Author Mary M. Hogan is a quilt designer and teacher with several books to her credit. Due out 8th April 2019 on Fox Chapel's Landauer imprint, it's 128 pages and will be available in paperback format.
This is an appealing book. It's full color and lavishly photographed and diagrammed throughout. There's a good introduction and tools and materials list included in the introductory chapter. Worth noting that there are no additional tools necessary for these techniques, other than the basic ones which are likely to already be in the quilter's sewing room.
The basic instructions are followed by more in-depth methods for using every type of scrap, even the tiniest ones. The 13 project tutorials which come after are built on the introductory sections and many of them cleverly utilize the limits of having uneven bits of fabric which don't extend evenly ('disappearing stings') as a bonus, for example to represent bare branches in a still life tree quilt. (loved that one on page 37). There were several of the projects which called out to me. I followed the instructions to piece some basic blocks, including a few churn dash blocks which will see use as a baby quilt for a colleague who's expecting.
There's just something so fundamentally satisfying to me about having and using my 'stash'. I learned to quilt from both of my grandmothers who grew up in the depression and never outgrew the frugality they learned as a necessity during their childhoods. This book speaks to that reluctance to throw any usable scrap away. I'm always on the lookout for clever and attractive ways to 'bust' my stash. This one definitely fits the bill.
This is a nice addition to the quilter's library and especially for those of us who have generous stash baskets, will provide a very satisfying way to use up some of those scraps.
Four stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
No comments:
Post a Comment