Blendable Curves: Stack, Slice & Sew Unique Quilts in a Weekend (Paperback)

by Peggy J. Barkle (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Love making quilts, hate matching seams and corners, hate pinning, hate hash marks? Blendable Curves is the book for anyone with basic quilting skills and the desire to make a stunning quilt in a single weekend. Just stack, cut, and sew! Ten complete projects start simple and build to more complex techniques, and chapters on basic assembly and quilting techniques make everything oh sew easy. And the quilts? Curvaceous, one-of-a-kind artworks from easy favorites such as log cabin and nine-patch blocks. They’re pretty enough to hang in a gallery--or to cover the bed of someone special.

* Ten complete projects

* Includes templates for cutting curves

* No seams or points to match, no pinning needed!

About the Author

Peggy Barkle, a self-taught quilt artist and longarm quilter, is a special editor for Quilt magazine. She lives in Lilburn, Georgia.

Product Details

• Paperback: 64 pages
• Publisher: C&T Publishing (September 25, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1571204253
• ISBN-13: 978-1571204257
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.4 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #291,966 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Add a New Spin to Classic Blocks, December 23, 2007

By	Penny D. Haren "Checker newsletter editor" (Maumee, Ohio) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I just got to talk to Peggy and now I know why I love her book - Blendable Curves. She takes basic blocks that are simple for any quilter - like nine-patches - and cuts them in half with a free form curve. THEN, she has you sew the curved sides back together to complete the block.

I know what you're thinking - I don't sew curves. Well I didn't either, until now - because once you've sewn the curve, the block is re-sized! Nothing has to match - shoot, it's not SUPPOSED to match - so this is the perfect beginner project. You can just have fun with color and design. And while you're at it, you can take all of those blocks that WEREN'T perfect - and transform them into works of art!

Our local guild just hosted a nine-patch exchange. As you know, not all seam allowances are created equal, so the blocks are not all exactly the same size. Peggy has the perfect solution. In "A Leap of Faith" she used the "blended nines" to create a breathtaking backdrop for an applique quilt.

Pleasantville is my favorite quilt in the book because it is very graphic - reds, whites and blacks - or if you are in Buckeye country, we swear it reads as Scarlet and Gray! But, for those of you who cheer for the wrong team, this quilt would work just as well in other school colors.

In this particular quilt, Peggy inserted red piping between the curved sides of the black and white log cabins. It gives the whole quilt an "art deco" look with a very masculine feel - and as a mother of four boys, I love finding a quilt that the men in my life appreciate!

For those of you who loved Piping Hot Curves by Susan Cleveland, this is a natural progression.

Peggy describes this as a transitional book. First, beginning students can learn to make the traditional blocks - half-square triangles, nine-patches, quarter-square triangles, etc. There is no pressure because if their points don't match, they will learn how to "curve them up" in the next class! She has totally eliminated the intimidation factor!

Once the students have learned the basics, they can bring those blocks to a "Blendable Curves" class and let their imagination soar! Now that they have learned the rules - Peggy can promptly show you how to break them - with absolutely stunning results!

And, PLEASE take the time to read her instructions!!! I know it is more fun to skip to the projects, but this woman knows what she is doing. I especially like her explanation about how to press seams. AND, she actually gives instructions - with graphics - on how to bind a quilt the right way! Keep this book by your machine so you can pull it out every time you finish a project - you'll be glad you did!

Once you have explored her techniques, you will want to play with all of those loose blocks in your stash left over from other projects. Remember, the blocks are resized after the sewing is complete so you are free to mix and match to your heart's content! The skies the limit!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent graphics, November 5, 2008

By	K. J. Mendoza "Voracious Reader" (Space Coast, FL, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

It's a thin volume, and I usually like a little more meat to my quilting books, but Blendable Curves has everything one would want to know about easy cutting and piecing of freehand curves and numerous well illustrated examples. Another sign of the quality of this book is that a full-color page is dedicated to a professional photo of each of the finished quilts. It frustrates me to read an quilting magazine article or book that does not show a clearly visible finished product. I also love the suggestions on quilting designs and appreciate the concise instructions for easy binding with mitered corners. Too many books gloss over these important finishing steps. Peggy Barkle has written a quality book.

Have you been looking for a pattern to use up that collection of black and white prints? Check out the log-cabin based Pleasantville. Bored with the Sawtooth Star? I love how the author takes the points on the traditional Sawtooth Star and makes them curvy. It adds a delicious interest to the ubiquitous block and the resulting quilt.

Our quild members produce a prodigious amount of 9-patch blocks and I think Blended Nines would be a wonderful technique to add some interest and fun to the quilts we make for donations. There's nothing wrong with a Nine patch block or quilt, but they can get a little boring in the making.

I have a set of 64 sixteen-inch Log Cabin blocks that I have been avoiding putting together because after working on them for so long, I'm just bored silly of looking at them. The Curvaceous Cabins pattern would spark my interest in finishing the quilt and creating a more exciting finished result. Although I never intended slashing my blocks through the middle, I'm inspired now to do so.