Customer Reviews

Out of the Box: Unleash Your Creativity Through Quilts (That Patchwork Place)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have read other books by Mary Lou Weidman and this one is another wonderful collection of "story quilts" that will inspire you. Mary Lou started as an artist and moved to quilting, so her quilts are very different from other quilters. There are no repeating blocks or traditional settings. She talks about how to find inspiration all around you and how to use unexpected materials in your quilts. The book is filled with large and small "story quilts" made by Mary Lou and lots of her students and friends. Her story quilts are quilts that celebrate a moment in someone's life. They have people, animals, trees, flowers, etc. appliqued on to them and many have a few words to give you the idea of a little "story" or childhood memory. They range from simple, such as 3 ladies holding pies, to very complex, like a garden filled with plants, flowers, children, birds, etc. The quilts are done in a folk art way, so you don't have to try to make a realistic portrait...this is way more fun. You will learn how to add words using different kinds of letters, learn to embellish using many interesting materials...she evens talks about drilling holes in found objects to hang on your quilt.

There is a whole section on how to make blocks for your border without any measuring. You could make a whole quilt out of those blocks alone!

If you are a quilter looking for a fun, interesting, book that will give you inspiration to try something new and fun in a quilt, this is the book. Even if you never make a quilt like this, there are so many beautiful quilts in this book that you will want to have it in your collection.

If you love this, and you will, then I suggest you also pick up her previous book, "Quilted Memories."

I have taken several classes with Mary Lou and this book is just like having her sitting by my side encouraging me all the way. I have been a traditional quilter for years, but Mary Lou and this book helped me experience a whole new way of looking at my craft. Mary Lou encourages you to step beyond what you think you can do and just have fun with it. No rules, no quilt police. Her method of teaching is so liberating and this book is quite simply an extension of herself and her approach to liberating one's creativity and believing in one's self and one's talent that we all have. I would highly recommend this book for everyone as it is not only a book to teach you new quilting skills, but new ways of approaching life in general. It is well written and beautifully presented with lots and lots of examples. Treat yourself to a wonderful experience with this book!

Here is not just another great quilting book "how to." This author elevates quilt making to a whole new doable level. It's wonderful to create a quilt from scratch, but, let's face it, not everyone can do it. But Mary Lou not only shows you how, step by step, she inspires and makes you FEEL you can do it. This is a "feel good" book for anyone who'd like to be a bit more creative or just needs a push in that direction. It'll help bust your stash and get your creative juices flowing again. Really, it's a life changing must read!

I love this book!! The pictures are great, and the commentary is fabulous. Mary Lou walks you through the entire process of making a story quilt. Picking fabric, making borders, where to get your inspiration, color choices, and GETTING OUT OF THE BOX.

The picture on the front cover is enough to inspire anyone.

Here's a book for the seasoned quilter. I love how the book gives so many examples of "story" quilts. Each quilt tells a life story, a moment story, or a funny joke, and they are so individual. There's no pattern, no "right" way to do it, just instructions to make the most of your own story quilt. I love all the ideas, the crazy whimsical look of it all. I love how the author give tips and clues how to create your own ideas, to find good materials to use, and how to be inspired. This is a great tool for any artist!

Do you ever find yourself drawn to a quilt at a show and wonder how the maker got the inspiration to create the quilt? Do you ask yourself where can I find my creativity? Well Mary Lour Weidman's new book "Out of the box - unleash your creativity through quilts" is just what your are looking for. Getting started it an important first step and in that chapter you will find 11 things to get you motivated and keep you motivated. Other interesting topics covered are color theory and purchasing fabrics and supplies.
Now for the fun, you will be guided in capturing your memories in your own "short story quilt". Composition--the perfect balance, movement, scale and creating a working pattern are just a few of the topics in this section. Finally you will learn about the use of borders and adding embellishments to your project. Mary Lou uses the needle turn appliqué method on her quilts but you can choose to use your favorite method of appliqué to create your own story quilt.
Patti Ives
Editor The Appliqué Society Newsletter

Mary Lou's quiltmaking style is one of riotous, colorful fun, personal meaning, and brave and fearless fabric choices. (It was through her that I first noticed and learned to appreciate the color "cheddar.") This book is an inspiration to anyone who is willing to be inspired, and Mary Lou writes at length about the process of discovering your inner artist, inviting play and discovery, and listening to yourself instead of to your friends and/or critics.

