Books

Who doesn't love to flip through a quilting book for inspiration?  I have tons of books on my shelf courtesy of my husband and 3 wonderful kids.  I love to just look through them anytime I have a free second.  Two weeks ago, I ran across some book reviews on another blog.  The author gave them each 5 stars, so I decided to check them out from my library.  Although none of the books I want are ever available in the tri-county area I live in, we are blessed to have access to all of Maryland's libraries, so I can always find what I want thanks to the quilter-librarians in Caroline and Wicomico Counties--thanks, ladies!!!!  Anyway, I checked the books out and are pleased to say that they are both oldies, but goodies! 

I really enjoyed the fabric shopping book.  I took some of the lesson to heart.  In the last baby quilt I made, I varied the scale and colors of the prints I used--and I used fabrics that didn't come bundled or from the same line/designer.  That was definitely outside my comfort zone, but I am pleased to say the quilt turned out to be my favorite one so far.  The author also discussed two types of fabrics I didn't know about--tone-on-tone and bridge fabrics.  I guess I knew they existed, but I didn't consciously try to include them in any of the quilts I've ever made.  So, I took the lesson to heart and while planning out a patriotic table topper I plan to make, I looked through my stash and found this great tone-on-tone blue in the second photo on the left.  I NEVER would have thought to include it, but just seeing it side by side the other fabrics, it makes total sense.  The author said a tone-on-tone or bridge fabric will give the eye a place to rest, and I can already see that just looking at the colors/patterns together.  A+ for this book!  I already put it in my Amazon shopping cart.  It is part of a 4 for 3 deal, so I still need to pick out a couple more books:)

The tone-on-tone is on the left below:

The other book by Judy Martin was helpful, too.  I never thought about cutting strips lengthwise from fabric so the fabric is less stretchy, but it makes total sense.  Next time I am piecing blocks, I will try her method.  Other than that, I found the book to be a little bossy, but I did really like the 7 secrets of sewing success.  I won't be buying this book.  None of the patterns really appealed to me.