4 comments about Carol Armstrong's Patches & Posies: Designs for Applique & Quilting.

1. Use applied patchwork to maximum advantage with a primer which links new pieced elements with traditional methods for different approaches and results in CAROL ARMSTRONG'S PATCHES & POSIES: DESIGNS FOR APPLIQUE & QUILTING. From adding dimensions with special effects and beading to varying embellishment options for a given project, PATCHES & POSIES is packed with delightful insights.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch



2. I love Carol's easy to follow instructions in hand applique. She is the greatest!



3. I love Carol Armstrong's quilting/applique books. The designs are beautiful and the directions are very easy to follow.



4. I really like this book . I am intrested in Baltimore album quilting and this has some great patterns for those. Carol Armstrongs books are always worth the money, good patterns,good instructions,was a supriseit is a really pretty book. thanks Carol

2 comments about Applique With Folded Cutwork.

1. Excellent book with clear instructions. I am a self-taught quilter, and found this book to be extremely helpful and straight-forward. The author walks you through several different hand and machine applique procedures. I am working on the "calandar" quilt, and am enjoying every minute of it!



2. If you can fold and cut a snowflake, then you can make quilts from this book, with the great photographs showing how to do each step. The section on applique gives good instructions for several different techniques. Good for any level of quilter.

3 comments about Stitch and Split Applique: 12 Raw-Edge Projects.

1. I got this book Thursday evening; by Sunday I had half the sunflower quilt done. I would rate this project as easy but with a lot of work. You can see this quilt in the book preview. You need a lot of different fabrics for the projects but they're still relatively easy. The instructions are well-written and easy to follow. There is a lot of advice for the individual quilts and you really can't screw up if you thoroughly read AND follow the instructions. I opted not to have raw edges so that made for more work. I used an applique stitch for each layer of the flowers.
   
   I think this method is easily adaptable even though most of the 12 sample projects are really cool and different.
   
   I would not recommend this for a first-time quilter. I stand by my assessment that the quilt I'm making is easy, but it is time-consuming. Each flower has 16 different fabrics. There are a lot of steps before you see something tangible. But if you're patient and stick with it you will love this unique method of applique.
   
   So why didn't I give this book a "5"? A couple of the quilts are a bit ho-hum and patterns aren't life sized. You need to be able to enlarge them to make the quilt the same as the original. I ended up not enlarging the pattern. I simply adjusted the background and border to the scale of the flower pattern (that's what math classes were for!). Lastly, I the binding isn't as good as it can be. Still, I am really glad I bought the book and will be starting another pattern when I'm done with the sunflowers.



2. These two designers have done an awesome job of translating their unique ideas to today's quilting. The instructions are easy to follow, the pictures are great, and their fabric choices are really spectacular. The fabrics they chose for these patterns really show off the stitch/split design. The stitch/split technique is one with which you can get on a roll with and then it doesn't take as much time. I look forward to any and all of the Jayme/Joan books to come! Keep 'em coming!



3. This is a great book with really good ideas. I have finished one of the table runners and will make many of the projects in this book. Nice patterns and instruction. Easy to do, unique and very attractive finished products.

2 comments about Machine Applique Made Easy: A Beginner's Guide to Techniques, Stitches and Decorative Projects.

1. My order was received on time and in excellent condition. Packaged very well.



2. This is a wonderful book for someone who wants to learn machine applique, even if you've been doing it for a while it has lots of good information.

3 comments about Borders & Finishing Touches, Vol. 2.

1. If you are looking for a good reference for techniques and also for some great patterns for borders, this is the book for you. Also, if you want to make that great Windmill Log Cabin as shown on the opening of Simply Quilts, Bonnie has included all of the instructions to make this quilt. I liked the border patterns especially ... some of them are borders from prizewinning quilters like Linda Roy's Best of Show quilt, Spice of Life, and Gladi Porsche's beautiful appliqued border in Keeping Autumn with Me. Bonnie has designed some new borders too. I'm glad to have it in my library.



2. Choose from a range of designs and techniques to provide a professional finishing touch to a quilt in Bonnie K. Browning's Borders & Finishing Touches 2, a collection of ideas which uses an easy paper-folding technique to make all borders fit perfectly. Designs created by Browning use novelty bindings, scalloped edges and more to provide lovely quilt borders. Patterns, color photos, and suggestions for alternate uses of the bindings make for a 'must' for any quilter who wants to add polishing touches.



3. Every project lurks around in my sewing room till it is completely finished. I was inspired to complete several more of my quilts after seeing the methods used in this book. Very thorough and great pictures.

5 comments about Focus on Features: Life-Like Portrayals in Applique.

1. This is an excellent book. I'll keep it forever as a reference book. It arrived in perfect shape and in a short time from when ordered. Thank You.



2. This is a great book. Charlotte brings people to life in her quilts. I am truly amazed and inspired by her work. She guides you thru the process to approaching quilt making with her techniques. I am still working on making my first face quilt and although it takes some work...it is well worth it if you are interested in this kind of quilt art. Another great book i am happy to own.



3. Exceptional simple explanation and illustrations. A valuable addition to my library



4. This product is good if you have already ready Charlotte's first book. It is not enough otherwise.



5. This is a wonderful book for reference to help any quilter improve her skills. I had created my own methods for "painting with fabric. Ms. Anderson makes it much easier.

2 comments about Ladies' Day Out With The Bonnet Girls.

