Book, magazine, & pattern reviews by members for members.

Wise Craft Quilts, A Guide to Turning Beloved Fabrics into Meaningful Patchwork, Blair Stocker, 2017, as reviewed by ASG member Cindy Baker

I wondered what is a “craft” quilt. And then I wondered what’s a “wise” craft quilt. This book is so much more than its title! It is a thoughtful compilation of ideas about what to do with a collection of “special” fabrics. If you have a group of precious fabrics—think baby clothes, daddy or grandpa’s shirts, handkerchiefs, a wedding dress, feedsacks—you can turn them into a memory quilt using the author’s suggested quilt patterns. A vintage tablecloth that dressed your family’s dining room table on special occasions can be transformed into a wholecloth quilt. What to do with a furniture store book of fabric samples? Or a stack of denim jeans scraps? Turn them into a quilt! If you’re a lover of Sashiko like I am, you’ll want to see the Boro quilt project.

The author gives us courage to cut into our most precious fabrics by offering her strategies how to transform odd-shaped fabric pieces into cohesive quilt blocks.  Twenty-one projects are beautifully photographed. Templates and basic quilt-making instructions are included.