Jill Schumacher "Quiltmaker to the Queen,' our August speaker, very generously gave a copy of her book to our library, and signed it too!  This contains easy to follow, step-by-step diagrams of her favorite quilting designs and  instructions how to quilt them.  To become a multi-award-winning quilter like Jill,  this book is all you need (plus plenty of practice!).

 Sue Gragg has very generously donated a binder of patterns for a block-of-the-month quilt.  Pieced patterns include:  Morning Glory, Tulip, Orange Blossom, Pansy, Bluebells, Poppy, Rose, and more, plus a pieced border.  Make one block for a wall quilt, or combine several or all into a larger quilt.  The pattern sows the blocks on a black background, which is magnificent, but don't let the black scare you away if that is not your color preference, or if your eyesight is such that you choose not to work with a dark color -- I have seen this with a light background, and it was also lovely. 

 Tina Crabtree has donated this pattern book for us. 

Traditional patterns (Double Wedding Ring, Cake Stand, Building Blocks, Stars, Victorian Crazy Patch,  and more) made up in blue.  But if blue is not your color, just choose another color!  Quilts of all sizes, plus a jacket, a tote bag, tea cozy, pillows, window shades,   Lots of different techniques, for beginners to advanced sewers.    A Donation.

Birds, butterflies, flower-filled baskets, beehives, bunnies, a sunny sunshine, vegetables, a garden angel, and more.  A Donation.

Be Warm.  Be Loving.  Be Kind.  Be Positive.  Be Patient.  Be Honest.  Be Prayerful.  Be Smart.  Be Respectful.  Be Joyful.  Be Grateful.  Be Forgiving.  Be Forgiving.   Each saying has an image, such as a snowperson, angel, cupcake, bunny, Santa, owl, puppy.  Make just one for a wall quilt or pillow, or combine all into a quilt.  A Donation.

Love Is Believing All Things.  Love is Bearing All Things.  Love is Patient.  Love is Homemade.  Love is Give and Take.  Love is Unconditional.  Love is Everlasting.  Love is Quilting.  Love is Hearts Entwined.  Love is Kind.  Snowperson, bunnies, dogs, kids, nativity scene, hearts, cats, quilting, Noah's Ark, Alphabet.  Applique or redwork.  Make into single wall quilts, tote bags, pillows, or combine all into a quilt.  A Donation.

Marsha McCloskey's books are all treasures, and I am not sure why we did not have this in our Library, but because of a generous donation, we do now!  Learn the basics of traditional quiltmaking with the best. 

13 fanciful quilt patterns of roses, tulips, daisies, carnations, scrolls, leaves, and frilled hearts.  Make one pattern into a wall quilt or pillow, or combine all into a magnificent quilt.  A Donation

A dozen patterns for miniature quilts, about 15 to 20 inches.  A Donation

Rodale Publishing's series of books are filled with easy-to-understand instructions that are illustrated heavily.  A Donation.

Bubbling, crinkling, pleating, felting, pin weaving, trapunto, devore -- techniques to add dimension and interest to quilts and wearables.  A Donation.

Start with an outline of a face.  Choose a hairstyle.  Add in mouth, nose, glasses,  neckline,  jewelry, go crazy with embellishments.  All of these designs are ready to copy, cut out from fabric (make that hair green if you wish!), applique down any way you wish.  Create a portrait yourself (and/or others).  Make one portrait, or an entire album.  This could be a really fun Friendship Block! 

Lots of Santas, wreaths, cardinals, angels, stars, candy cane, Christmas trees, holly, bow, rocking horse, nutcracker, snowpeople, reindeer, train, sleigh, candle, doll, gingerbread boy and girl, dove, basket, stocking, various borders, and more holiday patterns to paper (foundation) piece.  A Donation.

Does your favorite little one like to ride bikes?  Ice skate?  Play soccer?  Skateboard?  Want to be an astronaut?  In-line skate?  Start with the basic applique pattern and customize it to be a boy or girl.  Choose the color of eyes and hair.  Dress the image in a terrific costume.  The pattern sizes are for wall quilts approximately 25 x 32, but of course, you can alter the size with the help of a printer.  Add a few borders to increase the size to a lap or bed-size quilt.  Or combine several images in a larger project.  Be creative. Have fun.  A Donation.

Speed-cut (rotary cut) quilt designs using hexagons and octagons.  288 quilt blocks and more than 50 quilt designs based on those blocks.  Lots of tips and hints.  A Donation.

