Slow Quilting

You may have heard of the Slow Food Movement, which is an umbrella term encompassing ideas such as buying local produce, growing your own food, and cooking in more than eating out.

I suggest there is a corollary to quilting, but it isn't complete or perfectly accurate. I'm not talking about buying fabric made locally (although supporting your local quilt shop is always nice), or growing the cotton with which to make your own fabric.

Instead, what I mean is that slow quilting is what many, many quilters must do just because we are so busy with the rest of our lives. No matter how many gizmos and gadgets we own to help speed up the quilting process, it just takes many of us a long time to get from concept to finished quilt -- and we should accept that.

And what about when quilters choose to create quilts slowly, instead of quickly and fast? What about those of us who choose more complicated patterns or projects, or who prefer to work entirely by hand? Or to start a project by dyeing fabric and thread, even?

Thankfully, there is room in the quilting universe for everyone of every persuasion. It's a rare treat for me to attend a class or workshop, but when the opportunity arose recently to study (again) with Cindy Blackberg, I was quite content to hand piece a feathered star block. Two and a half days of quietly, slowly putting together one of quilting's more challenging blocks was a real tonic.

And something you may not know, if you've never hand-pieced a block before, is that it can be about as fast as machine piecing if you've got any experience, and, the finished block has a distinctive 3-D quality to it. I'm not a good photographer but I tried to show this in the first photo; those seams were lifting the block right off my ironing board, so I spritzed them with water and let the block dry for a day. Had this been machine pieced, the smaller stitches would have helped compress the seams and the block would have lain flatter before pressing.

Then I flipped the block face up and spritzed again, with another day for drying. If there had been blocking problems, this is when I would have pinned my block to make it square, but Cindy's cutting method reduces bias edges to almost zero, and my block was true.

Talk about sharp points! There are times when hand work brings a certain precision to your work. I know, I know; machine precision is also eminently achievable, but hand work brings so much control -- no machine between you and the result. Just your own body and rhythm.

Now that it's complete I'll contemplate what to do with my feathered star block (I'm sure I won't make an entire quilt of these blocks, as satisfying as this one was to make), and that, too, can be a process as fast or slow as the quilter involved allows, requires, needs, or wants.

Isn't this a great hobby? Bottom line: fast or slow, enjoy the time you spend quilting.

Just in Time for Spring

What better way to celebrate the arrival of warmer weather and green growing things than with a sweet food treat! Ann Hazelwood has completed her trilogy of "100s" with 100 Sweet Treats by and for Quilters. The book itself is delicious with many photos of quilts by the dessert makers. When you need something more substantial, dig in to one of 100 short, yummy recipes for bars, breads, brownies, cakes, cobblers, cold desserts, cookies (are you hungry yet?), crunchies, fruit dishes, pies, puddings or sundries. Is it your turn to make treats for the guild or your sit-and-stitch group? Need a hostess gift? This book is the one!  (AQS #8156)

Now that you're all happy from eating a sweet treat (or two), it's back to the quilting with Sue Patten's latest books, Adaptable Quilting Designs.  Here are 90 pages of designs Sue created to fill those tricky spots on a quilt -- the sashings, cornerstones and setting triangles. All of them can be worked by hand or any type of machine, and reduced or enlarged as needed. Sue's designs work up beautifully as is, or use them to jump start your own ideas. If you enjoyed Sue's first book, Quilting Possibilities...Freehand Filler Patterns, you'll love this one. (AQS #8234)

The blogging program doesn't like posting pictures today, but you can see the books on our home page -- www.americanquilter.com. Call 800-626-5420 to order.

Old and New

AQS's two most recent books span quilting's timeline in America from the very old to the latest rage.

A Baltimore Album: 25 Applique Patterns by Marsha D. Radtke came about serendipitously. Marsha discovered a Baltimore Album quilt in the attic of the rural Maryland parsonage she shared with her husband. On close examination, she realized there were two inked names on the quilt, and they were locally common names. A certified quilt appraiser dated the quilt as circa 1850! This means Marsha found a truly original Baltimore Album quilt in the area this style was created and made popular.

When the old beauty began to deteriorate, she decided to replicate the quilt. Both new and old quilts are shown in the book. The original had 25 blocks, one of which was a duplicate pattern. The color palette is red, green, and gold -- typical of the era. Just as the work on the original was very fine, so is Marsha's rendition.

Baltimore Album and applique lovers will want this book as a library of genuine, dated patterns created near the source of this ever-popular applique style. Ask for AQS item #7927 and enjoy creating a piece of history yourself!

And as time has gone by, quilters now create masterpieces using machines. To help your quilts stand out anywhere, Nan Moore wrote Machine Freehand Patterns. Every one of the 95 pages has one or more machine patterns drawn freehand. You can follow these exactly, shrink them or enlarge them, alter them or use them as inspiration to create your own freehand quilting designs.

Nan provides a very basic guide to using continuous motion patterns - it's almost entirely visual, so if you've wanted to try machine quilting, this could be the very book you're looking for. Her book is AQS item #8022.

Three New Books Are Available!

It's always a great day when a new book comes back from the printer, so imagine how grand it is to have three new releases at once! Get your reading glasses on:

Beyond the Block by the Crafty Ol' Broads (wonderfully fun sisters Linda K. Johnson and Jane K. Wells) lets you let go of block "block." Instead of being trapped by size restrictions or shape limitations, the C.O.B.s show you how to improvise in a controlled way. The results are wild, colorful yet still traditional. Show your flair for color and thinking "outside the block" with this bright, inspiring book.

If you love beads but hate hand work, All Beaded Up by Machine is the book for you. Terry White, author of Thread Painting Made Easy (AQS, 2008), once again shows how the sewing machine can be a terrific artistic asset. Her super simple techniques yield amazing results; no one will ever know how easy all that beading really was. A must-have for embellishment addicts.

If you spend your days in a cubicle dreaming about the quilting you'll do that night, Quilts in My Cubicle will hit the spot. Barb Holtzman, herself a cubicle dweller, has created 12 quilts that are small enough to actually finish and delightful enough to cheer up any cubicle anywhere. Smart tips and hanging suggestions round out this happy little book that will keep you stitching and have your colleagues glad you did.

Talented people work at AQS (if I may say so) and graphic designer Lynda Smith proves it with her first-ever author effort, Quilt This! Practical Patterns for Everyday Quilting. Her original designs are shown as motifs and borders and are suitable for hand quilters or those using any type of machine. No more dreaded "quilt as desired." Instead, Quilt This!

It's been a busy autumn for AQS; stay tuned for three more books coming soon!