Watercolor Quilts

Rating:
Summary: Inspiring
Review: I borrowed this book from the library after learning about it on a TV quilting show. Now I am purchasing it for my own library because it has inspired me to quilt again - in the fabulous impressionist style! Excellent guide to fabric selection and sorting - by color, value, pattern; and includes inspiring color photos of quilts by the authors and others. Also a good general guide to quilt-making techniques, must-have supplies, and great hints on getting organized to create. A special feature of Pat and Donna's books is their openness about their contrasting approaches to planning and working quilts. It is helpful to see that there is more than one way to reach a beautiful goal.

Rating:
Summary: If you want to do Watercolors this is the book
Review: If you are keen on the idea of piecing together 1000's of 2 1/2 inch squares then this is the book for you. It is the closest I've seen a book come to an actual class. It guides you every step of the way with plenty of closeup full color pictures and great explanations. The best resouce on the subject.

Rating:
Summary: Inspiring
Review: This book with its beautiful illustrations of wonderful materials melded into amazing quilts of such rich, colourful, inspirational ideas has me already collecting pieces to try and create something as beautiful myself. As a beginner to quilting the text and diagrams are simple and well explained. I hope to "do" and not just "dream"

Rating:
Summary: I'm blissfully addicted to manipulating fabric squares
Review: Though my grandmother and great-aunt quilted, and I enjoyed using their quilts, it never occurred to me to make a quilt or quilted wall piece myself. Then I stumbled across Watercolor Quilts at the library. Intrigued, I took it home, fell in love with the surprising and beautiful interplay of many unrelated pieces of fabric. I bought this book and its successor, Watercolor Impressions, and have pieced my first three wall quilts. I've tried fabric projects out of other books, but this technique is wonderfully hypnotic (and my favorite). I use my bedroom wall across from my bed as my design wall. Then I spend blissful hours adding pieces to my design between resting against the soft pillows while pondering the next 2" square I want to add. When I sew the squares together I'm fascinated by how the image changes as the seam allowances disappear. This is not a fast production technique, but it is wonderfully meditative. For those who don't want to spend the time cutting a stash of 2" squares, many quilting supply catalogs such as Keepsake Quilts sell packages of pre-cut assorted squares. This book changed my creative life.