in Beyer’s 5×5 Base Grid category. After doing some additional research, I found this block on Pinterest and in BlockBase under the same name with #2741 from the Brackman book. Also, there is a reference to QNM 1978. This block makes me wonder where she got her information. The blocks are great and that is just my librarian brain.

This book is really good inspiration and a great start to the drafting of blocks.

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Quilt Color Workshop by Fat Quarterly

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

When I started this book I loved it. The color theory section is well illustrated and explains color theory well.

When I got past the academic part of the color theory I was disappointed.

Then I looked carefully at the color sections and liked the book again.

Thus, this is a solid ‘3’ in the 1-5 scale.

There are four pages of color theory in this book, which I thought was great as I went through those pages. Then, l I realized that four pages was all there was on color theory. A cursory look told me that there was only block and quilt patterns after the 4 pages of color theory and I was disappointed. The book was basically a pattern book. Still I soldiered on and found that the authors had cleverly tied the color theory pages to the patterns and that made the entire book into more of a workbook than a 4 page color theory pamphlet with block patterns.

In the color theory sections all of the types of color combinations are explained using quilt blocks and semi-real fabric designs. This technique makes color theory more relevant for quiltmakers, because most of the use involves patterned fabric, in different scales. To that end the authors write “Value is a measure of how light or dark a colour is. Saturation is the level of black, grey or white in a color, ranging for pastel to a full-intensity colour right with pigment. With a patterned fabric you can have the same colour, but the amount of white present will affect how light or dark the fabric ‘reads.’ ” This is relevant for quiltmakers, because many, many fabrics are made up from more than one color. Often white is included in the fabric to create a design.

The authors also say “One of the problems for quilters is that colour theory is mainly used for describing the relationship of solid colours, or the mixing of them. The huge variety of patterned fabrics with multiple colours creates some interesting problems.” The Fat Quarterly and the authors have hit the nail on the head with this statement. You can see from my Fabric of the Year quilts that creating gradation is not that easy with quilt fabrics. the first problem is that   you can’t physically mix them, but secondarily, because you cannot guarantee that they will be solid. Quiltmakers, notoriously, love brightly and colored fabric.

The book explains the color relationships in multicolored fabrics and how to create a quilt using one of the color schemes described in the color theory section and the color wheel. Examples of current fabrics (pg.11) are included.

The short section on color theory is followed by a Color Wheel Quilt pattern, then by various pattern sections organized by color. Each section has a series of blocks colored in different ways and labeled with the type of color scheme it is. Larger projects and home decor projects are also included.  I like this idea for a few reasons.
1. the reader can see what blocks look like when colored in different ways.
2. the coloration of the blocks supports the section on color theory (pg.7-11) in a very graphic and overt way.
3. the made up examples of blocks using different fabrics added to the support of the color theory and difference in how the blocks look.

After the blocks in each section are a few patterns, some of quilts, some of studio and home decor patterns. The format follows for all the of the colors: blocks first, then quilts or home decor projects. The projects and blocks are based on classical patterns, but venture off in their own direction. The blocks are interesting and the quilts are a bit off the beaten path. there are a wide variety of projects that would appeal to all different kinds of people.

The last section is a few pages on techniques. One or two paragraphs describe a multitude of different techniques used to make a quilt. Photos from the various projects illustrated the section providing continuity. There is a conversion chart from English and metric systems to inches in this section. I can imagine that this would come in handy in the future.

There is a pattern section in the back with full sized patterns. You will have to put pieces together that are too large for an 8 1/2 x 11 page.

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Quilty as Charged: Undercover in a Material World by Spike Gillespie

This is a hard book to categorize. When I borrowed it from the Library, I thought it was a mystery. When I started to read it, I thought it was a memoir. As I read it, I realized it was full interviews. The only thing I can call this book is a memoir full of interviews. I am okay with it not being a mystery, but I wish there had been more memoir, influenced by the interviews.

I thought the interviews were, mostly, out of context, not to mention poorly edited. In some cases the interviews were repetitive and nearly incomprehensible. I know that the author was trying to give us a sense of the voice of the interviewees, but I would have rather had more editing.

People say what they think, often, but not always as clearly as they would if they had the opportunity for a second draft. I think Ms. Gillespie should have cleaned up the stream of consciousness. I don’t think it adds to the book and verges on distraction.

With that criticism out there, the interviews were interesting. It was nice to read about Ricky Tims’ background and how he got started. One quote from his interview, which sticks in my mind is “So whatever I was doing in my freeness as an ignoramus, I ended up leaving that behind so I could learn to do it right. I went into the box, I learned to do it right, and for years that’s the way I sewed. (pg.47)” Later, he follows up with “Once he mastered traditional quilting-the technique for which he wins awards-he revisited his original style and began teaching classes in which he encourage students to cut without the aid of rulers.” These two quotes warm my heart, because they show that knowing how to perform accurate work (I won’t say “piece the right way”) matters and had value as does styles like Tims’ Caveman style.

Later, the interview with Tims has him saying “I wanted to learn to do it right. There were two reasons why I wanted to do it right. Number one, I wanted to challenge myself to excel. Why do things halfway? Number two, I think, comes into the dynamic I really often want to play down-that I’m a guy in a woman-dominated field. Because of that, I thought there was a need in me to excel, because my work was going to scrutinized more.So I needed to do a better job so that if they looked at, I had a little more respect. Now that’s a blanket statement; that not everybody. (pg.51)”

Quotes like the above and gems about Gillespie’s life make the book worthwhile.

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