Snowflakes & Quilts [Paperback]

Paula Nadelstern (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2009

Learn how to create the endless variations found in snowflakes using the techniques and materials of quiltmaking. * Diagrams for making 4 snowflake designs * Step-by-step instructions explain how to draft a design, make templates, and piece successfully. * Paula reveals her strip-piecing techniques for "Power Stitching" * Learn methods for using your fabrics to create "Seamingly Seamless" seams More information as written by reviewer Amy Handy: Far more than the sum of its pieces, the kaleidoscope quilt is a mesmerizing manifestation of brilliant-hued, geometric complexity. When kaleidoscope quilter extraordinaire Paula Nadelstern decided to turn her magic loose on a more limited color palette, she drew upon her lifelong love of snowflake photomicrographs to provide inspiration, and Snowflakes & Quilts was born. Intricately detailed, symmetrical, and endlessly fascinating, the snow crystal structure is inherently suited to kaleidoscope quilting. Nadelstern provides expert guidance and strong encouragement as she leads readers through the adventure of conceptualizing the snowflake design, from working with templates and mastering piecing tricks to discovering and understanding appropriate fabrics for this unique application. Nadelstern's skilled way with words is a fine match to her talent with fabrics, making the text a joy to read. She observes, for example, that "printed textiles brimming with synchronous color and pattern deserve credit for catapulting the design way beyond the ordinary." Note: The printing quality in this copy may vary from the original offset printing edition and may look more saturated due to printing on demand by a high-quality printer on uncoated paper. The information presented in this version is the same as the most recent printed edition. Any pattern pullouts have been separated and presented as single pages.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Far more than the sum of its pieces, the kaleidoscope quilt is a mesmerizing manifestation of brilliant-hued, geometric complexity. When kaleidoscope quilter extraordinaire Paula Nadelstern decided to turn her magic loose on a more limited color palette, she drew upon her lifelong love of snowflake photomicrographs to provide inspiration, and Snowflakes & Quilts was born. Intricately detailed, symmetrical, and endlessly fascinating, the snow crystal structure is inherently suited to kaleidoscope quilting. Nadelstern provides expert guidance and strong encouragement as she leads readers through the adventure of conceptualizing the snowflake design, from working with templates and mastering piecing tricks to discovering and understanding appropriate fabrics for this unique application.

Nadelstern's skilled way with words is a fine match to her talent with fabrics, making the text a joy to read. She observes, for example, that "printed textiles brimming with synchronous color and pattern deserve credit for catapulting the design way beyond the ordinary." She offers four step-by-step snowflake construction how-tos, and although there are no full-quilt projects here, her superb instruction in all aspects of snowflake quilt design should see experienced quilters well along the way to creating their own lovely snowflake quilts. --Amy Handy

About the Author

Paula Nadelstern is a world-renowned quilt artist, author, and teacher. One of her quilts was named to the "Century's Best 100 Quilts of the Twentieth Century" sponsored by Quilters Newsletter Magazine. Paula and her intricate kaleidoscope quilts have been featured in numerous national publications and viewed on television. She lives in New York City.

Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: C&T Publishing, Inc. (August 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1571201556
• ISBN-13: 978-1571201553
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,035,760 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Paula Nadelstern has achieved international recognition for her innovative and complex designs inspired by the bilateral symmetry of kaleidoscopic images, including the American Folk Art Museum's first one person exhibition highlighting the work of a contemporary quilt artist (2009). Honored by inclusion in the Twentieth Century's 100 Best American Quilts, her designs have inspired industrial products including the vast carpet in the Hilton Americas hotel in Houston, TX. She was a recipient of fellowships from the New York Foundation for the Arts in 1995 and 2001. Paula lives in New York City and travels extensively teaching her kaleidoscopic quiltmaking techniques.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

55 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If You Got the Time - Paula's Got the Snowflake, August 24, 2001

By 

Nina-Marie "qudiva" (Albion, PA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Snowflakes & Quilts (Paperback)

