41 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
packed with information and inspiration, September 23, 2005
This review is from: Marsha McCloskey's Block Party: A Quilter's Extravaganza of 120 Rotary-Cut Block Patterns (Rodale Quilt Book) (Paperback)
i hesitated in buying this book--i have so many books and magazines with block designs. but, after looking through it, i had to have it.
some of the other reviewers have noted some of the minor drawbacks--for instance, the size of the blocks. however, if you want to put your blocks on point, 9" is a very useful size. and yes, it would be nice to have even more examples of quilts using the blocks, but i could say that about almost every quilt book i own.
one of the best things about this book, which was first published in 1998, is that it does NOT give in to the current hysteria for 'quick piecing.' now, i use some of the time-saving techniques circulated in the past few years--i strip piece when it will really save time, i chain piece when it will really save time--but the current mania for not learning how to cut triangles to fit, for instance, flying geese, is driving me up the wall. not only do i hate the pointless waste of fabric, but the encouragement of ignorance, laziness and bad craftmanship is worse. and i really hate those unnecessary seams that limit the choice of quilting designs.
in addition, the author offers traditional and original blocks that are based on more than just squares and half-square triangles. the quilter is given a choice of rotary cutting or using templates (and sometimes using templates is quicker and easier than using a rotary cutting ruler).
which brings me to the charts--which are absolutely wonderful. everything is in them--illustrations of the sizes and shapes of the pieces, measurements for strip cutting, choice of rotary or template cutting, how the pieces might be sub-cut--these charts are the best i've seen. there are illustrations in grey tones of different value placements for each block. the piecing order is illustrated. the only thing lacking is a table of enlarging or reducing percentages for different sized finished blocks.
there is a section which shows some of the blocks put together to show the secondary patterns, another section is called 'having fun with assymetrical blocks.' there are several other sections dealing with design matters, including sizing with straight or diagonal settings and sashing.
templates are included, and they are drawn with points AND cutting lines for those who don't like points on their pieces. THAT'S thoughtful, detailed planning.
the projects that are included are wonderful, as you would expect from marsha mccloskey. even the color choices for the blocks are inspiring.
this is not a book for an absolute beginner, although there are very good sections about cutting and sewing. it does not include detailed instructions for construcing a quilt, though, again, what is included is first rate. however, for anyone who has made even a couple of pieced blocks, this is a bonanza.
definitely belongs in any quilter's library.
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43 of 44 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good book for beginners, December 2, 1999
I had bought this book thinking that it would be a good refernce to add to my quilting library. However, the book mainly covers 4 and 9-patch designs, nothing along the lines of an Irish Chain or the Feathered Star that M. McCloskey is so famous for. If you want to learn to quilt, or have just started, this would be a good book to add to your home. But, if you are looking for a more challenging design, or already can take a design from another quilt and make templates and yardage calculations, you may want to look into a more advanced book.
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25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good inspiration, some limitations, October 28, 2002
This review is from: Marsha McCloskey's Block Party: A Quilter's Extravaganza of 120 Rotary-Cut Block Patterns (Rodale Quilt Book) (Paperback)
There are lots of blocks here, and this book is a good source of inspiration. There is, however, a double-edged sword. All the block patterns included are 9-inch, which is in some sense good -- it makes it easy to put them all together, but is from another perspective bad -- it makes for some weird measurements on certain blocks (i.e. anything on a 4- or 16-patch grid rather than a 9-patch grid). So if you're only interested in using those latter types of blocks, it might be nice to do an 8- or 12-inch variation, but you have to re-draft the block yourself.
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