Customer Reviews

Thread Magic: The Enchanted World of Ellen Anne Eddy

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Best machine embroidery book in the market for making pictorial quilts. It is a beautiful and inspirational book as well a technical. The book discusses the array of emboridery threads, techniques on machine embroidery, covers fabric dyeing with procion dyes, and gives tips on how to minimize the distortions caused by heavy machine quilting.

This book is sumptuous. The artist's work is so spectacular that it is intimidating. However, she makes clear that she has had her share of false starts, which is comforting. I also appreciated her comments on her art, which turn out to be, in addition, comments on life. This is not a "how-to-do-reproduce-my-quilt" book, but there is a good deal of useful technical information. I have over 130 books on quilting and related topics and I think this is number one on my favorite parade.

Best machine embroidery book in the market for making pictorial quilts. It is a beautiful and inspirational book as well a technical. The book discusses the array of embroidery threads, techniques on machine embroidery, covers fabric dyeing with procion dyes, and gives tips on how to minimize the distortions caused by heavy machine quilting.

Thread Magic is a favorite for my studio shelves. The lush photography is a delight.
The book includes detailed information about different threads, instructions and help for adjusting bobbins and even beading with your machine. Reading through the book calls to my creative inner child and beckons me to thread my machine with happy colors and start a new project!

This book is a classic, and rightly so. I read it from cover to cover. Unlike many so called instruction manuals that assume a certain level of knowledge from the reader, this book states basic details easily understood by anyone who has minimal sewing ability. By that I mean "can you turn on the sewing machine and sew a straight line?", and "do you know that fabric has a grainline?" (She even tells you this one).
The author shares her knowledge freely with detailed explainations of techniques and materials. She tells what to do and how to do it, and also states problems to expect and how to avoid and/or fix them.
The first half of the book is filled with the author's work. It is a fascinating tour, and she leaves little tips in the descriptions.
The second half of the book covers techniques for making your own art pieces. She covers everything from what kind of fabric to choose: cotton, tule, chiffon, etc.; what kinds of thread to use and how to use each one; which needles to use for which technique; and what I found refreshing is that she often tells you WHY one thing works better than another. She actually tells brand names if she has a preference. She explains hand dyeing the fabrics, if you want to go that far. Or you can do what I do and find the perfect fabrics in the store for your projects. She tells about drawing your design, which might cause trepidation, but there are enough copyright free images on line that you can copy and T-R-A-C-E, that you shouldn't let this bother you. After showing you what to use, how to use it, and how to fix problems, she shows you how to attach a rod pocket, or hanging sleeve to display your masterpieces.
If you want to create a wall-sized quilt or a pint-sized picture, this book will inspire you and help you believe that you can do this! Surprise yourself. Get this book and find out how creative you are.

I purchased this book prior to taking a class with Ellen about 3 years ago-I go back to this book often-in fact so much I took it to Kinko's for Spiral Bounding. This book is an adventure into the artistic world of nature through Ellen's eye's. Not only will you find wonderful pictures, but many great ideas and instructions to create your own quilts. If you can get your hands on this book, grab ahold, you won't be sorry.

If you are interested in the art of embroidering with metalic threads, this book has what you need -- fab illustrations, ideas, how to information.

This book inspires me to take some steps further in quilting. I like the traditional quilts, but I always look for something new, for me this is new and so beautiful! I hope I can learn a lot from the pictures and the stories in it. So much detail! Practice, practice, practice!

I love this book it is very informative and love her techniques it is worth every penny

Ellen Anne's book is much like the class she teaches, this book reinforces the principles she uses in her daily work. If you want to thread paint like a pro, this is the book for you.