Paula has done it again with this just awesome book. This book from start to finish goes into extreme detail on how she creates these stunning creations. Blue and white fabric is the media of the day with her and she highly recommends only using those cool colors - leaving the brights for other creations. Just from reading the book carefully and doing one of her pattern snowflakes at the end you can get a good idea of the design process. Be warned though - this is a quilt for the intermediate or advance quilter who likes precise involved work. This is not a stack and whack kind of thing. Or for that matter, a quilt you can do in a day. One snowflake could easily take you 20-40 hours to get just the way you want it. But every one is a unique piece of art that really stands alone. When you put them into your own set they become simply breath taking. Your finish product will have all your friends saying - How in the world did you do that?? I recently spent 5 days with Paula learning the technique and getting to know her. She's a wonderful woman - creative AND gracious. I would highly recommend this technique for any quilter who wants to fall in love with snow again - just like when you were a kid. Be careful though - its VERY addicting so you might want to throw some extra meals in the freezer just in case!!

41 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Cool Blue, August 16, 2001

By 

richard bostwick (Tucson, AZ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Snowflakes & Quilts (Paperback)

Paula Nadelstern in her latest book takes the kaleidoscope concept a step further with her stunning representations of snowflakes in fabric. When you first open this book, you will ooh and ahh at the beautiful images. Then, as you look a bit closer, the oohs may turn to small groans as you realize just how detailed these snowflakes are. But, don't let yourself become too intimidated by this detail and the multitude of tiny scraps of fabric that she puts together. She does a wonderful and complete job explaining every step of the process and with careful reading, patience, and perseverance an intermediate quilter can create a blizzard of their own.

The first section of the book deals with the technical issues - there is a list of tools, an introduction to the geometric principles of hexagon construction, a primer on fabric choices, and a very informative and valuable discussion of template creation. She points out several different ways to simplify the creation process and while she rightfully stresses the importance of precision, she also explains *why* that precision is so important with examples of what can go wrong.

Once the hard stuff is out of the way, you can begin to explore the creative aspect of designing snowflakes. Paula's designs are based on actual photomicrographs of snowflakes taken around the turn of the century and she includes a number of these images in this chapter and explains the different types of crystal formations and how these can be translated into fabric. In this section there is also an extensive discussion of colors and pattern textures and the role they play in the various parts of the snowflake. The image library is especially helpful to quilters not familiar with kaleidoscope designs and how to recognize elements that work well with the mirror imaging.

Even though the vital information has been presented in the previous chapters, rather than abandoning the reader at this point, Nadelstern concludes with a workbook section with examples of four snowflake designs. The first example includes step by step instructions for creating the snowflake from drafting to sewing the pieces together. The other three designs do not have the same instructional section but do include a fabric palette, a complete template diagram, and a close up of the finished snowflake.

If you are sweltering in the heat like I am, pick up this book and cool off a little. Even if you decide the blocks are out of your league, the pictures are truly worth looking at.

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Six Sided Blue Kaleidiscopes, August 1, 2001

By 

DFE (Lake Forest, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Snowflakes & Quilts (Paperback)

This book showcases intricately pieced quilts that at a distance appear to be amazingly accurately rendered snowflakes, but upon closer inspections prove to be composed of thousands of carefully chosen bits of fabric cleverly arranged for maximum effect. Each snowflake is actually 6 identical 60 degree triangles, that are each composed of hundreds of tiny slivers of fabric. Paula Nadelstern is an artist extraordinary, who painstakingly will you step you though the time consuming process of pattern drafting, fabric selection, and piecing strategies. It is a tribute to her excellent instructions, that despite the daunting amount of work involved, the look is achievable by a very determined, intermediate quilter. Nadelstern does provide a couple of basic patterns, but it is clear that she really wants you to draft your own, and that is the thrust of the book. This book is recommended for quilters who are comfortable with the basics, ready to make a truly stunning piece and are willing to invest the time and effort to make it happen. It can also be appreciated by someone who just wants to be wowed by one of the big names in quilting and is interested in gaining insight into her artistic process. For those of you who already own her previous book on Kaleidoscopes, you will recognize this book is the same subject material, except it only covers blue six-side kaleidoscopes and goes into great detail on how to make it look like a snowflake. The core set of techniques for drafting and construction are essentially the same so if you are not wild about making snowflakes, you won't find much new. Highly recommend.