I love making quilts. However I do it rather slowly most of the time. I have had four quilt books that I haven't shared with you sitting in my review folder and to be honest I haven't been motivated to start any of the quilts. I picked out quilts to make in each one but didn't have a bed or person to make them for and just didn't have the time to do them without the motivation of a reason. I also have had a lot of family things going on and am hoping to start making a classic double wedding ring for my own bed. So with all of that I thought I would do a quilt book round-up with fun facts about quilting first.
Fun Facts about Quilting
- The word quilt comes from the Latin word culcita which means mattress or cushion. The English word was first used around 1250.
- Quilting as we know it, where stuffing goes between two layers of fabric, started in France.
- Rudimentary quilting dates back to China around 3000 B.C. Their ancient warriors quilted chest protectors together.
- Ancient Egyptians quilted clothing.
- The world’s oldest quilt in existence is the Tristan Quilt. It is in the Victoria and Albert Museum. It is believed it was made between 1360 and 1400.
- Early American quilts were made by the English and Dutch settlers. They used them to keep warm at night while sleeping but also to keep out drafts from doors and windows.
- The world’s largest quilt is the AIDS Memorial Quilt. It weighs 54 tons and spans 1.2 million square feet. In 1987 it contained 1,920 panels commemorating people who died of AIDS. Now there are 48,000 panels. Most blocks are rectangles measuring 6 feet by 3 feet or roughly the size of a grave.
- The largest patchwork quilt measures 270,174 square feet. It is called Manta da Cultura (Patchwork for Culture) and was made in 2000 by Realizar Eventors Especialis in Portugal.
- The world’s largest historical quilt is in Antler, North Dakota. It depicts the state as a colorful map. It is 11,390 square feet.
- In 2020 the U.S. had approximately 21 million quilters. They had an average age of 63.
- Paducah, Kentucky calls itself the quilting capital of the world. It is home to The National Quilt Museum.
- A summer quilt is a quilt that does not have the stuffing.
- During the 1800s there was a custom for a girl to make a baker’s dozen of quilt tops before she engaged. 12 were utility quilts and one was a masterpiece for her bridal bed. After her engagement she would complete the tops into quilts.
- A mother would often make several quilts for her children for when they left their childhood home and became adults.
- In the mid 1800s the introduction of the sewing machine changed how quilt tops were pieced. However even with the invention of a separate quilting attachment hand quilting was still favored for another century.
- The US postal service has featured quilts from Gee’s Bend, Amish and folk art on its stamps.
- It is said the most famous quilts in America are the Gee’s Bend Quilts.
- Quilting bees originated in the Midwest US during the 1800s . There was a need for socializing due to lack of neighbors. It drew women together to finish quilts and make new friends.
- The most expensive quilt ever sold was a Civil War-era piece purchased for $254,000 in 1991.
- Dedicated quilters are defined as those who spend more than $500/year on quilting buy on average 99 yards of fabric a year which is almost enough for an entire football field. Dedicated quilters usually spend $3,363 on quilting supplies each year. They spend almost 8 hours a week on-line visiting quilting sites and groups centered on quilting techniques, supplies and news.
- Beginner quilters spend 6.9 hours quilting a week on average. Advanced quilters spend around 17.6 hours.
- The average quilter in 2020 is a retired woman in her 60s and she owns four different sewing machines.
- Quilters answering a survey say they quilt to relax, relieve stress, be creative, and connect with family and friends through gift-giving.
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| Tristan Quilt by Unknown 1395, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons |
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| AIDS Memorial Quilt Photo by National Institutes of Health, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons |
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| Gee's Bend Quilting Bee photo by Carol M. Highsmith, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons |
Sources:
- 24 Blocks. “Fun Facts About the Wide and Wonderful World of Quilting.” https://24blocks.com/cs-quilting-facts/
- Glassenberg, Abby. Craft Industry Alliance. “Quilting Trends Survey Results 2020.” (19 Jun 2020) https://craftindustryalliance.org/quilting-trends-survey-results-2020/
- Guinness World Records. “Largest Patchwork Quilt.” https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/largest-patchwork-quilt
- Mathew, Kathy. Chicago Now. “12 Fun Facts About Quilting.” (26 Mar 2014) https://www.chicagonow.com/quilting-sewing-creating/2014/03/12-fun-facts-about-quilting/
- Quilting in America. “History of Quilts.” https://www.quilting-in-america.com/History-of-Quilts.html
- Smithsonian Magazine. “You Can Now Explore All 48,000 Panels of the AIDS Memorial Quilt Online.” https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/aids-memorial-quilt-now-online-180975370/
Now onto our books. Since my mother gave me many different size strips, I wanted to look at various strip quilts including jelly roll ones. A jelly roll is usually 40 2.5-inch strips of coordinating fabrics. Three out of the four books I am sharing involve strips. The first is Love of Jelly Roll Quilts by Love Patchwork & Quilting.
From the Publisher:
Tantalizing, tasty, sweet . . . sew up something good enough to eat!
From the pages of Love Patchwork & Quilting and Today’s Quilter comes a delicious collection of 13 bright, bold quilts that feature the perennially popular jelly roll strips. Strip piecing, basketweave, pinwheels, appliqué, and more—use 2 1/2-inch pre-cut fabric strips in exciting and unexpected ways. Whip up quilts in a range of project sizes and complexity, including a suite of baby projects, a pillow, wall hangings, and bed quilts. Top designers like Susan Briscoe and Jo Avery are featured. Finally, get the best from the pages of the UK’s most popular quilting magazines!
