Customer Reviews

Machine Quilting Solutions: Techniques for Fast & Simple to Award-Winning Designs

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I really appreciated the insight into machine quilting provided by Christine
Maraccini. She explains how to look at a quilt to determine what quilting
"spaces" are present and then shows three different ways to quilt each quilt.
Her categories of "Dragger", "Heirloom", and "Showstopper" all have detailed
instructions on how to do the quilting designs she selected. This is one of
the two books I recommend for folks starting out with machine quilting. It
is equally suited for longarm and sit-and-quilt folks. Well worth the
money!

This book is a supreme example of the old adage "don't judge a book by it's cover." I found the cover quilt extremely boring to the point I couldn't imagine why in the world the book had so many good reviews. When I got the book I didn't even like the quilting design on the cover. I didn't like and wouldn't make any of the quilts in the book, either. They were way too basic for me. However, forget all that! The bland quilts in the book were just a quick way for the author to show her quilting designs, and I get it! The free-flowing designs are wonderful, and doable by all! There is no marking involved, no stencils, nothing to stop you! I suspect long-armers have known how to do designs like this for many years, but they just haven't been available to domestic machine quilters. I am grateful that I bought this book, and I think both beginning, intermediate, and advanced domestic machine quilters will love it.

This book will definately give you the free motion skills and ideas for quilting your quilt. The 3 degrees of quilting the same quilt in the book were an eye opener for me. It seemed simple enough when I read it...one of those "why didn't I think of that" moments, but it goes beyond the ideas and teaches the very basic artistic technique you need to truly do free motion quilting. The book is well laid out clear, concise and enjoyable to read and best of all - it urges your imagination to soar!

This is one of the best books (and I have dozens)I have purchased regarding quilting the quilts. Actually, only one other author impressed me as much, and that was Karen McTavish. Great pictures, easy and fun to read. Read the whole thing twice and will again as soon as I get time. Have a pen and pad ready to draw. Great fun! Hope Christine is writing more books real soon!

This book shows how to machine quilt freehand, without a pattern! Has good examples of how to distribute pattern over the quilt, and shows clearly how to achieve this without having to fuss over tracing patterns onto your fabric first. Think of the time saved! Is a little daunting at first, but very clear and simple to follow instructions make it a very clever book.

Many machine quilting books give the nuts and bolts of quilting on an ordinary "domestic" sewing machine, but few take that next step to inspire a novice machine quilter to create her or his own quilt designs. This book does just that. Yes, I agree with those reviewers who say the quilts are nothing special, but the point is that they are there to showcase the quilting, not to detract from it. With the simple traditional block designs that we have all seen before, our eyes are drawn to the quilting. Each design is quilted in three different ways- a simple allover design, a design that shows off the plain blocks and negative spaces as well as the pieced blocks, and an elaborate "show stopper" with detailed quilting and touches of trapunto. As a longtime quilter, but a relative newbie to machine quilting anything other than loops or meanders, this book has done far more to improve my quilting than any other machine quilting book in my personal library. I have gone on to machine quilt at least four or five quilts without copying any of the designs in the book.

Looking for a book that goes into detail of free motion quilting after you already have the basics down? Then this is the book for you. Builds up skills and gives detailed instructions on how to design the quilt and map out designs. Step by step on how to practice the patterns so no marking is needed. Love this book!

I have taken several quilting courses, but none ever introduced the idea of designing a quilting pattern based on how the quilt is to be used. Ms. Maraccini gave me a real "AHA" moment. Also, the way she teaches the techniques of machine quilting are excellent. This book influenced my quilting on two quilts within three months of having read it.

I have a number of books pertaining to machine quilting, including the McTavishing book. That one is good, but this one is better. The ideas and instructions are superior. I've already put some of it to use and the improvement in my free-motion is very satisfying.

Ok, I was skeptical about getting another quiling book to sit on my shelf, but the mixed reviews pulled me into another Amazon purchase.
I do not usually leave a review. This is hands down the best quilting book of ideas I have ever seen. It is well worth every dollar it cost. I am only half way through the first time looking at the book and I am overwhelmed with ideas!!! Ms. Maraccini does not focus on a few boring old patterns we have all seen. Her focus is on putting ideas for YOUR special creation in your head. She has so many free motion drawings my head is spinning. The Cabbage Leaf square the other reviewer had trouble with made perfect sense to me after I read her instructions.
I only have a short arm machine with limited stitch field and am learning the Karen McTavish kind of quilting, since I am getting board with just doing 5" straight across pantagraph type of designs all over the quilt top. Mastering the Art of McTavishing McTavish has the CD to watch and learn with too. But, with Maraccini I can see how I can take the skills I have learned with McTavish and really create some show stoppers! She shows you how to take any quilt you can create and quilt it with any kind of machine you may have. For Truponto and one piece quilts again I have to refer to Karen McTavish also CD included The Secrets of Elemental Quilting: Innovative Quilting Designs plus Trapunto Tips & Tricks But, pared up with Maraccini I don't feel the need to buy another quilt book ever! I think these three books are the only quilting arts books I will go to for ideas.
Machine Quilting Solutions is not as difficult to accomplish as it looks like it might be. What I plan to do is get a dry erase board and practice her drawings, buy thread that matches my quilt back ground and enjoy letting the mojo flow from my fingers through my machine and onto my quilts!!! If I wanted to I could put the designs into pantagraph style and stitch it out as well...with Machine Quilting Solutions I feel I have found the inspiration I have been looking for!!! Now to get back to the rest of the book~~~