Modern Patchwork

I was (and am!) a huge fan of Elizabeth Hartman's book 'The Practical Guide to Patchwork' so I was really excited when she put out a new one called 'Modern Patchwork'.

However, the few advance glimpses of it didn't really get me as excited as I felt I should be, and I was a bit disappointed. However, I should have known that in any book review, the reviewer concentrates on the quilts they personally like, because there are only so many images you can show in a blog post! I got a digital review copy from C&T Publishing and yes there are quilts in it that I love, and no I'm not disappointed anymore - so let me show you the ones that really get me excited and tell you my plans for one of the patterns! And yes of course there are quilts in it I don't care for, but as the owner of far too many a few quilt books, I figure that if you love about half the quilts in a book then it's a good buy and I'm over the magic 50% with this book.

One of the things I loved about Elizabeth's first book was how she showed alternate ideas for the quilts and she's done the same thing here, which I'm really happy about! Although I'm getting better at looking past fabrics I don't care for to the block beneath, I still find it helpful when someone does it for me. This one is Glam Garlands, though I have to say that for some reason it looks more like trees in a forest to me! In this case however, I do like the yellows and greys a lot.

These little houses in Neighbourhood are cute, you could have a lot of fun with the fabric in the windows.

I also love this big geometric diamond quilt called Fire Drill, it's not so precise that it becomes what I dread in patchwork - too precise and geometric (take that hexagons!). Plus if you stare at it long enough it makes you go cross-eyed.

Two of the quilts I especially like feature curves. For some reason I'm paranoid about sewing curves, despite the fact I happily sew them when I'm making clothing! Irrational much? Anyways, these quilts are cunning because they're applique and for some reason that seems easier!

The one I've got plans for is this one, Zylophone

The Monday night quilt group has been talking about doing a bee and I think I'm going to see if this one would work - and do it with my stash of vintage sheets. I've never been especially keen on bees because while I've seen some really great quilts done that way I've also seen some less than inspiring ones! But I think we've got such a great group that I'm happy to give it a go now. I'm not entirely sure how this would break down so that a group could do it, and we're only 8 or 9 people, but I only want a Queen size so I'd probably get at least half of it done for me? I need to sit down with the specs and really think it out - plus figure out how much it'll cost to get the sashing etc. Quilts are so spendy, even if you have half the fabric already and I'm too much of a control freak to not supply the background and most, if not all, the fabrics!