The Ultimate Quilting Book: Over 1,000 Inspirational Ideas and Practical Tips [Paperback]

Maggi McCormick Gordon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2000

More than 200 antique and contemporary quilts, nearly 100 classic patchwork patterns, 800 color and 200 black-and-white illustrations, 25 projects, and a library of 100 trace-off appliqué and quilting motifs. “An astonishingly beautiful book at an astounding price. The biggest book bargain to appear in a long, long time.”—The Quilter.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Will satisfy any die-hard quilting fanatic. As astonishingly beautiful book at an astounding price...it's the biggest book bargain to appear in a long, long time."--The Quilter

"Compelling, often astonishing details about each quilt...Their simplicity motivates the reader."--Piecework

About the Author

Maggi McCormick Gordon is an American-born book editor and consultant who specialises in needlecraft and quilting. Maggi is the author of The Book of Home Sewing, The Quilting Sourcebook, and the co-author of A Quilter's Guide to Amish Quilts. She lives in London.

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Collins & Brown (March 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1855857553
• ISBN-13: 978-1855857551
• Product Dimensions: 11.4 x 8.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #354,546 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring by example, April 27, 2000

By 

Inga - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ultimate Quilting Book: Over 1,000 Inspirational Ideas and Practical Tips (Paperback)

This is really a great book that will sharpen your desire to design and create your own unique quilts. Illustrated with countless examples of old quilts, it inspires by example rather than strict patterns and instructions.

The first part of the book offers a brief history of quilting throughout the ages and the world. Emphasis is on the different styles, techniques and patterns that emerged, and is illuminated with numerous old quilts. A distinction is made between patchwork quilts and plain and appliqué quilts. The second part of the book concentrates on explaining the overall basic skills needed to make quilts followed by instructions for specific patterns and quilting projects.

In a way, this book has it all. The wealth of old quilts shown are most inspiring for the accomplished quilter. Meanwhile the skills and instructions offered are fine for the novice quilter, who at the same time gets exposure to beautiful examples rather than only being engulfed by utterly technical and uninspiring techniques.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Ultimate Quilting Book, June 26, 2002

By 

Mary Wilkins "http://sew-whats-new.com" (Timberlea, Nova Scotia Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Ultimate Quilting Book: Over 1,000 Inspirational Ideas and Practical Tips (Paperback)

This very large soft cover book has hundreds of pictures of a variety of quilts. Most of these are antique quilts with their age and place of origin indicated. The history included with some of these quilts is really fascinating.

Amish quilts are discussed, pictorial quilts, Baltimore Album quilts and some of the most elegant examples of broderie perse you will ever hope to see. Folk Art quilts with some really wild lime green and orange motifs, medallion quilts, crazy quilts and of course traditional patchwork and applique are also shown. The photos are clear and large. This book devotes half of their over 400 pages to quilt history and methods. No detail was too small to overlook.

The other half covers the basic techniques and tools needed to begin a quilt. This section covers everything from notions and equipment basics to colour values, template making, rotary cutting, machine and hand piecing. Easy patterns and projects are shown as well. Hand applique is covered as well as Hawaiian quilting. There are also over 40 full size stitch patterns included that can be traced off.

This book has absolutely everything a novice or advanced quilter could ask for. If you are serious about your quilting, I encourage you to have a look at this quilting encyclopaedia.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful photos and reference library, great ideas for more advanced quilter, December 31, 2006

By 

Marie in NYC "Marie in NYC" (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ultimate Quilting Book: Over 1,000 Inspirational Ideas and Practical Tips (Paperback)

The first half of this book is like an encyclopedia. There are great photos of quilts of various styles and displaying many techniques. The back has projects, with vague supply lists to encourage creativity (e.g., the type of fabric but not the amount). This works well as an inspiration to a more advanced quilter, but is probably not enough detail for a beginning quilter. This could also be a great "coffee table book" since the photos and quilts at the beginning are so beautiful.