Patchwork & Quilting
July 2015
The 13 quilts are foundation pieced with large blocks, usually 12" square. These are bold designs, a 64" square has 160 diamonds, each 8" by 4 1/2. Foundation piecing gives sharp points to the stars, diamonds and overlapping triangles. The introduction gives sound advice on paper, stitch size and threads . The fabric pieces are not cut to shape they are squares and rectangles, perhaps wasteful but easier to prepare. The sewing directions are clear and easy to follow. The patterns are printing on two separate pull out sheets. There are close up photos of the quilting. Each quilt has several possible quilt designs and suggestions for threads.
Popular Patchwork
April 2015
This book makes paper piecing an extremely approachable and attractive prospect from the first page. The 13 featured designs are exciting and consciously modern, highlighting the versatility and usefulness of paper piecing as a technique. Particularly effective is Amy Garro's use of ombre, the graduation between one colour, or value, and another (as you can see on the cover project, Icy Waters). It's something we hadn't really experimented with before but paper piecing is the ideal way to try it out and we were very pleased with the results. Several of the featured projects feature this technique, some more subtly than others - all quite entrancing. Amy has structured the book very simply; the projects get more difficult as you move through the book. However, she does stress that a confident quilter can achieve any of them and we'd definitely back that up. For a paper piecing collection that will inspire you to expand your horizons a little, you need look no further.
Workshop On The Web
March 2015
This book by Amy Garro looks specifically at paper piecing in quilting and goes into a little more detail than Quilt Talk above. With the extra detail, you have some more complex edges and angles discussed. These are particularly relevant to the 13 quilt projects that are included. Refreshingly, this book does not urge you to be concerned with your colour choices, rather to test-drive them by laying your fabrics out and seeing what goes together. However, if thats a little out of your comfort zone, then the fabrics used are all referenced so you will be able to source them.
The quilts featured are all modern and colourful in design with detailed cutting instructions, and the blocks laid out in order. Suggestions are also given as to how you can quilt each piece. I liked the variety of bright colours with bold patterns, and found the addition of a more muted male-orientated quilt a good contrast to cover all areas of interest.
