Book Review: Sew Illustrated

Sew Illustrated has 16 projects in it and is by Minki Kim and Kristin Esser. If you love Minki Kim’s adorable little appliqué sketch creations, you’ll love Sew Illustrated. If you haven’t heard of Minki Kim, where have you been? I adore her small sketches where she uses bits of fabric and black outline stitching to create charming projects.

Photo courtesy of C & T Publishing

All of the designs are included in the back of the book as iron-on transfers, which makes it very easy to put them on your fabric. There are other ways to transfer these designs and Minki explains these other options in the beginning of the book.

Minki’s designs are small, so this is a great book if you have lots of scrap fabrics that you’d like to use up. The projects are a combination of appliqué, hand embroidery and free motion quilting to finish off the appliqué pieces.

You’ll find a variety of projects in the book from mug rugs to pin cushions. Due to the small nature of the projects, they won’t use much fabric and they won’t take a lot of time to complete. Many of these projects would be perfect for quick gifts.

You’ll find a variety of projects in the book from mug rugs to pin cushions. Due to the small nature of the projects, they won’t use much fabric and they won’t take a lot of time to complete. Many of these projects would be perfect for quick gifts.

I like the full-size templates in the book (I really don’t like to enlarge any pieces!) and the complete step-by-step instructions that she provides in Sew Illustrated.

Click on the image below for a more detailed look at Sew Illustrated. If you’d like to add Sew Illustrated to your quilting book library, click here.

Creatively,

P.S. Do you strive to improve your quilting skills? Do you want to have fun doing it? Do you want to meet other quilters in a supportive, safe environment?  If you answered “yes” to these questions, you need to join The Quilter’s Way. The Quilter’s Way is the only quilting membership site that includes both training and an active, supportive online community. It’s not your grandmother’s quilting circle! Don’t wait another day! Join now.

P.P.S. Did you know that you can sign up to receive emails full of FREE quilting goodness? Click here to receive FREE content directly in your email inbox every few weeks from Chatterbox Quilts. I know you'll be glad you did!

P.S. I am an Amazon affiliate and, if you purchase items by clicking through the links in this post, I will receive a small amount of commission. This doesn’t cost you any more $$$, but helps me to continue creating free content for you. Thanks!

Book Review: Quilts With An Angle

If you are hesitant about stitching up blocks with 60 degree angles in them, you’ll want to take a look at Quilts with an Angle – a Field Guide by Sheila Christensen and published by C & T Publishing.

Photo courtesy of C & T Publishing

This is an in-depth look at how to create these types of blocks successfully. Quilts with an Angle not only explains how to stitch up blocks with different geometric shapes, all with 60 degree angles, but also talks about the tools you can use to get these degrees.

The book is divided into different sections, with a specific geometric shape, in each section. There are triangles, trapezoids, hexagons (so many quilters love these!), diamonds, and more!

I’ve got to admit that I haven’t made a quilt with 60 degree angles. They just seem to intimidating to me. Quilts with an Angle breaks these 60 degree angle shapes down to the basics and explains in detail how you can successfully create and incorporate them into quilt projects. There are lots of photos in this book to explain the techniques, as well as reference charts to help you.

Photo courtesy of C & T Publishing

Of course, it wouldn’t be much use to learn how to create these blocks without having projects to use them in, would it? No worries, there are projects in each section to demonstrate how you can use those particular shapes in them. By the time you’ve made these projects, you’ll be an expert in cutting a geometric shape with 60 degree angles.

Photo courtesy of C & T Publishing

Click on the image below to see more of Quilts with an Angle – a Field Guide. To get your own copy of Quilts with an Angle, click here.

Do you use 60 degree angles in your projects? Let me know your favourite tool for cutting shapes with 60 degree angles in the Comments below.

Creatively,

P.S. Do you want to improve your quilting skills? Do you want to have fun doing it? Do you want to meet other quilters in a supportive, safe environment?  If you answered “yes” to these questions, you need to join The Quilter’s Way. The Quilter’s Way is the only quilting membership site that includes both training and an active, supportive online community. It’s not your grandmother’s quilting circle! Don’t wait another day! Join now.

P.P.S. Did you know that you can sign up to receive emails full of FREE quilting goodness? Click here to receive FREE content directly in your email inbox every few weeks from Chatterbox Quilts. I know you'll be glad you did!

P.S. I am an Amazon affiliate and, if you purchase items by clicking through the links in this post, I will receive a small amount of commission. This doesn’t cost you any more $$$, but helps me to continue creating free content for you. Thanks!

Book Review: Stitched So Sweet

I was excited to take a look at Stitched So Sweet by Tracy Souza as I’m a big fan of hand embroidery. I love sweet, whimsical designs and Stitched So Sweet is full of these types of designs.

Photo courtesy of Martingale Publishing

The projects in Stitched So Sweet are small, which makes them perfect for wall hangings or to put into frames to display in your quilt studio. As they aren’t large projects, they won’t take long to stitch up and their sizes make them perfect for those wanted to dip their toes (finger) into hand embroidery.

