Customer Reviews

Quilt Studio : Innovative Techniques for Confident and Creative Quiltmaking and Design

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I ordered this book sight unseen, since the description of it sounded like the kind of quilting book I most cherish: one with an emphasis on originality and creativity, but that was more than just a coffee-table book. I am always looking for books that combine inspiration with how-to.

I really wanted to like it when it arrived but of all the many art quilt books I own it is the most irritating. The author's style seems to have frozen in place sometime back in about 1980, when very graphics-influenced quilts in cool solids were all the rage. I get the impression that the author bought about 5 giant bolts of solid blue, black, and white sometime around then and has been using them since. I keep trying to overlook the photos and concentrate on the text but the information is too scattered and poorly organized to really be of much help. I get the feeling the author takes herself very very seriously as an artist and that this book is more about her creative ego than about quilting. If you are in the market for a wonderful book combining technique with artistry, you're much better off with Quilting Masterclass.

I was interested in reading this book because it is one of the few quilting books that discusses quilting design. When I first picked it up to glance at the pretty pictures, my jaw dropped at some of these quilts that Pauline Burbidge has put together. She has created some fabulous images using a variety of techniques. I was especially impressed with her three dimensional designs and her use of color.

This book is organized into workshop sections under two subject headings. The first part of the book deals with technique and the second with design. She begins with a basic lesson on making templates, a skill that most modern quilters seem to have moved away from. While making templates can be cumbersome and time consuming there really is no substitute for precision piecing. Many of Pauline's designs have to be precisely seamed for the effect to work. She briefly discusses sewing angled and curved seams as well.

From there she moves onto an applique workshop. She creates elaborate fabric "collages" using applique embellished with stitching. This chapter is followed by a discussion of quilting and assembly techniques. One topic that I found interesting is the way she machine quilts in sections and then assembles the whole quilt rather than dealing with the bulk of an entire quilt at one time.

The final workshop in the Techniques section is one on fabric dyeing and painting. All of the quilts pictured in the book are made with solid colored fabrics rather than prints and if you have ever looked at the supply available in a fabric store, you know that the selections are pretty basic and rather limited. She solved this problem by learning to dye her own fabrics.

The design section of the book is fascinating to read and the photos that accompany the text are works of art. She has workshops on strip piecing, geometric three-dimensional design, and making fabric collages. Each technique is completely different and she makes it look so simple I wanted to rush right out and start a new project. The only thing lacking was that when she discussed three dimensional design, she did not give any tips for assembling the blocks so I have had to resort to scrutinizing the photos to figure out how they were put together.

There is one exercise that I think is absolutely essential to do and that is her Color and Image Collecting Workshop. Color is such an important aspect of quiltmaking and I think very often quilters are intimidated by color selection and do not have a good sense of what colors complement each other and how to create contrast in the right place and end up with quilts that are put together beautifully but are just seem to be missing something. Pauline Burbidge's quilts are an eyeful and her choices of color are breathtaking and bold at times.

This book is a good read for those interested in creating quilts as an artistic expression of themselves.

For the experienced and novice quilter alike, this book takes you step by step through the process Pauline Burbidge uses in creating her spectacular quilts. Both innovative piecing techniques and quilting ideas are included, along with color workshops, some dyeing and painting tips and collage work. The book itself is slick, beautifully produced and full of lively, inspiring color photography. For contemporary and traditional quilters, this book would is a great at home workshop to follow chapter by chapter. Learning just one or two of her techniques or concepts would make investing in this book worthwhile.

Quilt Studio is a wonderful book. I have known and loved Pauline Burbidge's work for a long time and I particularly admire its sheer professionalism and clarity. In this book Pauline gives you technique after technique which provides you, the quilter, with an amazing insight into her methods and a superb array of tools for your own work. Her voice is very clear in all that is written here. She doesn't tell you how to go out and make copies of her work. She explains the processes and inspires you to run with them. It is methodical, it is inspirational and if you end up wishing you could have the dedication and the rugged life that Pauline and her husband, Charlie, have in the Scottish borders, so be it.

I've quilted for a number of years and found Pauline's book full of fresh, new ideas (to me) that had not been presented from American quilters. I've read the book cover to cover a number of times and continue to refer to it during the design and construction phases of the quilt making process. I originally borrowed the book from my local library and was sad when I had to return it. I'm glad it is now in my library and I highly recommend it to others. It will definitely expand your thinking and probably your practices as well. I wish she would write another book.

As a new quilter, I've been collecting books for some months, but this is the best I've found. Not only does it give good basic techniques for beginners, but it takes you rapidly from attempting mundane, predictable quilts to designing originals with artistic flair and inspiration. For beginners or advanced quilters who want to make quilts removed from the traditional, this books provides all the practical and design skills you need to get there. A brilliant book.

Quilt Studio is organized as part of a two-part series of workshops and provides a source of design and quilt making options which include steps basic to both pieced and appliqued quilts by machine and by hand. Workshops in Part 2 outline how to build on these techniques to make customized quilts. Quilt Studio is an excellent introduction for all skills levels.

This inspiring analysis of the discipline and potential of quiltmaking from a leading European designer will be valued by both amateur and professional textile artists. Pauline Burbidge demonstrates a freedom of expression that can only be achieved through artistic sincerity and a complete mastery of technique. The book is richly illustrated with examples from her studio and gives an insight into both the practicalities and the philosophy of her work.