A couple of you lovely readers have been asking me for recommendations of where to start if you want to quilt. And lucky for you because there are some great books out now which I really wish were available when I started quilting a few years ago.
First up has to be Oh Fransson’s ‘The Practical Guide to Patchwork’…….it has such a great intro section packed with lots of tips, photos and the basics explained. It is just perfect for the beginner to the more intermediate quilter looking for modern projects.
There are some beautiful quilt patterns in this book and it is definitely my favourite at the moment. Even if Australia Post totally stuffed up the amazon order and it got delivered to a photographer in manly who hoped that I had his book! I didn’t. He wasn’t happy but Amazon refunded me and I got the book for free (when it eventually arrived), compliments of Amazon for Australia Post’s mistake. Nice.
Next up I love this book which also has a great intro section (not as long as the book above but covering the basics) and a lot of modern projects. This one is also great for all levels as it will test the more experienced quilter to try new ways with their quilting while having some great little projects which are perfect for weekend quilting when you want something quick and easy. Amen to that.
And here is my lovely pile of quilting books…I also have a huge pile of magazines and japanese quilting books too. Yes I like my books and these are just the quilting ones…….I haven’t shown you the japanese craft books, the sewing, the knitting, the crochet, the softies and so on.
My favourite places to buy books are fishpond, amazon and book depository. And of course my local bookstore too, Berkelouw . They have a small but good craft book section.
I love craft books too – I have never made anything out of any of them, but love to flick and dream. The best place when you want books is http://www.booko.com.au and this will give you the cheapest place in the world to buy your book incl postage. I have saved heaps using this service.
I have the Material Obsession book and it is fantastic!
I have heaps of books and mountains of magazines too….I think they are breeding!
hmm wonder if we should perhaps be buying them from Dymocks and Angus and Robertsons first you know keep our Aussie dollars at home (I know how tempting Book depository is). After all I am already sad that all the quilt shops are closing down around me and now book shops.
I love the look of that 1st one, the practical guide! Nicky, I love your point about buying from local book stores, when it’s half the price there is definatley something going on there! Senator Bob Brown (I love him) was on tv last night demanding a change to the laws which prevent our local (Australian) bookstores from sourcing cheaper books from abroad. The prices are set by Aussie publishers, and the stores are forced to pay, and must charge according to RRP. Definatley time to raise our voices against that absurd law which is ultimatley lining the publishers pockets, and costing us and our local bookstores big $$$. I didn’t know about that law until last night, makes me mad. But as a single income family, I don’t have the luxury of paying whatever, so I usually shop around (ie; the net)(except for milk at the moment…. I WILL NOT pay $1 a litre at the expense of our wonderful farmers.) End of tangential rant, sorry hahaha! Back to you retromummy, inspiring as always!
Nice post! Please, others!
Books , books and more books, nothing, I mean nothing, will ever replace books for me and these sort are the very best sort!!! jennyxx
I looked at your stack there and thought ‘I’ve got that one, and that one …’ Now you have me running of the BookDepository to check out the others! LOL
Nothing beats a craft book for curling up in a chair and dreaming of ‘some day’ (hopefully soon) projects. 😉
I have 3 of those and love them so much, thanks for the reccommendations
I just bought my mum the Elizabeth Hartman book and a voucher for fabric for her 60th birthday today!
Its a great bookisn’t it?
Practical Guide to Patchwork is on my wishlist.
Is it worth all the hype?
Am loving the look of that first book…as a complete novice to quilting I need all the help I can get
Thanks for sharing Corrie.
Oh, Corrie, I could kiss your feet! I’ve been meaning to ask you this for ages as I want to make a quilt for Sam. Thanks so much – just brilliant. And I totally agree with Jennifer about Booko (see my post at http://www.lifeonplanetbaby.com/2010/12/three-brilliant-websites-to-make-your.html). I’m heading there now! J x
Thank you for today’s blog post. I appreciate you takinig the time to answer our questions.
Once again thank you. I look forward to making my first quilt.
Claire
Thanks for the recommendations! I’d really like to try to learn how to make a quilt, so this is a great place to start!
Thanks for the quilt book tips! I have been totally tossing up between the Oh Fransson book and the Fresh Quilting one. The latter has really caught my eye because it seems to have a different edge to most…..