Photo courtesy of Martingale Publishing

The projects in Stitched So Sweet are seasonal and there are designs for spring, summer, fall and winter in each of the patterns in the book. Stitch one or all of them so you can rotate them throughout the year.

Photo courtesy of Martingale Publishing

It can sometimes be tricky to quilt hand embroidery projects, so Tracy provides you with instructions on how to put the finished project into a picture frame so you can avoid the whole “how do I quilt this?” dilemma.

Photo courtesy of Martingale Publishing

For a more detailed look at Stitched So Sweet, click on the image below. 

Are you a fan of hand embroidery? Let me know in the Comments below.

Creatively,

P.S. Are you serious about improving your quilting? Do you want to connect with other committed quilters in a supportive, safe environment?  If you answered “yes” to these questions, you need to join The Quilter’s Way. The Quilter’s Way is the only quilting membership site that includes both training and an active, supportive online community. Don’t wait another day! Join now.

P.P.S. Did you know that you can sign up to receive emails full of FREE quilting goodness? Click here to receive FREE content directly in your email inbox every few weeks from Chatterbox Quilts. I know you'll be glad you did!

P.S. I am an Amazon affiliate and, if you purchase items by clicking through the links in this post, I will receive a small amount of commission. This doesn’t cost you any more $$$, but helps me to continue creating free content for you. Thanks!

Book Review: Text It!

Don’t you just love projects with words or phrases on them? I definitely do and so really enjoyed checking out Text It! by Sherri Noel. This book contains pillows, wall hangings, smaller quilts, and other projects to decorate your home and quilt studio.

Photo courtesy of Martingale Publishing

One of the things I really liked about Text It! is that it contains 7 different alphabets in a pull-out at the back of the book. All of these alphabets are full-size so you won’t need to enlarge them to use them in the projects. If you want to change the look of any of the projects in Text It!, you can choose one of the other alphabets included in the book and substitute it for the one used in the pattern..

Photo courtesy of Martingale Publishing

Sherri includes information on various forms of appliqué in the back part of the book so you can use your favourite one to create the projects in Text It!.

I loved the cute designs in Text It! and thought that they would make wonderful gifts for quilting and non-quilting friends.

Click on the image below for a detailed look at the projects in Text It!

Get your own copy of Text It! at https://amzn.to/2TLAcYt.

Creatively,

P.S. Are you serious about improving your quilting? Do you want to connect with other committed quilters in a supportive, safe environment?  If you answered “yes” to these questions, you need to join The Quilter’s Way. The Quilter’s Way is the only quilting membership site that includes both training and an active, supportive online community. Don’t wait another day! Join now.

P.P.S. Did you know that you can sign up to receive emails full of FREE quilting goodness? Click here to receive FREE content directly in your email inbox every few weeks from Chatterbox Quilts. I know you'll be glad you did!

P.S. I am an Amazon affiliate and, if you purchase items by clicking through the links in this post, I will receive a small amount of commission. This doesn’t cost you any more $$$, but helps me to continue creating free content for you. Thanks!

Book Review: String Frenzy

If you’ve been quilting for any time at all, you probably have fabric scraps, including strips and strings. If you’re looking for projects where you can use these bits and pieces, you need to check out the projects in String Frenzy by Bonnie K. Hunter.

Photo courtesy of C & T Publishing

This latest book by the scrap quilting queen is full of gorgeous patterns, all using leftover strips and strings of fabric. The quilts in this book are large, but could definitely be scaled down to make smaller projects, such as table runners or lap quilts.

Photo courtesy of C & T Publishing

If you’re familiar with any of Bonnie’s previous books, you’ll know how much information she includes on getting your scrap fabrics organized and ready to be used in projects. This information in itself is worth the price of the book! It’s definitely worth reading all of the helpful content in String Frenzy that Bonnie provides on getting a scrap system going so you can always have your extra fabric pieces ready to use in any project.

Photo courtesy of C & T Publishing

String Frenzy includes 12 projects from scrap fabric and each pattern follows a similar format with text as well as a section called “At a Glance” for visual instructions.

Click on the image below to see more detailed information on String Frenzy and the beautiful quilts in it.

Are you a scrap quilter? If so, give me a “yes” in the Comments below.

Get your own copy of String Frenzy at https://amzn.to/2I7kEw2 and start clearing out that scrap bin.

Creatively,

P.S. Are you serious about improving your quilting? Do you want to connect with other committed quilters in a supportive, safe environment?  If you answered “yes” to these questions, you need to join The Quilter’s Way. The Quilter’s Way is the only quilting membership site that includes both training and an active, supportive online community. Don’t wait another day! Join now.

P.P.S. Did you know that you can sign up to receive emails full of FREE quilting goodness? Click here to receive FREE content directly in your email inbox every few weeks from Chatterbox Quilts. I know you'll be glad you did!

P.S. I am an Amazon affiliate and, if you purchase items by clicking through the links in this post, I will receive a small amount of commission. This doesn’t cost you any more $$$, but helps me to continue creating free content for you. Thanks!