Bring balance to your life in the marriage of beauty and function! From selecting fabrics to threading the needle to piecing together your project, the steps you take to create a beautiful quilt will allow you to calm your mind and bring harmony to your life. Master quilter Sandra Detrixhe shares what she's learned through years of creating art out of scraps of cloth: Quilting is a type of meditation. It's both absorbing and mind-freeing. Sandra and several of her colleagues relate stories about the quiet, mindful experience of quilting--choosing fabrics with a purpose in mind, adding pieces with special meaning, and finding a community of quilters. Each chapter includes a suggested activity that will show you how to find peace in the process. You'll soon be able to turn every minute you spend patterning, basting, and binding into enjoyable, mindful moments. With Zen and the Art of Quilting, you'll learn your wonderful, handmade quilt isn't the craft's only reward. The meditative practice of making your lovely new piece is something to be treasured as well.
How to get from "start" to "art" Make treasured art quilts from bits of cloth, stitched motifs, and painted details. Dip your toes into the world of art quilting with mixed-media techniques, practice exercises, checklists, and work-along projects presented using 8 design guides. This visual, step-by-step guide will help you unlock your own artistic vision as you quilt in a series, finish small art pieces, and incorporate meaningful symbols into your work. • Tap into your creative muse! Art quilt inspiration, techniques, and checklists presented in 8 easy-to-use design guides • Uncomplicated, visual guide to fabric collage with practice pieces to help you gain expertise • Tell your own artistic story with colors, materials, and beloved symbols
Zentangle(R) and Quilting go together like needle and thread. Zentangle contributes to one's peace of mind, improves focus, and ignites creativity through repetitive patterns called tangles. Stitching tangles is fun and results in eye-catching designs. With tangles designed specifically for the sewing machine, even novice quilters will enjoy experimenting with tangle techniques. It is easy to apply patterns to create beautiful quilts. Start small with a canvas purse and simply draw on fabric. Presto! You've finished a project in less than an hour. Do you need a gift in a hurry? Personalize a tea towel with a one-of-a-kind design. Zen-sational Stitches offers a variety of projects so the busy sewer can explore this exciting trend.
Stuck in a quilting rut? Stop dawdling and start doodling! Get inspired to machine quilt that unfinished top with an astounding two hundred and fifty new designs from best-selling Doodle Quilting author Cheryl Malkowski. Dozens of free-motion ideas for quilting individual blocks--plus themed motifs, allover designs, and sashing and border patterns--mean you'll find a new freedom in traveling across the quilt. So change your tune from just getting it done to quilting up some fun!
The Sleep Quilt is unlike any other quilt you will have seen. Commissioned by Tracy Chevalier, it is entirely stitched and quilted by prisoners in some of Britain's toughest jails. Each of the 63 squares explores what sleep means in prison. A moment of escape for some, for others a dark return to all they most regret in life, sleep has a great significance in jail that is only strengthened by the difficulty of finding it in the relentlessly noisy, hot and cramped environment. By turns poignant, witty, lighthearted and tragic, The Sleep Quilt shines a light on lives that few outside can guess at. An essay by Tracy Chevalier and an introduction by Katy Emck of Fine Cell Work, the charity that made the quilt possible, as well as many quotations from prisoners, frame this remarkable work.
For crafters “looking for patterns based on ethnic designs, modern quilters who love blocks with asymmetry and anyone who loves bright, exciting quilts!” (Sleeping Dog Quilts) Bold, vibrant, striking—and amazingly easy to make! This collection of 15 modern quilts draws on handmade crafts from India, the American South, and Africa to create a style that’s at once traditional and contemporary, artistic and practical. A simple stack, cut, shuffle, and stitch technique makes the sewing fun for quilters of any level, and also makes every quilt a one-of-a-kind creation. No two are ever alike! The author provides alternate settings, plus an inspiring photo gallery of the crafts that shaped her style. Use these projects to enrich your quilting by bringing in textures, patterns, and colors from around the world. “An inspired designer . . . The 15 free form block projects featured in this book are a celebration of this ‘melting pot,’ and brim with ideas. The book is accompanied, refreshingly, with photographs illustrating some of the inspirations and stories behind the projects, and it’s a pleasure to see how Sujata has translated them into works of quilted excellence.” —Popular Patchwork “A graphic designer and quilter, she finds inspiration all over the world—in the quilts from Gee’s Bend, the Indian godharis and the bold, colorful fabrics from Africa . . . A colorful and inspiring book. Highly recommended!” —Down Under Quilts Magazine “Sujata Shah takes a different look at traditional blocks and adds her interpretation with 15 simple and fun free-form block projects.” —McCall’s Quick Quilt
“The quilt designs are beautiful, but what’s most impressive about this collection is the variety of techniques included.” —Library Journal Medallion quilts, known for detailed borders built around a central focal point, have seen a resurgence in the modern quilting movement. Savor the intricate piecing and sophisticated appliqué behind 11 all-new modern medallion quilts. Projects range from basic to complex, with each quilt as unique as its maker. Stitch a ring of Flying Geese, learn how to resize borders, and master useful techniques, such as sewing inset curves and paper piecing, so you can create your own unique modern masterpiece!
