Books I Love

Buying printed quilt books has become less popular in recent years. Several publishing houses have gone out of business. When I have a big sale of my stuff, books are hardly given a glance, even though older books provide much more reference material than current books.

 Here are four books I love and turn to frequently. If I had to pare my library down to the few I absolutely couldn't do without, here they are :

In no particular order:

1. The Art of Classic Quiltmaking by Harriet Hargrave and Sharyn Craig

I often tell beginning students if I could only keep one of my more than 350 books, this is the ONE I would keep. For all the great reference information it provides. This Chapter is on Calculating Yardage: 

There are LOTS of color photos of great quilts--this is one of my most favorite in this book: Sage Tracks. I would like to make this some day. It is used as an example of different Settings and the pattern is not in the book, but I can figure it out:

2. Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns, Third Edition by Barbara Brackman:

This is one book I think every quiltmaker should have, especially if you love to piece as I do. It provides more than 4000 patterns, the historical names for them, when and where they were first published. A wealth of information. This edition introduces color sketches of the blocks which can really help you "see" the design in ways you might miss with a black and white sketch.

There is also a stand-alone software version of this book for your computer, both PC and MAC called Block Base +. It allows you to print out any of these blocks in any size you like. It can be used with Electric Quilt, a quilt design software I would be lost without, but it does not have to be used with EQ--it works separately. 

3. The Quilter's Album of Patchwork Patterns by Jinny Beyer:

I love complex pieced patterns with lots of pieces. Again, more than 4000 blocks. I sit for some time, just turning the pages, making a list of potential blocks for new quilt designs.  It also provides historical information for each block and color sketches as well as drawn line designs: 

Included are two transparency overlays that allow you to see exactly how the blocks are constructed. This is especially helpful for  newer quilters who are not familiar with 5-patch and 7-patch designs. 

4. Let's Stitch a Block a Day, 365 Quilt Block Designs by Natalia Bonner:

I have had my Bernina Q20 sit-down longarm for more than 5 years. I love Ruler Work and have learned a lot from Natalia on YouTube and through her books. I debated too long about buying this book but am glad I did. It is now the first place I look when considering potential designs for quilting: 

Because this is the 21st century, see those QR codes on the pages?  Hover your phone/tablet camera over the one you want and you are taken directly to a short video of that block being stitched. Natalia offered these videos free, one a day for a year, then decided to create this book to save them all in one place. Brilliant!

I can see at a glance a wide variety of designs in a variety of shapes. Very helpful as I master my favorite designs.

Be aware as you search for used books online, sometimes they are priced WAY HIGH on Amazon and other 3rd party resellers. I found a used copy of Jinny Beyer's book online for $104 OR you can buy it directly from the publisher for $49. If a book is out of print, I often contact the author first to see if they have any on hand--often, they do.

And when buying from a 3rd party--do your research. You can find The Art of Classic Quiltmaking online, for less than $20, only to discover when it arrives it is a reprint and only the cover is in color, the entire inside pages are all black and white. Buyer beware.

It's no surprise to me that I am a huge fan of these 5 women, all have added a lot to my quiltmaking journey. I am pleased that I know 4 of them personally and hope to meet Natalia one day, to thank her for what she brings to the quilt world.

If you've been a quilter for years, you probably have your favorite books too. What are they?

Let's quilt.

Barbara