This week I have been focusing on quilting. I have six quilt books to share with you and two of them are kid-oriented! The first is Get Quilting with Angela and Cloe by Angela Walters and Cloe Walters.
A mother and daughter team share their expertise with other moms and daughters to get kids (and moms) quilting together. It includes fourteen fun projects for kids to make as well as information about everything from cutting, piecing, appique, quilting and binding and so much more! There are easy to start projects and then there are slightly more difficult projects.
The projects include things like pot holders, quilted water bottle holders, bed runners, quilts and more. There are three levels of projects in the book. They include the always popular t-shirt quilt too.
I decided to make the school supply roll. Here is the photo from the book.
I used some of my favorite fabrics that I had leftover from clothes I made for Hazel when she was young.
Here it is rolled up and then unrolled it has the compartments. I grabbed some of her favorite pens and a notebook to see how they all fit.
I found the instructions easy to follow and the tips helpful. I am not sure why they didn't bind the edges, but I went with following the instructions. Hazel is happy with it. It was also nice to use up some of my scraps of fabric. I have not gotten Hazel on my machine yet, so I didn't have her try the project yet.
Our next book is Sewing School Quilts by Amie Petronis Plumley and Andria Lisle. I love the Sewing School series. I shared one of them previously here. The books are written so kids can follow them and learn how to sew and quilt. I plan to use them to help Hazel to learn how to sew on my machine and to do more quilting independently. The book has lessons to teach how to make a quilt from start to finish and also has fun projects.
As you can see it is full of pictures to help with each step. It always gives great ideas to help young sewers. The projects are fun and different. There are five types of projects: Art Quilts, Foundation Piecing, Patchwork, Applique, and Recycled.
Besides the lessons in the Getting Started chapter there are also Skill Building Lessons at the end which include machine-sewing skills, hand-sewing skills and fixing mistakes.
This book also has the t-shirt quilt and it has a stuff I wore mat which looks like a fun way to reuse old clothes. I decided to make Patchwork the Dog. I used some scraps of fabric that we got from my mother.
The book used felt on the back side. I decided to use fleece since I had a scrap of it handy.
The instructions are easy to follow. I was surprised again about the raw edge. I love the different projects and the variety. There is something for everyone is this book and each teaches and practices different skills. How fun is this Selfie Quilt? Can you see a class or a group of friends make this together?
Now for a more mature or experienced quilter there is our next book. It is Making Faces in Fabric by Melissa Averinos.
I find this book fascinating. Now I must admit I cannot draw faces very well, so I did not attempt a sample of this one. Now that said the book is full of tips and step by step instructions for everything including the drawing. I may actually try this when I get a chance.
There are four projects in this book and then two chapters of galleries of projects (the author's and her students'). The four projects are a pillow cover, embellished totes, stretched canvas wall art, and embellished shirt. The instructions are very clear for each project.
I love how the embellished shirt is not a self portrait but a picture of artist Frida Kahlo. It shows that there are many options to this type of art.
It is such an interesting art form and way to think of portraits. Another type of modern quilts is found in our next book. It is Modern Plus Sign Quilts by Cheryl Brickey and Paige Alexander.
Now as a former math teacher, I love the idea of using plus signs in a quilt. The ideas in this book are so fun too with what is done with them. I was hoping to make a square or two of one of these but I ran out of time this week.
I love the tessellation quilt with them. Talk about a great math quilt. We can talk about addition and tessellations as well as symmetry and more.
I did look at the instructions for a couple of the quilts since I was planning on trying them. They are very detailed including showing how to get the pieces needed from the small pieces of required fabric. I love that this allows for less waste and less fabric to purchase or use scraps up. The projects are so fun and have so many things that can be done with them and with colors.
Some of the designs are simple like the striped one above and others are more difficult and busy. Some include other quilt blocks or additions to the plus signs like the one with windmills up above. Then there is the Faceted Rings pictured on the top edge of the cover where the plus sign is adapted. And the Postage Plus below where the plus sign is made of small squares.
This book has many fun ideas in it and so much you can do with the patterns shared.
Our next book is Patchwork & Quilting: A Maker's Guide by Victoria and Albert Museum published by Thames & Hudson. This is a book for every quilter--beginner or expert. It shares beautiful pieces from the Victoria and Albert Museum and discusses the items and skills needed. Then it has projects to make and try some of the skills.
The artwork in the museum is beautiful! There is a large variety shared in the book. The book does share a bit about quilts, fabrics and stitches as well as lessons on the art and skills in the chapters.
The projects in the book are simplified versions of the beautiful artwork. There are a few in each chapter to try. It also gives the history of the artwork.
Going through this book is like visiting the musuem with an expert to share everything about the work. It is truly a beautiful book. I did not try any of the projects, but they look like fun and are such a neat variety of ideas that are different than you will find most places.
Our final book is Teeny-Tiny Quilts by Donna Lynn Thomas. This book is perfect for those quilters who have a doll lover to make quilts for the dolls. This book shares twelve different quilt patterns in two or three sizes--small, smaller and smallest. The largest sizes are 30.5 by 42.5-inches or 40 by 40-inches.
There are samples of every size with photographs of each separately and of them together. Each size shows different color combinations as well which allows the quilter to think about the pattern in different colors more easily.
The quilts are based of traditional squares with some changes to some. I love having the small sizes for making the quilt squares. The block size is also given for each of the sizes of quilts.
I showed the different quilts to Hazel and had her pick one out for me to make for one of her dolls. She chose the Philadelphia Cobblestones.
I made the smallest size and used scraps from my mother's collection. My mother had many strips cut from her own collection as well as friends' so we are talking a good choice of variety. I picked out ten fabrics (mostly pink and blues) and used only one light color. I only have gotten half the blocks pieced.
Each fabric makes two blocks with the light and dark switching areas. I love the tiny squares. These worked out to be four-inch blocks. There will be twenty blocks when I am finished. I am not sure which of Hazel's dolls will be lucky enough to get this one. I already have ideas for some other ones as well.
For more small quilts (for dolls) check out our review of Little Quilts, Little Quilts and Gifts from Jelly Roll Scraps, and our creations of historic doll quilts. For more modern quilt ideas check out our review of Quilting with a Modern Slant. For some simple gift ideas check out this review. I hope you will check out these great new quilt books. I know you will like them.
It is time to see what you have been creating! Thank you to everyone who shared with us last party. Below are a few of the features from our party. Please remember for your child-oriented crafts, activities, lessons, etc. Sharing Saturday is going on!! We have started having a monthly Sharing Saturday party for the summer, so keep coming back and sharing! I can't wait to see what your latest creations!!
Features
1) From White House Crafts: DIY Paper Fans
2) From Rain on a Tin Roof: Sparkly Horse Birthday Party
3) From Anika's DIY Life: DIY Hair Bow Holder
4) From Ginx Craft: Chocolate Labrador
5) From The Scrap Shoppe: Upcycled Rock Collection Box
6) From Duct Tape & Denim: Jewelry Box DIY with Bird Cage Stencil
Thank you to everyone who shared the last week!! I hope you will share again!! If you are featured here, please feel free to grab a featured button to display proudly on your blog. I would love the help spreading the word about Crafty Weekends!!
Thank you to everyone who shared the last week!! I hope you will share again!! If you are featured here, please feel free to grab a featured button to display proudly on your blog. I would love the help spreading the word about Crafty Weekends!!
