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Sleeping Dog Quilts

SLEEPING DOG QUILTS

July 25, 2016

Book Review: "The Quilt Block Cookbook"

by Judy Tucker


BookTheQuiltBlockCookbook.jpg
BookTheQuiltBlockCookbook.jpg

Here is another beautiful book from Lucky Spool Media, LLC.   The Quilt Block Cookbook by Amy Gibson, was published at the beginning of July this year. (It apparently has sold out at the publisher, but can still be found on Amazon)!

This is a book of 12 inch quilt block designs.  There are 40 complex blocks and an additional 10 simpler "staple blocks" which can be used for alternate blocks between the more detailed blocks.  An assortment of the 40 blocks can be used to make a traditional Sampler Quilt, but Amy has also made several Modern quilts which just use a a few of the blocks.  There was an "Ah-Ha!" moment when I turned the page and saw her "Bouce" quilt. It has just 6 of the quilt blocks and it is really striking!

While she uses the computer quilt program Electric Quilt 7 to design her quilts, Amy suggests some great ways to test out a quilt's lay out if you don't own a quilt design program but do have a camera or a scanner. Brilliant, and fun too!

Each of the blocks in the book has its own photo.  All the block photos are the same size which is great if you want to use Amy's options to lay out a quilt.  Under the photo of each block are fabric requirements and basic construction information.  In the back of a book there is "Unit Piecing Guide" with diagrams and detailed information about how to make the separate units in the blocks.

This is one of those books I know I will keep coming back to for ideas!

The Instagram hashtag for sharing blocks or projects is #TheQuiltBlockCookbook if you want to post your blocks or see what other folks have been making.

 

TAGS: The Quilt Block Cookbook, Amy Gibson, Sampler Quilt, Modern Quilting, Book Review, Quilt Book


May 14, 2015

Book Review: You Inspire Me to Quilt by Cheryl Arkison

by Judy Tucker


Book You Inspire Me to Quilt.jpg
Book You Inspire Me to Quilt.jpg

Cheryl Arkison's newest book, You Inspire Me to Quilt,  was released this week.  This book is a collection of quilts designed by 8 modern designers plus 2 quilts that Cheryl designed.  All the quilts are inspired by "Everyday Life."   And they are!

Cheryl has made a quilt of with the colored dancing bars seen on a music equalizer.  My brother, who spent his teens and early 20s in recording booths, would love this one!  

Blair Stocker made a quilt of up-cycled ski parkas! And on the theme of cold weather sports, Andrea Harris designed a "Canadian Hockey Quilt".  

Cheryl's long-time collaborator, Amanda Jean Nyberg, has created a "Time Stamp Quilt" inspired by a digital clock radio.  I think it would be cool re-interpreted as a baseball score board for a significant win for a kid's team, or maybe a World Series Win for a grown-up's home team.

Those are just a few of the fun quilts in this book. 

The quilt design that immediately inspired me make it my own, is a quilt called "Dino Patch" designed by Carolyn Friedlander, based on a conversation with her nephew. Her quilt has raw edge appliqué dinosaurs. You can see several of them on the book cover above. I looked at those dinosaurs and thought, "Dogs! Cats! Fish!"  Critters that usually require serious paper piecing or mind-bogling appliqué.  This gets the critter's shape and motion, and takes about 10 minutes to stitch out.

I'm working on a quilt of Dog Pals. As the say, "Draw what you know!"  Here are the blocks I've completed. The first dog is Jake, a Black German Shepherd.  Then Maisie, a big red dog, and Hazel my black Lab mix, great pals from dog walking through Hounds About Town!  There's Hagrid, the bichon from Canine Nosework class, Taffy my English Springer Spaniel, chasing a ball (of course!!), and Magnolia, the best ever mystery-black-dog mix from Mississippi!!  More dog blocks are in progress.  When it's done, I'll post the finished quilt.

Quilt Dog Pals Jake.jpg
Quilt Dog Pals  Maisie and Hazel.jpg
Quilt Dog Pals Hagrid.jpg
Quilt Dog Pals Taffy.jpg
Quilt Dog Pals Magnolia.jpg

Check out Cheryl Arkison's new book!  There's even a BACON quilt pattern if you want one!  Really!!

TAGS: Book Review, Quilt Book, Cheryl Arkison, dogs, raw edge applique


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