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

My Favorite Quilt Books

I learned to quilt in 1985, before the Internet. It was possible, just different from the way many quilters learn today. There were a few books and lots of magazines. I learned a lot from magazines and began to buy books--I was very much a self-taught quilter in those early years.Over time I have accumulated a substantial library, almost 400 titles.

To be able to find the book I am looking for, they are filed alphabetically on these great IKEA bookcases in several categories: Amish, Applique', Children's Books, Clothing, Color, Design, Embellishment, Handwork, History, Miniatures, Pieced, Quilting, and Reference. By far, the largest number of books are in the Pieced category. And, yes, I have a spreadsheet.

When I tried to select my Top 10--the books I would keep until the very end--I just could not limit it to 10. So, here are my Top 15 Favorite Quilt Books.

15. Quilting: Patchwork and Applique' A Sunset Book

This is the first book I bought. It came from Hechinger's, a big-box store like  Lowes in Northen Virginia. I can still remember reading it, and trying to understand the difference between "Patchwork" and "Quilting". For sentimental reasons, this is a keeper.

14. An Amish Adventure by Roberta Horton

This is the first book ever published by C&T Publishing. First published in 1983, it is still available today from their website as a print-on-demand title. I bought my copy in 1987, when my small guild, the Virginia Star Quilters of Fredericksburg, VA offered a weekly "class"--we met and worked on quilts from this book. I saw my first quilt as a 10 year old when my Girl Scout troop made a visit to Lancaster County, PA. I was smitten right then but it would be 20 more years before I began my quilting journey. I think it is time to start a similar "class"--solids are very popular again--Amish, the first Modern quilters.

13. Patchwork Patterns by Jinny Beyer

As a new quilter, I was in awe of this cover quilt, "Ray of Light" by Jinny Beyer. I clearly remember saying "Some day I want to be able to make a quilt like this." Years later, when I realized I was making a lot of Medallion-style quilts, I knew exactly where my inspiration came from. I am a huge fan of Jinny's and have been able to "talk quilt" with her many times. This book discusses hand piecing but designing and cutting out patchwork blocks is pretty much the same for machine piecing, the method I  use most often. This book is full of great blocks--it opened my eyes to quilt design.

12. Clues in the Calico by Barbara Brackman

First published in 1989, I got mine about that time. It began my love affair with Quilt History, which in many ways is Women's History, and introduced me to the process of dating old quilts from their fabrics and patterns. In 1988 I bought my first old quilt top and later had it dated to about 1875 by Merikay Waldvogel, an expert in quilt history too. Using this book, I could see why she came up with that date. I have read this book cover-to-cover and learn something new each time I pick it up.

11. Heirloom Machine Quilting by Harriet Hargrave

Harriet made it OK to quilt our quilts by machine. I took classes from her in 1994, now I lived in Alabama and our guild, the Heritage Quilters of Huntsville, brought wonderful teachers for several workshops a year. I was making more quilt tops than I could hand-quilt so the "idea" of machine quilting was appealing. It's harder than it looks and I'm still learning to do adequate machine quilting. This book really helped me understand the process and provided lots of design ideas.

10. The Art of Machine Piecing and Drafting for the Creative Quilter, both by Sally Collins

The most professional quilt teacher I have ever taken a class from is Sally Collins. Besides being well-prepared in class, she really knows her stuff and makes the process of precise piecing understandable. "Drafting" scares quilters, but it's just a word for drawing a pattern and determining how to cut it out so the pieces fit together. I often tell my students "If you had known you were going to be a quilter, you would have paid more attention in Geometry class." I love "quilter's math" and the precise way patterns are created by color and cloth. These two books are like a Master's Class is quilt design. Have to keep them both.

9. Floral Applique' by Nancy Pearson

In 1989 my guild brought Nancy Pearson to teach needle-turn applique'. I was a convert right then, and loved everything about her beautiful designs. She was also one of the sweetest women I've ever met. She helped me with a quilt design I was working on in 2005, using one of her patterns as a starting point. It is one of my favorite quilts, partly because we discussed it during the design stage. I have taken many applique' classes since, but her love of beautiful applique' got me started.

8. The Quilter's Practical Guide to Color by Becky Goldsmith

I have several books on color--this is the one I have read cover-to-cover and have taught from. Many quilters struggle with "color theory" and think they are no good at color if they don't have an art background. This book makes basic concepts easy to understand and provides simple projects that teach those concepts.

7. All-in-One Rotary Cutting Magic by Nancy Johnson-Srebro

This little reference book is a great companion to Nancy's other books: Measure the Possibilities and Rotary Magic. The rotary cutter changed everything about quiltmaking and I am convinced it is the reason we have come so far. If we still had to cut out all our pieces by hand with scissors, most of us would not be quilters. This teaches "quilters math" in an easy way--whatever shape you want to cut out, from squares to trapezoids and prisms, you can easily see how to cut those shapes accurately. 

6. Oh, Scrap! by Lissa Alexander

One of the most recent books I've bought, this one stays because there are several quilts in it I want to make. The subtitle "Fabulous Quilts that make the most of your Stash" says it all--I have a stash and I want to make fabulous quilts. Add to the fact Lissa is a great person who I enjoy talking to at Market every year--she words for MODA fabrics--and this is a keeper too.

5. Small & Scrappy by Kathleen Tracy

I have several of Kathleen's books. This one has a great subtitle: Pint-Size Patchwork Quilts Using Reproduction Fabrics. That is perfect for me. I love reproduction fabrics and make lots of small quilts. Each quilt in this book inspires me--I don't often follow the directions, but am inspired by her designs here to create my own similar quilts. 

4. 19th Century Patchwork Divas' Treasury of Quilts by Betsy Chutchian and Carol Staehle

I have several of Betsy's books but this one reminds me how I fell head-over-heels in love with her group, the 19th Century Patchwork Divas'. Several years ago many of these quilts were in a Special Exhibit in Houston and I went back again and again over my two-weeks there to study and admire them. This is a group I want to be in--not just start one like it. It makes me happy to have gotten to know Betsy and I hope to take a class from her in the future. And if I start a group, what could be a better name? I am stumped, I think they have the best name ever.

3. Guide to Machine Quilting by Diane Gaudynski

Still intrigued with beautiful machine quilting. this book is a fantastic reference book for the process. Diane's work has always thrilled and inspired me. If only reading her words could make my quilting look like hers, I'd have it made. Alas, it takes lots of practice. I'm still working on it. 

2. The Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns by Barbara Brackman

The Bible of pieced quilt blocks. I look through this book frequently when designing a new quilt, looking for blocks I might not know. For appraisers, this book is a must as it provides not only names for almost every pieced block ever printed but the years and sources of those patterns. Barbara Brackman is a TREASURE as a quilt historian--I have learned so much from her books.  This book is one of my most important titles. 

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

If I could keep only ONE book, this is the one. We don't have great "process" books like this today, most are "project" books. This one covers all aspects of quiltmaking, from all the sizes of standard mattresses and what size quilt to make to fit them, to great quilt projects starting with simple scrap quilts all the way up to challenging curved-pieced blocks. There is an entire chapter on borders, another on quilting, another whole chapter on finishing--the binding, etc. This one book could teach a person most everything they need to know to be a great quilter. I am so thankful they wrote it, I still recommend students try to find a copy online and I have TWO copies--just in case something happens to the first one.  It is my go-to reference book, hands down.

So, there you have it. Did one of your favorites make the list? What is your #1 book? 

And, one bit of advice--if you have great quilt books, take time to READ them, not just look at the photos. They can teach you a lot.

Let's quilt!

Barbara