The Needlecraft Shelf
MWBOOKREVW
Scrapbook Workshop
Cynthia Hart
Workman & Company
708 Broadway, New York NY 10003
0-7611-1222-7 $19.95
Scrapbook organizers seeking fresh projects will find this an appealing guide
to preserving memories in heirloom books, with over 30 scrapbook projects
paired with complete step-by-step instructions for beginning and advanced
techniques. Whether a beginner starting with a box of old mementoes or an
advanced scrapbook artist seeking new inspiration, this is packed with ideas.
C&T Publishing
Box 1456, Lafayette, CA 94549
New releases from this fine publisher provide a wealth of quilting and sewing
projects which will inspire any avid quilter and seamstress. Judith Baker
Montano's Elegant Stitches (0-914881-85-X) provides step-by-step instructions
for creating all types of needlepoint and embroidery, illustrating over 117
stitches with plenty of examples and application tips. Color photos of projects
blend with these clear instructions on how to work different stitches. Jean &
Valori Wells' Everything Flowers (007-X) covers the basics of producing quilts
from flower patterns. Flower photos and their translation into quilt patterns
are detailed in this colorful collection. Roberta Horton's Scrap Quilts: The
Art Of Making Do (047-9) packs in examples of pieced and appliqued scrap quilts
along with over twenty patterns and instructions for making a scrap quilt.
Choose blocks and understand how fabrics interact within the quilt pattern with
this basic guide. Gai Perry's Impressionist Quilts (003-7) presents the
author's technique for producing Impressionist-inspired landscape quilts. Her
technique involves cutting individual flowers for each square and placing
squares on point to mimic real paintings. Margaret J. Miller's Easy Pieces
(051-7) examines how colors interact in the quilt environment, with simple
quilt blocks providing the impetus for many quilt possibilities. Two projects
are presented in depth with pattern worksheets provided for additional
projects. Patricia Campbell and Mimi Ayars' Jacobean Rhapsodies (049-5) use
applique designs in ten quilt projects, providing guidelines for producing a
Rhapsody quilt and tips on achieving fine color contrasts. Carl Armstrong's
Wildflowers (045-2) provides design ideas based on applique patterns of
flowers. Ten projects explore the author's methods for applique and provide
plenty of pattern ideas.
The Loving Stitch
Heather Nicholson
Auckland University Press
c/o Paul & Company Publishers
PO Box 442, Concord, MA 01742
1-86940-188-3 $45.00 1-978-369-3049
The Loving Stitch is an engaging and detailed history of knitting and spinning
in New Zealand. Knitting came to New Zealand with the missionaries, and Heather
Nicholson constantly reminds the reader of the ancient European history of this
needlecraft. But her main focus is on a chronological picture of antipodean
knitting which is also a history of the domestic lives of women, of their
resourcefulness, their talent, their sociability. The Loving Stitch follows the
growth of pattern books, the role of knitting for the troops in two world wars,
knitting in the Depression, and the recent revival of interest in art knitting.
Also explored are the different items produced by the skilled knitter, from
jerseys and guernseys, to coutnerpanes, socks and stockings, and scarves. Here
is a treasure trove of information relating to this special art, including
spinning and the woolen industry. Interspersed throughout The Loving Stitch are
anecdotes, memories, and good advice based on the personal experience of
hundreds of knitters and spinners.
Create With Helen Squire
Helen Squire
American Quilter's Society
Box 3290, Paducah, KY 42002-3290
1-57432-724-0 $18.95
This new offering in Squire's 'Dear Helen' series covers hand and machine
quilting, providing patterns in fold-out pages easy for duplication, and tips
on adaptation and enlargement. Don't anticipate color here: this is a practical
pattern book which places practicality over photos.
Visions
Stevii Thompson Graves, Editor
Rutledge Hill Press
211 - 7th Ave. North, Nashville TN 37219
1-55853-678-7 $19.95
Each two years Quilt San Diego produces an internationally judged quilt
exhibition: the 1998 winners can be found within these pages, with 80 of the
world's most acclaimed quilts profiled. These are culled from over 1,000
entries for competition, so they are excellent presentations.
Martingale & Company
Box 118, Bothell, WA 98041-0118
Quilt books from 'That Patchwork Place' provide quilters with plenty of solid
ideas for projects and innovations. Judy Hopkins and Nancy Martin's elegant 101
Fabulous Rotary-Cut Quilts (1-56477-240-3, $29.95) pack in a strong collection
of over a hundred quilts, with step-by-step diagrams and directions outlining
A-Z projects, graded by skill level. Learn how to machine piece with the help
of this fine guide. Maurine Noble's practical Machine Applique (241-1, $14.95)
covers the basics of machine applique methods. Three basic machine applique
methods are covered, with eight beginner projects outlined in this easy user's
guide. Also recommended for beginners is Mimi Dietrich's Borders & Bindings
(253-5, $14.95), which covers basic quilt techniques for embellishing quilt
borders. Methods for measuring and joining are specific and easy to duplicate
here. Janet Kime's It's Raining Cats & Dogs (242-X, $21.95) will delight any
cat or dog lover who also quilts: over thirty paper-pieced quilt projects use
these animals in quilt projects - and teach how to customize each design to
match a pet's proportions. Liz Schwartz & Stephen Seifert's Paper Piecing The
Seasons (248-9, $24.95) covers the basics of foundation piecing, telling how to
create paper-pieced pictorial quilts and how to use full-size patterns which
accompany the instructions here. Beautiful examples in full color throughout
add inspiration. Shelly Burge's Small Quilts Made Easy (243-8, $27.95)
provides the author's special techniques for producing miniature quilts.
Fifteen easily-produced beginner's projects supplement a variety of piecing
techniques designed for miniature and small quilts.
EDITOR'S NOTE:
The Midwest Book Review is an organization of volunteers committed to promoting
literacy, library usage, and small press publishing. We accept no funds from
authors or publishers. Full permission is given to post any of these reviews on
thematically appropriate websites, newsgroups, listserves, organizational
newsletters, or to interested individuals. Please give the Midwest Book Review
a credit line when doing so.
The Midwest Book Review publishes two monthly book review magazines, "Internet
Bookwatch" and "Children's Bookwatch". Both are available for free on the
Midwest Book Review website at http://www.execpc.com/~mbr/bookwatch/
If you would like to submit a review for inclusion in our Midwest Book Review
publications, please send an email request to m...@execpc.com for our "Reviewer
Guidelines". We invite your comments, questions and suggestions.
James A. Cox
Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review
278 Orchard Drive, Oregon, WI 53575