Books, Books, Books

Books are my primary teachers, about everything, not just quilting. While I occasionally make traditional quilts and love to look at them and have them on my beds, I pefer to "play" with fabric in unique ways and ways that express my need to express.

There are many techniques used in art quilts that are not used in traditional quilting. Because the wall quilt is not handled and washed like a quilt made for use, embellishments and fabric painting are often incorporated into the design. I am indebted in the many teachers who have written books with clear instructions on these techniques.

Every book I review on this site is one that I have purchased and used. If I don't like a book, you won't find it reviewed here. After all, my response is just my opinion and I choose to share only my favorable opinions.

To the left is a menu for archived reviews. My latest review is found on this page. Comments are welcome.

quilted symphony

A fusion of fabric, texture and design by Gloria Loughman

The back cover blurb says "Liberate your creative side with Abstract Art"!

Afraid of the term "abstract"? Sounds like you need to be very creative, doesn't it? Know what, most of us don't think we're creative at all. We think all we can do is duplicate what somebody else thought of.

Gloria is here to tell you that ain't so. She does it by defining abstract for you. It simply means taking something, a flower, a rock, or just a shape and giving just a suggestion of it using from and color. You select the elements of the 'thing' that you want to modify and have fun.

Beyong talking about how to design a quilt this way, she shows you her construction process. You can try one of her 4 projects to get the hang of it (the picture above left is my version of one of them) before you cut loose and really be creative. There's no 'raw edge' stuff, but real finished joins, and they are easy to do since she shows you how to work in segments (think blocks that aren't squares).

Quilted Symphony- is a beauiful book, with colored pictures everywhere and well illustrated instructions. There's even a good section on applying paint, embellishing with thread, beads etc. All in all, this is one of my favorite inspiration books.