Impressionist Applique: Exploring Value & Design to Create Artistic Quilts
A very unusual and intriguing book. It's not a series of projects, although patterns and guidelines for making five quilts - including the swan shown on the front cover - have been included. This is more a primer on the method that Grace and Meredith use to plan their work before starting to actually cut or sew fabric. Their very strong emphasis is on value and they take a highly analytical, almost mathematical approach that we believe will appeal to quiltmakers who feel most comfortable with plans, structure and precision. We might have expected working in this way would lead to exacting geometric quilts, but Grace and Meredith's quilts are quite "painterly" landscapes and animal portraits that are absolutely stuffing.--Australian Homespun; no.108 vol.13 no.5Would you like to discover what the secret is to a show-stopping art quilt? If so, read on! Setting out to make a quilt is like embarking on a journey; filled with unexpected surprises, some frustration and, hopefully a really satisfying end product. To quote the chinese proverb of Lao-tzu 'A journey of a thousand miles beings with one little step' and this book encourages you to join the journey and take pleasure in a piece of work that reflects your visions and dreams. There are 5 projects with full-size patterns featuring three appliqué styles: turned edge, raw edge and free edge, so you can choose the method of appliqué that you are most comfortable with. One of the most interesting elements of this book, for me, is the instruction on how valie creates a focal point, develops dimension and lends a painterly effect to your quilt. This book is more than just an appliqué instruction book.--Jennifer Trollope, Fabrications Quilting for You; 06/26/12The beguiling beauty of Grace Errea's appliqué quilts demonstrates that her emphasis on the use of value in design achieves incredible results. WRitten with the help of Meridith Osterfield, she gives invaluable advice on creating successful compositions and well-illustrated instructions for three appliqué techniques. Patterns for five quilt projects are included, along with suggestions for changing the colors and values for different effects and information on quilting and finishing a quilt.--Kit Robinson, Machine Quilting Unlimited; 06/26/12