1. i love my books bought from amazon , i will have a lot of fun using them .



2. This is a delightful quilting book with ladies of the past. If reminds me of the paper dolls I use to dress as a young girl. I have wanted to purchase this book for a long time and now that I have I am not disapointed. I can hardly wait to make a quit using these lovey girls, and all the other added ideas to combine them in the life of yesterday.

2 comments about Wild Birds: Designs for Applique & Quilting.

1. Carol Armstrong does it again with her second book. The patterns and examples are stunning. Carol has a knack for designing applique that is visually complex and yet, can be accomplished with basic hand applique skills. These are absolutely the best bird designs out there for applique. These designs are not intended for the "heat-n-bond" quilter, but for the beauty of hand applique. This book inspires and is sure to be a classic for the bookshelf.



2. A highly recommended pick for those involved in quilting and home decoration projects, Carol Armstrong's Wild Birds contains over twenty full-size patterns and directions for 8 projects, providing beautiful bird images which range from titmouse and hummingbird to orioles and swallows. The attention to birding detail provides more depth and ideas than most.

5 comments about Quilters Playtime: Games With Fabric.

1. I am a quilter who absolutely loves playing with fabric and hates measuring. Dianne's book is my dream workbook--it's full of ways to play with your fabrics and learn new approaches to creating a beautiful quilt, and encourages a playful, risk-taking spirit.

   The book is divided into different "games," like Hopscotch, where you create a series of narrow, then wide, then narrow pieces that really do look like the hopscotch boards of our childhood; Tiddlywinks, with multicolored concentric ovals and circles arranged in patterns; Musical Chairs, with colors shifting from skewed block to skewed block in an orderly progression (until you throw in a Wild Card), and lots more. The best part is, Dianne shows you how to do each kind of improvisational piecing and then sets you free with lots of ideas and examples, so you can create something that is totally your own. The photos in the book are of wonderfully free-spirited quilts by several different quilters, and are in a lot of color schemes, though most are bright. Dianne encourages experimentation and ornamentation--there are plenty of beads, buttons, dangles and whirligigs here--and helps you get over your fear of cutting into big pieces of beautiful yardage by suggesting you "sneak up on them" and whack them into pieces, which then can go into a gloriously jumbled scrap basket that will trigger new ideas and combinations.
   I just wish Amazon would post a cover photo and a "Take A Look Inside" section of the book. If you have any interest at all in improvisational quilting, you MUST get this book.




2. If you're more of a creative than a quilter, like I am, this is the book for you. In successive chapters, Hire takes the participant through eleven "games" with your fabric stash -- each which develops your skills and leaves you with an amazing set of non-traditional, contemporary quilts. From a Hopscotch block (a modified Courthouse Steps pattern) that is so easy it's beyond exciting, to a Toybox quilt which employs circles and spirals -- if you play these "games" in succession, you'll find your quilting creativity engage while your skills build and your stash shrinks. (And anything that shrinks your stash is just a good excuse to go shopping for more, right?)
   
   If you're one of those perfect-corners and traditional blocks type of quilters, this book may drive you insane. But if you're a free spirit or a risk taker or someone coming to quilting by the way of other creative arts, this is a perfect book. It's easily the favorite in my collection that I can see myself going back to again and again.



3. I bought this book in preparation for taking a class with the author. It is a great, structured way to let yourself be free and have fun. By playing the games listed in the book, you can end up with all the components of a great new quilt, that will look nothing like that made by anyone else. We each play our own games, in our own way, with our own fabric. Be warned, this is not for beginners. The beginner in my class left in tears after about the first hour. A beginner, who needs more direction, would probably never start. This book is for a quilter who wants to create her own fiber art, but needs something more than a great pile of fabric and a blank slate.



4. This book is so great because the author makes you feel as though each quilt you are making from her well-written and easy-to-follow instructions is a big game, so it removes a lot of that feeling of intimidation that beginning quilt artists often experience. Each exercise builds on the prevous one so that by the time you get to the end, you can take some of each lesson and make your own unique quilt. The quilts are playful and happy and very encouraging to help you get going.



5. Wonderful book - lots of new-to-me techniques and fun projects. Can't wait to get started!

3 comments about Invisible Applique.

1. Ami's techniques are incredible. Never again do I have stitches showing on the edges of my applique. Her methods allow you to create an applique seam that sinks into the work, instead. If you are a beginner, this is how you need to learn. And if you are an expert, this will help you improve. Detailed instruction and drawings are included and confusion is next to none. I lived in fear of this method of quiltmaking and could just kick myself for what I was missing! Reasonably priced as well. You can't beat it!



2. This book is great. I have tried applique before and thought I did a pretty good job but this book showed me how I could do better and it was so easy. I actually checked this book out at my local library. I learned so much from it I wanted it to keep. I tried to buy it from the library. They wouldn't sell it. I am glad I found it here because my local book stores do not carry this book. If you have ever appliqued or are interested in trying out applique but are afraid you can't do it, wait no longer. Order this book - YOU CAN DO IT TOO and you will be very pleased with the results!!



3. Very good book for beginners and even seasoned quilters. I never thought of doing applique the way she shows in the book. It's a little difficult at first but she explains it very well and with a little practice you wonder why you weren't doing it this way in the first place!!! Ami Simms has a great sense of humor which I enjoyed all through the book!! The humor alone was worth the price!!!