It's my turn on the blog tour today!
When Elizabeth first emailed me about being a stop on her blog tour it was all I could do not to type back in caps and exclamation points! I was so excited.
I had been looking forward to her book for a long time and I already have a few on order to give away as Christmas presents.
The Practical Guide to Patchwork is such a great book for both new and experienced quilters - I learned a few new techniques just looking through the first section on quilting basics.
Normally I kinda gloss over those sections in quilting books but Elizabeth always has such great tips in her patterns and I knew the book would be full of them.
And I was right - I have a few friends who sew but are wanting to learn more about quilting and I have recommended this book to all of them.
I am amazed at her ability to explain things so clearly and thoroughly and she walks you through each process so well.
The patterns in the book are really fantastic - and like everyone else, I love the way she gives different looks (or fabric selections) for each quilt.
Usually when I buy a quilting book, I just like one or two patterns in it and it gets shelved and I forget all about it. I am having a problem deciding which quilt I want to start with in this book - there are just too many must-do's on my list!
I asked Elizabeth a few questions to go along with the review:
I feel like I learned so much just through reading through your book - new techniques/tips and ways of doing things I hadn't thought of before....how did you learn all this? Was it trial and error? Or did you have someone who showed you the basics and then you went from there?
Thanks! I’m so glad it was helpful. I learned to quilt in a really backward way. When I started, I had a lot of grandiose design plans and tried a lot of crazy, elaborate things (many with completely inappropriate materials like fake fur, spandex, paint, etc.) but I didn’t make any effort to learn how people normally made quilts. I just assumed I would be able to figure it out! While I was able to figure out how to make a quilt on my own, it was only after I took the time to check out library books and research “real” quilting techniques that I reconsidered and refined my construction methods. I did hang on to some techniques (like pressing seams open) that I had been doing previously and preferred to the techniques recommended by a lot of the books.
I absolutely love all the patterns in the book - do you have all the quilts stacked up or are they spread out in different rooms around your house?
They actually did spend several weeks stacked up in my living room, but I’ve recently started finding them homes. (It was kind of crazy to get 12 whole quilts sent back to me at one time!)
When you are quilting, do you listen to music? An audiobook? Watch movies? Or do you just like peace and quiet?
I usually listen to music during the day and watch movies at night.
And, because I just have to ask, what would you say your favorite fabric (or fabric line) is?
I think my all time favorites are probably in Etsuko Furuya’s Echino collections. Her prints are so beautiful and distinctive! I love the gorgeous colors and the fact that she successfully uses animal motifs in a sophisticated way. I especially love her prints that include insects.
OK so here's the best part....Stash Books and Elizabeth are giving away a copy to one of you! All you have to do is leave a comment and you'll be entered to win.
And Elizabeth is adding some wonderful fabric to go along with the book - so you'll win an amazing book and a gorgeous set of fabrics to play with too!
Please only one comment per person and I'll pick a winner on Saturday Nov. 6th - Good luck!
The tour still has a few more stops:
Thursday November 4th - True Up
Friday, November 5th - Pink Chalk Studio
Saturday, November 6th - Whip Up
**Edited to add: Comments are now closed!