"Drafting" sounds pretty scary, but Sally Collins admits that she never had high school algebra or geometry classes, and if she can draft, so can we!  As with all of Sally's books, this one is exceptionally well-written and very easy to follow.  This book explains a variety of drafting categories, such as grid-based, circular, log cabin/pineapple, and 8-pointed star.  Sally stresses accuracy, accuracy, accuracy -- and looking at her prize-winning quilts -- it certainly pays off.

Our July speaker, Sandy Turner, very generously gave a copy of her self-published booklet to our library, and of course, I had her autograph it.  This little book will be a good reminder for those who enjoyed her lecture and took her workshop. 

Baby and kid quilts have become brighter and bolder with our knowledge that little ones are enchanted by the crayon colors rather than the traditional pastels.  This book will help you grab those wild and crazy fabrics and turn them into quilts that are pieced and appliqued.  Patterns include bunnies, stars, flowers, cupcakes, umbrellas, fish, and even a mermaid!

Change a  traditional square Log Cabin or Chinese Coin block into a rectangle and be surprised with a brand new look.  The patterns are all easy, but if you wish a bit more of a challenge, choose the Drunkard's Path curved block.  Get out your scraps and have fun.

Gosh, I am not sure why this book never ended up in our library before.  It has been donated, and I sure am happy about that.  If you ever had had questions about how to put colors together, you might want to play with the workbook exercises presented here.

We are so fortunate to have been given this new book for our library.  There are excellent instructions for dyeing your own fabrics, stitching to shrink and change the texture of the pieces, ideas for embellishing, and lots of finished quilts to illustrate the techniques.  This is a technique to have fun with as there are no wrong answers to your creativity.

Prairie Points are fun to make and add texture to our projects.  With this book you will find more ways to fold squares and/or rectangles to give dimension to blocks with the 70 traditional and original block patterns included.  Instructions are included for a breeze catcher, a shopping bag, a trinket box, plus wallhangings and quilts, of course.  A sampler would be a great way to experiment with lots of different blocks. 

Want to know what to do with a JELLY ROLL?  No -- not the kind we eat.  This is the healthy way to consume those jelly rolls (the packages of 2-1/2 strips).  Of course, we do not have to purchase the packets -- we can cut them from our stashes and make up our own color combinations, too. See examples for everything from very controlled colors to bright scrappy designs.  Someone may just find inspiration for our 2010 Challenge presented by Phyllis Gallaway.   Eighteen quilt patterns that look like they have triangles in them, but don't, are easy to produce.  Thanks, Pam Brown, for recommending this lovely new book for our library.

When the thermometer takes its own sweet time to cycle up and down it is really nice to have a cozy jacket on hand to throw on.  With this second book by Nancie Wiseman we are presented with more ways to turn an over-size sweatshirt  (or two) into a great looking jacket with the help of our favorite fabrics.  Closure options mean we do not have to get out our instruction book to make holes for those buttons! 

Sharyn Craig (a former speaker at our guild -- and what a terrific speaker she is!) has come up with more ways for us to stack fabrics, slice them, scramble them, and sew them back together.  Sharyn is the quilter who coined the phrase "What if . . ." and she still continues to ask that.  I really appreciate that she takes one design and shows us several ways to vary it, with color and placement of the blocks.  Some of the blocks in the book will test our patience and abilities with perfectly places points, but her new "Backgammon" design sets us free.  And yes -- we do have the first two books in this series in our library, as most of Sharyn's other books.  They are all treasures.

You will recognize this technique for making stars if you were present when Sara Nephew spoke to our guild a few years back.  Marci and Sara have collaborated on many projects and this book, which Phyllis Gallaway requested for our library, reflects that method.  Stars are constructed by using a 60 degree triangle, set into strips, and eliminating the need for the dreaded Y-seams.  Find patterns for a Christmas tree made out of six-pointed stars, a Star of David wall quilt, a six-sided Christmas wreath to hang on a door, a red/white/blue quilt entitled "My Hero," flowers made from the star blocks, and more.  See the traditional and contemporary patterns made up as tote bags, wall quilts, and bed-size quilts. 

