Quilt Revival: Updated Patterns from the 30's [Paperback]

Nancy Mahoney (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2006

With the need to "use it up and make it do" during the Great Depression, quilting exploded in popularity. By the mid-1930s, over 400 newspapers printed block patterns on a regular basis. Author Nancy Mahoney has been lucky enough to find scrapbooks filled with clippings of those patterns. She shares her favorites in this rare collection.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Six-time author Nancy Mahoney designs quilt patterns for several fabric companies. Her work has been published in numerous books as well as in Quilter's Newsletter Magazine and on the cover of Quiting Today.

Product Details

• Paperback: 80 pages
• Publisher: That Patchwork Place (April 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1564776433
• ISBN-13: 978-1564776433
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.3 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #213,789 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Author, teacher, fabric designer, and award-winning quiltmaker, Nancy Mahoney has enjoyed making quilts for over twenty years, during which time an impressive range of her beautiful quilts have been featured in many books and in over 60 national and international quilt magazines. Almost entirely self-taught, Nancy continues to explore ways to combine traditional blocks and updated techniques to create quilts that are fun and easy to make.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Honest 1930s Revival Book, April 29, 2006

By 

Joyce Siedentop "Joyce qt the Jersey Shore" (Wall, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Quilt Revival: Updated Patterns from the 30's (Paperback)

This book was first bought to my attention by a fellow quilter. It begins with a short history of quilting in the 30s followed by shorter section on color and prints. There are the usual sections on cutting and assembly aimmed at the beginning quilter. I must admit this is the first time I have seen a section on joining batting so there would be no waste. There are 11 quilts in this book. Each has a history of its block, wheither it was new in the 1930s or an old block revived in the 30s. The author cites where her pattern was obtained from. Each quilt has its own picture of the finished quilt, some in more than one color scheme. Each quilt has its own directions which I found to be very clear. I hope the author comes out with a follow up book with more of the designs from the 1930s. As she stated some of the newspapers published one a week for 10 years. That's 520 1930s designs. These are only 11 of them.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book! Great Price, May 19, 2006

By 

Serene (Marina, CA, United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Quilt Revival: Updated Patterns from the 30's (Paperback)

I really enjoyed my copy of Quilt Revival, updated patterns from the 30's. I've had it on pre-order for some time, and when it finally came in I couldn't wait to read it. The author covers the basics, but does not linger overlong on subjects best covered in beginning books. I loved the fabric choices used by the author (I'm an Aunt Grace fiend), and in particular I like her Flying Kites block, Spring Nest quilt. This was a great book, sure to appeal to repro fabric lovers. 5 stars.

45 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars major disappointment to me, April 28, 2006

By 

E Rice (western ny state) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Quilt Revival: Updated Patterns from the 30's (Paperback)

i really looked forwarded to this book. in various articles in 'quilter's newsletter magazine,' and in various books on state and museum quilt collections, i've seen very interesting designs from the 1930s that were definitely of that era. for instance, one 'quilter's newsletter' article had a pieced butterfly that was charming and screamed 1930s.

in this book, instead of designs created or adapted in the 30s that reflect the taste and style of that era, we have quilts based on 19th century blocks--the author even states that one block was first published in 1859!--that happened to be re-published in 1930s newspapers. just because the blocks were published in newspapers in the 1930s doesn't, to me, make them 1930s designs, anymore than publishing a log cabin in a magazine today makes a log cabin a 21st century design.

one block that might actually have been a 30s design has had its character destroyed by being simplified--to eliminate y-seams. yet, one very ordinary quilt that is included is a lone star type design, which is at least as difficult to do accurately as a design with y-seams. one of the attractions of 30s patchwork design for me is the unusual size and shape of the pieces. the author repeatedly changes the size and shape for 'convenience.' compared to the challenge in matching points in some of the quilt designs in this book, a y-seam or lozenge-shaped piece are not that difficult.

aside from those complaints, the quilt designs are very ordinary and use blocks that could be found in almost any quilt book or magazine. all the quilts use feedsack print reproduction fabrics. this also is not enough, to me, to qualify the quilts as 30s designs. there were some incredible fabric designs in the 30s that i would love to see reproduced, which would make wonderful quilts. there was a lot more to that era than the great depression and feedsacks.

a glaring problem in a book on 30s quilts is the complete absence of even one applique pattern. there were some beautiful and innovative applique designs from that era and not to include even one is inexcusable.

the basic instructions try to teach an absolute beginner about rotary cutting, etc. they are insufficient for a beginner, and excessive for quilters who have made even a couple of quilts. the instructions include the 'cut corner' technique of piecing. a technique the fabric companies must love, since, when used for a complete quilt top, it's incredibly wasteful of fabric. i have never understood why so much quilting instruction in the past several years encourages quilters to be lazy, wasteful, and ignorant. this is expecially annoying in this book, since the instructions include templates and paper piecing.

to finally close, i'm returning this book to amazon. it's a waste of paper and space.