The Art of the Handmade Quilt
Many years of authorial experience—in teaching and writing—inform this newest addition to the quilt-maker’s library. Although Daniel does capitalize on the old and traditional patterns, such as Log Cabin and Whig Rose, she also melds her antique finds with newer contemporary techniques to create up-to-date designs. Such is the case with Music Lessons, a beginner’s quilt that fuses four old Monkey Wrench blocks with the embroidery pattern cat and bird discovered on a child’s coverlet. She also develops unusual twenty-first-century designs—Appliqué Medallion, for one—that pay homage in form to tradition while presenting a modern, streamlined adaptation ready for admiration. Each of the 18 projects includes level of difficulty, ranging from the beginner’s one needle to an expert’s four; there’s also an introductory narrative explaining the quilt’s origins plus sidebars that encompass fashioning tips (e.g., use fine-grain sandpaper as an anchor during tracing) and quilting information (the use of conversation prints). At the end, she rounds up the usual how-to’s—cutting, stenciling, and collecting, piecing, and finishing. --Barbara Jacobs