Oct/Nov 10
Throughout this book you will explore the techniques Eileen has used to create the beautiful quilt featured on the front cover, which was originally submitted to an exhibition entitled 'Japanese Imagery in Contemporary Quilts' organised by the directors of Kokusai Art and Nihon Vogue of Tokyo. Simple and comprehensive instructions have been included for the applique of the iris, camellia, hydrangea, blossom, water lilies, chrysanthemum, wisteria, roses and peony. The book contains beautiful illustrations and very helpful hints for creating the very best results in machine applique.
* Fabrications *
Sept 10
A quilt of 20 blocks appliqued with beautiful realistic flowers, such as iris, water lilies and peonies, together with 3D butterflies and embroidered maple leaves. The silk flowers are applied with fusible web and backed with iron on stabiliser. The flowers are outlined with satin stitching and have detailed instructions telling how to achieve the correct size stitches and tension. The author recommends making practise samples for each area, recording stitch size, thread, tension etc, before beginning. There are outline drawings of the flowers to be photocopied and enlarged. Each of these exquisite motifs is photographed in colour and could be made individually.
* Patchwork & Quilting *
Sept 10
Inside this book is the pattern to make a most glorious quilt, inspired by the author's visits to Japan and entered for a Japanese exhibition. It depicts the flowers associated with that country; waterlillies, camellias, irises, chrysanthemums, peonies and more. Here too is how to make it yourself.
This is a very hands-on book that jumps straight in and tells you what you need to buy, what sewing machine feet to use, what size of needle and other important things as simply as possible. If you are a beginner at quilting and applique then this book is not for you; you don't have to be very experienced to make it but this is not a book of beginners' instructions. Each block is shown individually, but to acquaint you first with the method and how to use double-sided fusible webbings there is a staged example. Not staged as in lots of photographs and steps, but showing how to break up the design, transfer it and what it looks like cut out in fabric, and then stitched. This made the rest of the book remarkably easy to tackle in my opinion, and all you then need is access to a computer (which you already have or you wouldn't be reading this) and a graphics program to enlarge some patterns. Large scale diagrams show where to put the accent stitching that brings the blooms to life, and smaller diagrams show how to combine the shapes. Towards the back of the book the patterns get smaller and more complex, but by then you should have mastered how it is done and be up for a bit of a challenge. There are also instructions on cutting the rest of the material to make up the quilt, and how to put it all together. At the very back is a short glossary of terms, so the project should not be too advanced for anybody who has had a bit of experience in this type of thing before. The finished result is beautiful, and the whole slim volume is beautifully simple and direct to work from.
* Myshelf.com *