"Every day you have at your disposal the ability to think big, think colorful, think happy, think with large imaginative images, think clever, think expressive, think funny, think lofty, think about the past, think about the future, and think things that no one but you can think of. You have the ability to think `out of the box' and to share your wonderful thoughts and your imagination with others in the form of art, in this case, quilts."

How different is that from the quilting rut of choosing colors and fabrics that "go" with our living rooms, of fretting over "perfect" precise blocks, of fearing the quilt police so that our childlike creative voices are stifled?

What is 'out of the box?' "Push the lid open and jump out!" says Mary Lou, and she gives us a checklist of 24 sample items to test our position in relation to the box. After administering this self-test I discovered that I am not quite out LOL, but I can peep over the lid.

This book holds quite a bit of wisdom, more reading and thoughtiness that your average quilting book I'd say. It's a process book rather than a product book. I really appreciate that approach. Mary Lou emphasizes the need to think and daydream, and this struck a chord with me as well. She says we need to set aside time for this every day to doodle, think, and imagine.

There's a list of creativity stoppers to watch out for (like, `there is only one right answer'), pages and pages of inspiration exercises and sources found in our everyday lives, how the author shops for fabric, a section on words in quilts, and lots of information on color. How about being shown the eight styles of fabric! This was an eye-opener for me and something I especially enjoyed.

Then there's an extensive gallery of the author's quilts and short-story quilts made by her friends and students. Martingale has done their usual fantastic job on the photography. The quilts burst from the pages. Mary Lou finishes up the book by talking about the making of short-story quilts and how you can derive them from your own life. She shares "secrets" of scale, theme, focus, design elements, drawing, creating patterns, and also shares her own methods of appliqué. Borders, quilting, finishing, and embellishing ('the icing on the cake') are also included.

Out of the Box is quite a pep talk and an energizing boost!

Kay Mackenzie
Author, Easy Applique Blocks: 50 Designs in 5 Sizes

Mary Lou Weidman has distilled her creative process and has articulately included it in Out Of The Box, unleash your creativity through quilts. This is truly fabric folk art with all of the how to's. Mary Lou offers extensive tips on how to come up with a theme, how to put together fabrics, putting words on the quilts and where to find inspiration.

You can't help but smile as you leaf through this book. The fabric color choices - plaids and polka dots and stripes - and the people depicted as caricatures, are bright and cheerful. These are combined to enable you to make a quilt that tells a story - the joy of becoming a Grandmother or a tribute to her Grandmother, the cowgirl. Included there are also lots of quilts created by her students. An added bonus is directions for preparing these wild scrappy borders, that she calls hoochy mama borders. But be warned, this book assumes prior knowledge and gives little instruction on applique - the predominant technique used for putting together the quilts.

Although you may be attracted to this book by the colorful quilts, all of Mary Lou's tips and techniques can be added to your quilt design toolbox, no matter what your color palette.

If it was possible to push the 5 star to a 10 star plus I would give give this book many, many more! It is inspiring, informative and joyeous. Mary Lou has done it again. I'm off on new, brighter and freerer quilting experiences....... thanks Mary Lou!

Out of the Box-an extremely fun book with colorful pages of storybook quilts. The artwork is just fabulously imaginative full of ideas to make you want to sew up a storybook quilt of your own. One quilt pictures a man in a chef's hat, holding a martini in one hand and riding on his beloved tractor. His donkey, dog and horses are in the background near the the tree full of angels (his family) The title of this quilt is "A Few Things he loves" - done for him by his wife. It's so cute. I can hardly wait to start my quilt.