- Jelly rock-’n’-roll! This project-stuffed book is an easy and affordable way to own stylish patterns from the best-selling modern quilting magazines in the United Kingdom.
- Piece thirteen projects from 2 ½” precut strips, ranging from bed-size beauties to quick-sew projects
- Take strip-piecing a step further with innovative techniques and tons of variety
From Me:
This book gives thirteen different projects that range from bed quilts to nursery quilts and accessories. Some are twists on more traditional patterns and others are a bit more modern. Of course any can be made more modern depending on the fabric one chooses.
I love that the quilt has many strip quilts as well as ones where the jelly roll strips are cut into squares or triangles to make more complex designs. I also love that there are the baby quilt, matching pillow, and a comforter (which Hazel would have loved as a baby). There are some fun projects in this book.
Our next book is String Frenzy by Bonnie K Hunter.
From the Publisher:
Once you go scrappy, there’s no turning back!
Are you buried in scraps—big pieces, small pieces, hunks, chunks, strips, and parts? Bonnie K. Hunter fans will love her newest book of playful string-quilt projects! Sew a dozen vibrant quilt patterns using the small leftovers from other projects that seem too tiny to save, yet too big to toss. Learn Bonnie’s basics for foundation piecing narrow fabric pieces 3/4” to 2” wide, turning them into dazzling scrappy blocks and one-of-a-kind quilts.
• Have a string piecing party with a best-selling author, the great Bonnie K. Hunter
• Love your leftovers! Become a scrap quilt addict, sewing fabric strings and crumbs into brand new blocks
• Hunter fans will love this offering of twelve “use it all” patterns in her signature style
From Me:
This book has twelve quilts to make. Bonnie uses foundation paper when piecing the blocks. This will make points more clear but also take longer. The creativity in the styles however is amazing. There is even a pumpkin patch one. Most of the quilts use random sizes of strips and not the 2.5-inches of a jelly roll, so these are good patterns to use on scraps or some of the strips my mother gave me. She gave me ones that range from about 1-inch to 6-inches.
There is a huge variety of styles of quilts in this book and the instructions are easy to follow. Bonnie is very creative with the quilt patterns combining a bit of modern and traditional styles.
Our next book is Strip Quilt Secrets by Diane D. Knott.
From the Publisher:
Transform fabric strips into unique and interesting quiltsGet ready for some of the best-kept secrets in strip quilting! You’ll start with the basics of cutting, storing, and piecing fabric strips from 1½” to 3½” wide. Explore five techniques to make strip-pieced rows, triangles, and more advanced blocks. Then make the most of your stash by turning precut strips, sliced yardage, and even selvages into fifteen innovative strip-quilt projects. Customize the look of each quilt with blank coloring pages, laying the foundation to design your own strip quilts.
• Sew fifteen quilt projects from fabric strips, in every look from planned to scrap-tastic
• Bust your stash and your scraps! Use extra-wide strips, skinny selvages, precuts, and yardage to sew innovative designs
• Start with easy strip sets, advancing to triangles and interesting layouts that might surprise you
From Me:
This book has different techniques and is divided up by those techniques. There are strip sets, triangles from strips, resewing strips, individual strips and more. There are a total of fifteen projects in this book, and there is a lot of variety from traditional to modern quilts. She uses different size strips and even has some with the selvages. In the beginning of the book Diane shares about her strip collection and how she creates the strips.
The quilts in this book range for scrap quilts to well planned color wise quilts. Some of the quilts use a fabric foundation piece but others are just piecing the strips. The instructions are very clear and there are great pictures also to help.
Our final book is a nod to my former life as a geometry teacher. I a tend to love to check out books about optical illusion quilts and 3-D quilts. I believe it is because I taught about them in geometry classes for so many years. It is Stunning 3-D Quilts Simplified by Ruth Ann Berry.
From the Publisher:
Sew three-dimensional quilt illusionsCreate a stunning quilt that will have your friends asking, “How did you do that?” Believe it or not, these attention-grabbing projects come together with straight rows of simple shapes. You’ll learn how to sew 12 visually arresting quilts each in 4 colorways giving you dozens of dynamic options. Build your confidence in bias piecing, as you pair light, medium, and dark fabrics for heavenly hexes. Don’t be intimidated—just follow the easy assembly diagrams and watch your quilt come together one row at a time with no inset seams. These 3-D illusions are so impressive, you won’t know whether to keep them on the bed or hang them on the wall.
- Sew 3-D illusion quilts that have your friends asking how you did it
- Arrange 60-degree triangles in rows for easy piecing with no inset seams
- Build your confidence in bias piecing, mixing color values for dimensional effects
From Me:
Most of the patterns in this book offer different sizes however almost all of them are at least a twin size. They are big. I wasn't sure I was ready to make such a big 3-D quilt design which is why I haven't made one of them yet. The book provides the pattern in one set of colors however shows color alternatives at the end of each quilt instruction. Again there is a huge variety with the quilts. They all tend to be pretty modern but some are busier than others. Most of these quilts are made with more solid-ish fabrics and the designs on the fabric help with the shading and thus giving the 3-D look.
The patterns are fun and the color choices really make the quilts pop. I love that they give some color inspiration for each quilt. There is also a table runner which I may play with soon. The book provides a "graph" of each quilt as well so color can be explored a bit.
