Customer Reviews

Material Obsession: Modern Quilts with Traditional Roots

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

First of all, I just want to say that it is a wonderful book, with lots of lovely and inspiring text and pictures. But I have to say I was a bit disappointed when I realised that it was exactly the same book as 'Material Obsession - Contemporary quilt designs', which I bought a year ago. I was so excited when a saw there was a new book coming, but when I got it - it was just a new publisher and front.

....if you love fabrics, admire all the new designs of fabrics on the market as well as the traditional, and just plain love the art of quilting. For three days after receiving this book, I picked it up to read whenever possible and felt my fingers itching to create any one of the quilts shown in the book. This book is not a "cookbook" of quilt patterns showing a particular look in piecework or to teach a certain type of quilting. Instead, the authors encourage the readers to ignore "boundaries" in the creation of quilts, and to follow their own instincts and preferences in the matter of fabric, color, thread, and even the mechanics of the quilting process. The resulting quilts are not heavily stylized, but have a homey, comfortable look, similar to an antique quilt.

Each quilt shown in "Material Obsession, ranging in level of difficulty from easy to advanced, has instructions for piecing using the colors shown in the quilt, but suggestions are given throughout the book about different colorways to consider in certain patterns, or pointing out that a particular color of fabric may be needed to give the quilt a certain "punch" of color. Also helpful is a statement by the writers regarding the "idea" behind the making of each quilt, which can help provide a creative spark for the readers who want to use a favorite fabric or a grouping of fabric scraps.

The book ends with a quilter's reference section, the need of which in a quilting book can often be considered debatable by an experienced quilter. However, the reference section works in this book, due to the increasing level of difficulty of the quilt patterns shown in this book, and the need for knowledge of certain skills in hand quilting, applique, and piecing shapes such as diamonds and hexagons.

Since the book contains a foreword by Kaffe Fassett, don't be surprised to see a picture or two of shelves of fabric, most of Kaffe's own designs. If you are a Kaffe Fassett fabric lover, this is just icing on the cake. However, Kaffe's fabrics do not dominate in the quilt designs in the book; it is fun to looks at the quilts and see how many different current designer fabrics you can spot in the quilts, and see how many you may already have in your fabric stash.

The authors are Austrailian and the quilts they made are so colorful and the pattern combinations so different from my more subdued tastes that I was really inspired to "let go" and enjoy the color explosion in this book. I liked what they did with the quilt patterns with their whimsical touches. This is a keeper, especially for color inspiration.

I love quilt books, and something just made me want to have this one. This book is beautifully done and it feels very substantial. The quilts themselves are a little too 'cute' for my taste, however, and I am not likely to make any of them. It seems like the genius of the authors is in selecting fabrics; I didn't find the actual quilt patterns to be anything particularly unique or special. They really are just traditional quilt patterns done in modern fabrics. I'm also not fond of the hand-drawn instruction pictures. Again, cute and stylish, but not as clear to follow if you're actually going to make the quilt The book is still lovely to look at, but if I had leafed through it at the bookstore, I probably wouldn't have bought it. Someone who goes in for a more feminine, cute look may like this more than I did.

Modern, fresh quilts using contemporary fabrics. I was so tired of old-lady patterns, but don't yet have the confidence to design from scratch. I wish I had had this book a year ago. It's perfect - I love it. It has over 20 quilt projects, too, (no tea cozies here) which makes it a great value for this price. So pleased with this purchase.

I must admit, had I not purchased Book 2 first I would have probably felt a little different about this book. I really was diappointed. Book 2 has some wonderful quilts, bright and really got my creative juices going. Book 1 is clearly for a more inexpeienced quilter I think. Although the quilts are lovely, they really aren't very exciting. Many are small (baby and "cot") size and there isn't guidance on how to make them bigger. Would suggest this book is for the less experienced, or the person who is just beginning to branch out into uncommon combinations of fabrics and colors. If you are "already there", save your money for the next book or purchase Book 2.

As far as my experience with Amazon, it came really fast and well packaged. No complaints there!

I had a glimpse of this book prior to purchasing it and thought I'd like to see more of the way modern fabrics were used in traditional patterns but with a twist. I love lots of color and almost all of the quilts featured in this book show you how to use bright and pastel colors to their maximum.

I love the use of modern fabrics in this book and the more modern applique designs. Nice addition to the library.

Full-page color photos of completed quilts accompany 23 quilt patterns that appear modern but are based on traditional designs, including step-by-step instructions for creating both the specific product and variations. Patterns arranged by difficulty level from easy to advanced supplement in-depth surveys of options and techniques in MATERIAL OBSESSION: MODERN QUILTS WITH TRADITIONAL ROOTS.

I HEART this book!! I just got it in the mail today, and I'm so in love! The pictures are great, the patterns use current fabric lines; which really allows you to see how your quilt could come out. I love taking older, more traditional patterns and using very modern, fun fabrics. This book is all about that.