Sara Nephew (guild speaker) has teamed up with Marci Baker to give us a different way of making Log Cabins.  Instead of starting with a square in the center, this book uses a triangle or diamond.  Then just keep adding logs, just like with the traditional block -- but this looks totally different.  These blocks are then pieced in strips.  Pages 40 and 41 show some of the different ways the quilts will look, such as "Eagles Wings," babies blocks, Iris, Tulips, fireworks, owls, untraditional stars, and more.  If you can't decide -- try a sampler quilt!  Thanks, Phyllis Gallaway, for telling me about this book.

If you are thinking about making a Victorian Crazy Quilt you will definitely want to explore all of the books in our library's EMBELLISHING section.  This particular donation is a lovely addition as it shows how to make 121 different flowers (plus bees, ants, butterflies, dragonflies, ferns, wheat, ladybugs, and bows) with silk ribbon embroidery. 

More ideas for Victorian Crazy Quilt makers -- lots of beautiful flowers to embroider with silk ribbons.  A nice donation for our "Embellishing" section.

Start with silk ribbon.  Twist and turn it into beautiful shapes.  Tack it down with the sewing machine!  Because there is no need to pull the ribbon through the fabric, the embroidery adds less weight to the project, and less ribbon is used.  Lots of project ideas -- frames, Christmas stocking, wearables, pillows, book cover,  Teddy bear . . . .  A nice donation for our "Embellishing" section that will be appreciated by many, including those who are making Victorian Crazy Quilts.

Dolls, tree skirts, clothing, quilts, stockings -- plus recipes -- what else do we need in a Christmas book (except more time!?!?!).  A nice donation for our "Christmas" section.

I could not quite decide where to file this newly donated book, but decided on "Christmas and Holidays" as there are lots of ideas for the Fourth of July.  It could also have been placed under "Folk Art."  If I had a section marked "Patriotic" it would also qualify for that area.  Stars, stripes, flag are found in all shapes and sizes.  Check out page 46 if you would like to make a simple flag-shaped block that can be turned into a funky chicken, horse, or dog!

This book gives instructions to produce innovative heirloom quilting using any sewing machine, but you should check out the ideas even if you only hand quilt.  Beautiful stitching enhances not only quilts but table runners, placemats, napkins, coasters, pillows, etc.  Also a pattern for a strawberry emery, and its history.  This donated book will be filed under "Quilting."

Tera Antaree was given a box of books and she has very generously shared many with our library.   I wasn't sure about this book when I first picked it up, but as I started reading it I started to like it.  It is really weird and funky.  I could not think of where to file it and I finally decided that "Contemporary" is just the right place, although "Babies and Kids" could be a possibility, too.  The quilts are interactive and playful.  I actually am very taken with the shower curtain!  This is a book to have fun with and not take yourself too seriously. 

Pick a season, or any time in between a holiday, and Pam has ideas for table covers, placemats, and napkins.  Some are silly (check out the turkey); some are elegant enough for a tea party with your special cups and saucers.  This donated book is going to be filed under "Christmas and Holidays."

Oh, thank you Diana Roberts for telling me about this exceptional book!  The author, Susan Carlson, is one of Diana's favorite Asilomar teachers. You may recall that Diana has taught us the techniques from Susan's first book FREE-STYLE QUILTS:  A "NO RULES" APPROACH with her fanciful fish wallhangings.  After seeing the quilts in this book you will wish you had never thrown away even the smallest pieces of fabric.  Susan "paints" in an impressionistic manner covering a base fabric with bits of fabric.  Study her samples, then let your imagination loose and see what you come up with!  Can't lose anything but your time!  I am looking forward to seeing many "Sew and Tells" inspired by this book.   

Jan Head spotted this novel by one of our favorite authors, Sandra Dallas.  If you have enjoyed THE PERSIAN PICKLE CLUB and ALICE'S TULIPS (both books in our Library), then you will certainly want to add your name to the Reserve List for this book.  The story takes us from the Civil War to the Great Depression through the story-telling of an 86-year-old woman to her new 17-year-old friend.  Learn about mining in a fictional town that is similar to Breckenridge, Colorado, all while the ladies make their quilts. Hard to put down!

P. S.  If you have read any of Sandra's other novels, and if they mention the word "quilting," be sure to let me know!

Tall Santas --Pudgy Santas -- Goofy Reindeer -- Christmas Houses -- Poinsettias -- Holly -- Stars -- Trees -- Advent Calendar -- Christmas Album Cover -- Stockings -- Pillows -- Casserole Carrier -- Place Mats -- Tablerunner -- Eco Friendly Bags -- Wallhangings -- and of course, QUILTS!  Use fusibles to make up them up quickly, or your favorite form of applique for an heirloom project.  Lots of ideas to get us into the spirit.   Something for everyone!

