Book Review

I love quilt books. I collect them and read them just like a novel. I don't feel like I need to make a single quilt out of a quilt book that I purchase. I read it and look at the pictures and enjoy it, just like a great coffee table book. In fact, in my house they are coffee table books! I keep the newest ones out on the coffee table in my quilt room. I often learn a new technique, or pick up a tip on color, or read about the history of a antique quilt. I get a lot of pleasure from my quilt books.

With that said, I have to confess that I have recently acquired three new quilt books. :-)

The first book is not brand new, but it is new for me and it is very special too.  My good friend, Pam, went to a quilt guild meeting where Jo Morton was giving a trunk show. (Green with envy!!  She is a FAVE of mine!) Pam purchased Banner Day for me and had Jo autograph it to me!! I am in heaven.  

If you like Civil War reproduction fabrics and the quilts you can create from them, then you will like Jo Morton's books and fabrics. 

Several weeks ago I found a quilt book at A Scarlet Thread that I have never seen before. It was published in 2011 by Kansas City Star Books and is called Four Seasons at Minglewood by Debbie Roberts. Debbie owns The Quilted Moose in Gretna, NE and her shop was featured in the Fall/Winter 2007 issue of Quilt Sampler magazine. The cover quilt on this book is absolutely gorgeous! It features 32 pieced blocks around a large center applique' block-done in Christmas fabrics. I know I will never make this 101 X 101" quilt, but I would love to make a smaller version of it. One of my favorite things about this book is the fact that each individual quilt block is shown large enough to see the quilting pattern. That's a definite plus to those of us who may be quilting challenged. 

My third book was pre-ordered months ago and arrived on my doorstep yesterday. Hot off the presses is Kim Diehl's latest book, Simple Charm. I love her books (I own every one of them!) and knew that I needed this one too, so ordering it sight-unseen was a no-brainer for me. And she did not disappoint. This book of scrap quilts is wonderful. Kim has included table runners, wall and bed sized quilts, pieced and appliqued projects, wool and even an adorable cat. If you love the look of scrap quilts, you will want to add this book to your quilting library.

Happy reading and happy quilting!