Customer Reviews

Whip Up Mini Quilts: Patterns and How-to for 20 Contemporary Small Quilts

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Making quilts has kept me entertained for more than 30 years, and this book full of fresh, fun and improvisational quilts is a welcome addition to my library. It has a wonderful and extensive introduction - basic tools and techniques are covered as well as more advanced topics such as embellishing and even fabric dyeing. There is a great glossary of quilting terms, a resource listing for books and for supply sources and a designer bio section. The format is very useful: the wire binding allows the book to lie flat and there is a handy pocket inside the front cover for the pattern sheets.

And the quilts! These little pieces really inspire me to try something new - not just to copy someone else's design and fabric choices, but to actually create my own work. The small size of these joyful works is just right to send me to my fabric stash to try a out a new idea. There are a wealth of creative techniques, including some - take a look at the Concentric Circles, for instance - that I haven't seen before and can't wait to use. There are works by some of my favorite quilt artists (thanks Victoria and Kellie!) as well as by people I'm not familiar with but will be following in the future.

Whether you are new to quilting or have been enjoying it for years, I'm pretty sure you'll find something here that will have your fingers itching to stitch up a new project - and isn't that what we all really want, no matter how many works we already have in progress? Happy quilting!

This delightful compilation of small quilts from designers around the world is a real treasure, beautifully produced, illustrated and photographed with clear instructions for beginners (like me) and some real beauties for more experienced quilters. A wonderful aspect of this compilation is that there are a couple of the quilt ideas that are suitable for children as first quilts. In this electronic world when children spend so much time in front of screens this is a great plus. I really loved the "Grasshopper in my garden", "A little birdie told me" and adored the contemporary design of "Powerline sky"

The writing is warm and inclusive and would resonate to women who are at home and long for an artistic outlet. I loved the line drawings and handy paper patterns in the pocket, it has inspired me to make a start on a quilt for a baby's room.

I am a little biased as I have a quilt in this book. Mine is the grandma's quilt. What I love about this book is that Kath has managed to curate projects from a broad spectrum of designers which has resulted in an awesome selection of projects. There is nothing homogenised about this little baby. LOVE IT. Too often these kinds of books all have projects that start looking similar. Nice work Kath it's a great little book for any crafter that would like to give mini quilts a go.

As others have said, this book covers a wide range of styles so it's likely that you'll love some of the projects and hate others. I make most of my quilts and other crafts to give as gifts so I appreciate the variety of this book. There is something for everyone.

I'm pretty new to quilting and found that many of these projects make for great practice. The smaller sizes are easier to manage in my machine and I like all of the techniques the book explores. However, I found some of the instructions to be a bit confusing or inadequate. I'm sure a more advanced quilter would not face some of the frustrations that I did.

Overall, I think this is a fun and inspiring book!

For me, this book is a great example of what could have/should have been an amazing book that went all wrong. The author is wonderful, the contributors are all top-notch, but the projects...meeeh. Nothing new, haven't made a single project, and they don't hang together well as a collection of projects. I can completely live without this book...and you can too.

What a great book. The creative combined with outstanding technical illustrations. This book is a must for anyone wanting to explore contemporary quilting. Kathreen's style is comprehensive and friendly, perfect for the novice or someone wanting a different edge to their quilting.

This book is excellent for so many reasons. It's as the title says, 26 contemporary small quilts from 26 different contributors. So of course its going to be an eclectic mix of projects, how can it not be? But this is one of the books key strengths; the variety of projects will push the willing out of their comfort zones and inspire them to produce great new quilts. I'm at a loss to understand the reviewers who see this as a negative - to those I say, - get a life and try something new! you might even surprise yourself!

The mix of difficulty levels and design styles makes this a great resource for quilters at every level. But there is even more in this gem of a book, there's detailed techniques, clear concise hand drawn illustrations, even a history of mini quilts!

This is so clearly not just another quilting book. Whipup Mini Quilts is a unique, thoughtfully crafted, well executed exploration of the mini quilt. Kathreen Ricketson has really set herself a high standard in this, her first book, I cant wait to see what she does next!

Interesting and informational, this little book is a gold mine of ideas. Glad I bought it!

I am a self taught seamstress. I read [...] and was excited to get this book by Kathreen! I wanted to make a mini quilt to use as a placemat for my cat's food and water dish and also to make a mini quilt with my 10 and 12 year old girls as we are homeschoolers. This book fits the bill for me. The instructions are clear and I appreciate that the patterns are included and not something I have to draft or copy. My SIL is first in line to borrow it as she is an accomplished quilter but I may have to buy her a copy since I cannot part with mine anytime soon.

I am not a quilter, I don't have the patience to make a traditional full-sized quilt. But I like this book and I'm glad I bought it. There are so many cute and fun designs that make attractive decorative items and gifts. While they are meant to be mini quilts, they could easily be adapted for other things like bags, placemats and table runners. Templates are attached for the applique patterns, which you could use for any other sewing project.

The book provides basics on the tools needed and how-to's for different quilting methods, appliques and embroidery stitches - useful if you're unfamiliar with them. There are also written instructions on basting and quilting, which would perhaps have been more effective if accompanied by more diagrams, photos or a CD. I am an avid reader and information junkie who has read many quilting tutorials and watched quite a few quilting videos online, so I could follow most of the text instructions. But if you're new to quilting, you may easily get lost amid all those words.

If you've been making your own quilts - traditional ones - this book will challenge you to get out of your comfort zone. Most of the projects in here are not traditional; among them: a circus scene, a map quilt, a loopy quilt made of swirls of felt appliques, a raven in front of a window, a power line landscape. If you are not into unusual quilt designs, you probably won't enjoy this book.