Note -- Don't be fooled - - this image of the cover is actually different from what is on the book! 

Linda Morand suggested this coffeetable book for our our library.  This was published to accompany the first  major exhibition to focus on British patchwork and quilt-making at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London,  The stories accompanying the photos are in-depth and entertaining. 

What is a summer fair without deep-fried Twinkies, deep-fried jelly doughnuts, deep-fried artichokes?  Bennie Harper can't decide which to have for breakfast,  and I want to know how that gal can fit into those snug jeans of hers.  Add quilts, the explanation of African American folk art dolls, and a murder and we have the fourteenth of Earlene Fowler's Benni Harper Mystery Series.

Be sure to read Earlene's novels in order so you get to know Benni and her very extended family.  There is a list taped to the end of the rolling library cart.    What is Benni going to get into next . . .  Always entertaining!

Get out the baby wipes, hair gel, and shower mats and learn more ways to embellish fabric (and paper).  Be inspired to play with your stencils and digital images with lots of gallery images.  Use your electric griddle, candles, crayons, aluminum foil, and many more items you have in your home to create your one-of-a-kind paintings that can stand on their own, or be cut and re-connected into a new image.  Thanks, Diana Roberts, for suggesting this book.

No big deal?  Well, I think these that is just wrong.  The beautiful miniature quilts in this book ARE a big deal to me.  These fourteen precious little masterpieces, pieced and/or appliqued, can be accomplished with such hints as stabilizing bias edges with freezer-paper piecing and 1/8" seam allowances. 

A Donation

Before embroidery machines, there was HAND embroidery.  Learn a bit of its history over the years as you flip through patterns for Sunbonnet Sues, Bonnet Ladies, critters, "Days of the Week" ladies, kitties, dolls, and lots more.  Use them on vintage linens, pillow cases, samplers, hand towels, and of course ~~ quilts.

A Donation

Some of our favorite quilters (including Marti Michell, Lesly-Claire Greenberg, and Rita Weiss) have contributed a variety of Sue (and Sam) quilts representing the seasons, holidays, and maybe my favorite, Sue and Friends at a quilt show. 

A Donation

Got scraps and/or strips?  Here's a batch of ideas for simple quilts that look super (hence, the title!).  Check out these patterns when you are thinking about Community Quilts.  Add applique, if desired. 

A Donation

I quote the back cover of the book:  "Open up your button box and pull out your scraps!  Making pillows has never been so easy or so much fun.  Pillow covers can be changed at the flip of a button.  You'll find pillow designs to take you through the entire year, from January's homespun snowman to a variety of jolly Santas for December.  For the rest of the year, choose from over 25 designs:  favorite country patterns such as Heart in Hand, Variable Star, and Baskets; whimsical jack-o'-lanterns; stunning Amish patchwork; and a charming set of flower pots.  Methods include fusible web, hand and machine applique, dimensional as well as simple patchwork, and machine crazy quilting."  I add to this:  use the cute patterns for other quilting projects, and use the quick-change pillow method for those orphan blocks you have.  Gee -- this review is longer than the book!          

  A Donation

If you have been tempted to try silk ribbon embroidery, be sure to check out this book.  This illustrates that silk ribbon embroidery does not have to be limited to Victorian crazy quilts, but a bit can be added to just about anything to make it a bit more elegant (a wearable, a Christmas stocking, pillows, a wall quilt) -- traditional or contemporary.  This is a treasure of a book!

A Donation

What would be better for a Santa ROSA Quilt Guild Member than to make a quilt of one dozen roses shaped as a heart. If you make it, put my name in your will as I would love to have it but will never get around to making it if I keep reading and writing book reports!   Full-size patterns are included in this book. 

A Donation

Learn about Penny Squares pre-1915 where themes like flowers, animals, baskets, famous people, and nursery rhymes were all used in the same quilt.  Histories, patterns, and full-color photos of several Penny Square quilts are included.

A Donation

The Lover's Knot pattern is the second "real" quilt that I made, and the pattern is still a favorite of mine.  It is easy enough for a beginner, and yet complicated-looking.  As always, Eleanor Burns makes the process easy with her well-written recipes for quilts in many sizes (including table runners).  Check out the various color combinations (I think my favorite today, right before the Fourth of July, is the one made up in red, white, and blue).

A Donation