Quilt National 2007: The Best of Contemporary Quilts (Quilt National) published by Lark

Weeks has already written about this book and her experience of Quilt National here, Weeks is right - it is a breathtaking book, full of so many amazing and gorgeous quilts - a big inspiration to aspiring quilt artists.

The Painted Quilt by Linda Kemshall (Author), Laura Kemshall (Author) published by David & Charles (August 28, 2007)

I am really excited by the possibilities of surface design - and this book gives an insight into how quilt artists Linda and Laura Kemshall work. Linda Kemshall trained as a painter and now works mainly in the field of textiles and mixed media. Laura Kemshall trained in Textiles and works as a fine artist and also sells her hand dyed fabrics and threads. The book discusses the various elements that are used in the making of these quilts - which include colour, illusion, perspective, texture, shapes and how to create these using various techniques. Techniques discussed include drawing on fabric, creating a design with collage and transferring that design to the fabric, using printing techniques. Of course fabric is discussed in depth - treating it, colouring it, creating pattern and a large section on fabric dyeing - is particularly useful. The stages of the process are both before and after quilting (painting the quilt afterwards requires some courage - but as the authors say - it is all part of the plan.) There are heaps of other processes - including the quilting itself as a way to add depth, detail and texture to the quilt. This is definitely an interesting method of making art quilts and looks like it would be heaps of fun and very satisfying.

Simple Contemporary Quilts: Bold New Designs for the First-Time Quilter by Valerie Van Arsdale Shrader published by Lark Books (June 1, 2007)

A great look at contemporary quilt makers and their designs. Several quilt designers have submitted their quilts with patterns and explanations - aimed at the beginner quilt maker, the quilts in this book range from bold geometric designs to whimsical landscape or animal shapes, to others with a focus on texture and quilting. Hillary Lang’s quilt has a focus on fabric and pattern - with a mixed up patch quilt. Wendy Gratz has a bold geometic design in black and white, Shari Lidji has designed a simple white quilt with some coloured stripes, the focus here is texture and the hand embroidery. Jen Swearington has a silk quilt with bold circle design, using hand cut circle appliqués with transparent fabrics overlain to add depth. Amy Karol has a whimsical piece with an imagined landscape, using free motion quilting, appliqué and decorative stitches.

The Uncommon Quilter: Small Art Quilts Created with Paper, Plastic, Fiber, and Surface Design by Jeanne Williamson published by Potter Craft (October 9, 2007)

Kim wrote about Jeanne Williamson’s quilt a week - journal quilts a while back. And this is the book of her seven years of a quilt a week. In this book there are 52 projects for artists to use quilting in a very unique way using everyday materials and found objects. The book is divided up into type of medium and as well as ideas and inspiration there are instructions for quick as well as more complicated quilts. All the projects are for small diary quilts, but of course this method of working can be incorporated into large quilts and wall hangings.

Jeanne is a particular fan of using uncommon quilt materials - hence the title of the book. Some of these materials include found plastics and papers like shopping bags, sushi grass, construction fencing and onion sacks. To find out more check out the website of the book and Jeanne also has a blog and another website with more of her work.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 11th, 2007 at 9:00 am and is filed under reviews+literature+media, sewing+quilting+fabric. 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.