Bijou Lovely: lovely reviews

1.16.2014

Hi there! It's been awhile since I've posted here, but I hope to share some of the projects I've been working on lately soon! Today I want to talk about one of my new favorite quilt books, Vintage Quilt Revival!

When I heard that my friends Faith, Lee, and Katie were writing a book, I knew it was going to be great. They are all extremely talented ladies and I pretty much love every quilt they make. The book exceeded all of my expectations though, it is honestly one of the most beautiful quilt books I've ever read!

The book is about modern traditionalism, which means that the patterns in the book are based off of traditional block designs. Each pattern takes the traditional block and makes it modern in some way, either through fabric selection, new settings, or a twist on the block design. There are mini history lessons included with each pattern as well, which I really enjoyed reading. The pattern instructions are all very clear, and I like that many of the patterns are paper pieced, as I like the added precision you get from using this technique.

I usually purchase quilt books more for inspiration than to make the quilts inside them. I can really only think of one quilt pattern from a book that I've actually wanted to make (Marcelle Medallion from Liberty Love). When I opened Vintage Quilt Revival, I pretty much want to make all of them! Here are a few of my favorites.

As part of the blog hop, we were asked to make one of the blocks in the book to add to a charity quilt that the authors are putting together. I chose the Riviera block so I could do some paper piecing.

Making this block was really fun, and it went together a lot faster than I was expecting. Hopefully I'll be able to make a full quilt from the book soon!

I highly recommend Vintage Quilt Revival for anyone wanting to try out some new (old) block designs, more traditional quilters who want to branch out into modern quilting, and anyone who enjoys paper piecing especially. It's a great way to improve your skills and learn a little about the history of quiltmaking in the process. You can purchase the book on amazon (affiliate links in this post) or from the Interweave store.

Make sure to follow the rest of the blog hop through the links below, and to check out Faith, Lee, and Katie's posts tomorrow where they'll be sharing the finished charity quilts!

January 13th (Monday):
Crazy Mom Quilts - Amanda Jean
Don’t Call Me Betsy - Elizabeth
Film in the Fridge - Ashley
Happy Quilting - Melissa
Noodlehead - Anna

January 14th (Tuesday):
I’m A Ginger Monkey - Katy
Quilting Is My Therapy - Angela
A Quilting Life - Sherri
Sew Mama Sew - Kristin
Tall Grass Prairie Studio - Jacquie

January 15th (Wednesday):
Christa Quilts - Christa
Diary of a Quilter - Amy
Quilting Gallery - Michele
Sew Take a Hike - Penny
V and Co. - Vanessa
West Coast Crafty - Susan

January 16th (Thursday):
Bijou Lovely - Holly
Don’t You Know Who I Am - Sukie
Lily’s Quilts - Lynne
One Shabby Chick - Amber

January 17th (Friday):
Swim, Bike, Quilt - Katie
Freshly Pieced - Lee
Fresh Lemons Quilts - Faith

9.21.2012

Happy Friday! Today I'm honored to be a part of the blog tour for Julie Herman's new book, Skip the Borders.

I'm sure you all know Julie and her blog Jaybird Quilts, right? And you've all seen her amazing pattern line and genius new Hex N More ruler? This book is another wonderful addition to the list of her accomplishments!

Julie and I have a special connection... we're sorority sisters! Even though we've never met, I am so grateful for the support, guidance, and advice that Julie has given me throughout my blogging and sewing journey. I am very happy to help spread the word about Skip the Borders, and I can honestly tell you that it is a wonderful book!

Skip the Borders includes 15 patterns for borderless quilts, suitable for both beginning and intermediate quilters. The book provides a very detailed introduction that describes some of the design principles and helpful hints about the types of quilts that work best without a border. It also includes a section on the basics of making a quilt, piecing together a quilt back, and an entire chapter on binding! I personally love reading these sections because I really enjoy seeing the different ways that people go about making quilts!

"In Formation" Quilt

The entire book is very well written, with clear and concise instructions. The assembly diagrams are all very clear and easy to understand as well. The book is very much in line with what we've come to expect with Julie's patterns! The photography is great too, which is always important to me in a craft/sewing book. I use most quilting books more for inspiration than anything else, and this one definitely makes me want to start sewing!

That being said, there are quilts that I actually want to make in this book! My favorite quilt out of the entire book is "White Stars". I love the contrast between the stars and the background prints! I really want to make a Christmas quilt with this pattern!

Julie put together a little Q&A session for her book tour participants, so here are my answers!

Julie: All of the quilts in Skip the Borders are... borderless! Do you skip borders on most of your quilts?
Me: I skip the borders on almost every quilt! Most of the time, I just prefer most of my quilts without them! Using a contrasting binding usually makes enough of a frame around the quilt in my opinion. Although the Cosmos Butterflies quilt I'm working on now does have a border, so there are always exceptions!

Julie: In the intro to my book I give you Permission to Break the Rules. Do you break some quilting rules? What is the number one rule you break and why?
Me: I personally never worry too much about the rules of quilting. I'd rather do what makes me happy than feel constrained by thinking in the box all the time! The number one rule that I break is that I always press my seams open rather than to one side! I find it makes my blocks lie flatter and honestly I just prefer the symmetry of it! It just looks much cleaner to me and makes the seams look nice and crisp from the front. I also almost never use pins, so I guess I am just a quilting rebel :)

Julie: It's no secret that I love binding! In Skip the Borders I included an entire chapter on binding. So the million dollar question, is do you use bias or straight of grain most of the time?
Me: I use straight grain binding pretty much all the time! It's faster to cut and uses less fabric. Of course if I'm using it on a curve I'll use bias, but that's about the only time.

Now for the giveaway! Martingale is giving away an eBook copy of Skip the Borders to one of you!

~~To enter, simply comment on this post!~~ Tell me the one most important thing you look for in a sewing/quilting book! Please make sure there is a way for me to contact you if you win. I'll pick a winner next Wednesday!

Update: This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to the winner of the Skip the Borders eBook, Lindsay!

Don't forget to stop in an check out the other stops on the Skip the Borders blog tour!

Sept. 10th - Generation Q Magazine

Sept. 12th - PS I Quilt

Sept. 14th - Beyond the Reef

Sept. 17th - Pink Chalk Studio

Sept. 19th - Fat Quarter Shop

Sept. 21st - Bijou Lovely

Sept. 24th - Red Pepper Quilts

Sept. 26th - Swatch & Stitch

Sept. 28th - Juicy Bits

Oct. 1st - V and Co

Oct. 2nd - Martingale Publishing

Oct. 5th - Carolina Patchworks