Week 6.
theme is colour
One book and a fab secret prize to finish off the comp.

1. Denyse Schmidt Quilts by Denyse Schmidt, 30 colorful quilt and patchwork projects. (Donated by chronicle books)

Having heard a lot about this book and seen snippets of it here and there, and the projects that people had made from it, especially on the denyse quilt along (via quiltersbuzz) and the subsequent block swap, I also recently listened to a podcast at craftsanity of an interview with Denyse, what a great listen, she is really so fabulous.

But on with the book, is it really so fab? Well yes indeed it is. The book is broken into sections starts off with practical info, then moves into small projects, then the quilts and then the patterns. The first section deals with all the neccessary skills you need to get started, tools and design tips, how to piece and cut quilt blocks, fabric and colour advice and then on to quilting methods and binding, and some good general sewing tips.

Then onto the projects, which are really fun colourful ideas that require small amounts of fabric and not a lot of sewing ability, really do-able for most people and older children too, such as quilted cards and juggling blocks Then there are some slightly more advanced projects like a scrap scarf and oven mit, which are excellent for those who really just want to have fun with fabrics, slightly more sewing experience is needed but not much more as the directions are really great, but most importantly these projects are really good if you just want to experiment with textures and colours and use the pattern more as a basis for your own ideas. The next few patterns are whimsical and allow a great deal of flexibility in the outcome depending on what materials you use. Such as the three faces of steve (soft stuffed cat with multiple personalities) and ways to decorate clothing. Then some practical projects such as quilted slippers (chronicle books have an online pattern) and a lovely blanket.

The third section of the book is 10 quilt patterns. From the really simple 3 peices of fabric, which is all about colour and balance. To country style, modern, crazy and simple. All the patterns have Denyses style, seemingly random piecing, and great colour. To me this books seems pretty easy to follow, lots of ideas. I love that there are quick projects more complex ones. Just a really great book.

2. Colorful Stitchery By Kristin Nicholas, 65 Hot embroidery projects to personalize your home. (Donated by Kristin and Story Publishing).

I first came across Kristin Nicholas, the author of colorful stitchery when I was searching for inspiration for my craft room/studio, I stumbled across pictures of Kristins studio and was completely jealous (here is the link) and in love with the space she had made for herself, it just seemed perfect to me. Then when I saw this book and realised it was the very same person it just made sense to me. This book has some a gorgeous aura, just like that studio room seemed to.

The books begins with fabric, glorious fabric, colours and textures and advice. How to choose, what to use, dyeing and felting and testing it for worthiness for your project. As this is an embroidery book, she then talks about embroidery threads and tools before discussing patterns and stitches. Lots of different stitch techniques as you might expect in an embroidery book, all have great step by step illustration, worth buying this book for the stitch guide alone. The next section - colour and design, a good section on colour theory and combinations, with some lovely examples and tips on how to put colour together and where to find your inspiration.

Then the projects. All the projects go from beginning to end, from discussing material choice and design, to giving good illustrations and patterns on making it and finishing it as well as variations. The projects are split into sections, loungeroom, kitchen, the bedroom and then some more unusual projects. The loungeroom sections has a pillow focus and ranges from woollen pillows with simple decorative stitching detail to more complex stitching decorations. Then some great fun side projects like pompoms and felted dots. Then there are some really cute cross stitch gingham projects like pillows and aprons and ways to use teatowels.

The kitchen section has new ways with standard objects, like the coffee cozy and egg cup cozy, tablecloths and tea towels. Ways to brighten up your kitchen and great ideas for gift giving. I love all these practical projects. The next section is less practical and more romantic, beautiful linen pillowcases and curtains, bright crewel decorative touches on cushions and exotic motifs on luxurious blankets, and cute teddies and kiddy blankets. The last section has some unique and fun ways to use embroidery on other materials such as cardboard and shoes and using ribbon as an alternative to embroidery thread.

I found this book to be absolutely delightful, colourful and lovely. I think my favourite project might be the exotic paisley designs on the soft cashmere throw.

And a special prize for one blogger who entered every week and always had something cool that they made in the spirit of the competition - to be announced soon
A wonderful basket of goodies donated by funquilts

This basket of goodies includes a copy of each of the books ‘the modern quilt workshop’ and ‘colour harmony’ as well as 1x yard and a fat quarter pack of their freespirit fabric range, and a pack of gift cards.

I luckily have my own copy of both of these books and am in the midst of making the most difficult quilt mentioned. And even more lucky for me and for the readers of whipup, Weeks Ringle, co author of these books is one of the authors at whipup. I first came accross funquilts a while ago, long before I entered the blog world, I was searching for modern quilts and happened upon there wonderful designs, which attracted me to quilting like no traditional design ever could. Then later, when I was fully emmersed with blogs, dioramama (another whipup author) was hosting the modern quilt along from the book the modern quilt workshop and I felt a sudden urge to make one of these quilts (it is still unfinished).

So what about these two books. First the modern quilt workshop, super easy directions and variations and patterns. Lots of variety for skill base in these patterns from the quite difficult but still do-able to the much easier, there really is a lot of choice depending on what out come is desired. The books begin with directions and tools and techniques and discusses in depth the various differences that both Weeks and Bill use. The big difference with this book compared with other more traditional quilting books is that they are not stuck on using traditional ways when there are quicker, more efficient and in most cases just as good methods available. What I love most about this book is the design philosophy behind the quilts, the use of colour and piecing and the simplicity of the designs.

The other book color harmony is not a ‘how to’, there are no patterns, but rather is a book of ideas, how to use colour to get different effects - this book is a ‘practical approach to color theory’. And is a joy to read and read again. Some gorgeous examples of quilts from different artists with a break down of the colour of each of the quilt examples and tips on how to get the same effect. Really this book is such an inspiration.

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 27th, 2006 at 11:20 am and is filed under reviews+literature+media, whiplash. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site. Your comments will be moderated but will appear as soon as humanly possible.