A Fine Line: Techniques and Inspirations for Creating the Quilting Design

At last a book to guide you past the dread "quilt as desired"! It would be a useful and inspiring addition to the library of any quilter. The quilts are lovely and the reader is given clear explanations as to why each was quilted the way it is and alternatives are discussed. Designing the quilting will never be easy, but the authors will help you create a design that will best complement your pieced or appliqued top.

I have known Melody Crust and Heather Tewell for over ten years and I have spent many wonderful hours quilting and learning from these two ladies. I have read their book from cover to cover and I am delighted to share with those of you out there who love quilting as much as I do my review of this book. "A Fine Line" is excellent for even the new quilter and yet it has a great amount of information for the long time quilter. The book has wonderful and very interesting pictures by Charles Crust and show the quilter lots of examples of different things (mountains, sky, and places all over the world) that are inspirational and terrific starting points. The quilting line examples Heather and Melody show in there book are marvelous and keep your interest in learning their examples of fine line quilting. "A Fine Line" shows very good examples and projects that Melody and Heather have created just for this book and a goodly number of their award winning quilts they have shared with the quilting community.If you want to add a very good quilting book to your quilting library this is the one. It would make an excellent gift for the quilter in your life. Hope you enjoy "A Fine Line" as much as I have.

Before reading the book, I gave Heather and Melody rave reviews based on a class with Heather. The book is even better than anticipated, and the photography superb. It covers fully all facets of the quilting and designing the quilt pattern, including two facets I've not seen anywhere---and I read voraciously. Perhaps the most innovative technique, which almost doesn't receive enough emphasis for its ingenuity, is the use of 2x3 foot mylar sheets which you lay on top of your quilt top. Using a wet-erase marker (available even here on my rural island!), you can sketch a possible design right on your own quilt top, life-size, and see immediately if it has potential or not. If not, wipe and try again! In the book, each chapter has a "let's play quilt" segment which shows the use of this technique with different options for the top, discusses the pros and cons of each design both from a design viewpoint and from the hand vs. machine quilting method. Then you see the finished quilt, with the option the authors chose. The other subject I haven't seen treated anywhere is the use of thread--both from a color/design standpoint and from a technical perspective. Some of what is contained I have gleaned through extensive work, but really welcomed the new info on the strength of differrent thread weights and how they affect use (OK for wall, but thinner thread might not be a good choice for a baby quilt, unless quilted densely, etc) and appearance ("thready" for heavy threads -- 40 weight -- used densely when machine quilting). The style of quilts in this book runs the gamut from traditonal pieced and applique to dramatically innovative--I think the only styles not represented are crazy quilts and Baltimore albums, tho the book could easily help you work on the latter, too. No matter what your personal preferences, the information here on how various quilting techniques (background grid, feathers, free-form, etc) affect the quilt and how it is to be used will be informative. The only complaint I have about the book is that on the blurb for each quilt it does not say when it was made--I love to watch a quilter's progression in their work, and miss being able to see the evolution or dual-tracks of their designs. This is a minor quibble, and I would recommend this book without reservation. If I had to pick three books on quilting and quilt design, they would be this one, Quilting with Style by Gwen Marston and Joe Cunningham, and Harriet Hargrave's Machine Quilting, if you want a full treatment of the machine quilting process. Early in my quilting career, I was fortunate to have a class with Gwen, and she shows that what appears to be complex drafting is actually quite easily achieved. Quilting with Style complements but does not duplicate A Fine Line, and they make a great pair on the shelf.

This isn't actually a book review, since I have only taken the class on quilting design with Heather Tewell. I am eager to see the book, however, because Heather and Melody have addressed an issue usually handled in a phrase or two: "quilt the top and bind it." If the book is anywhere nearly as good as the class, and I expect it to be given Heather's standards for excellence, this will undoubtedly become a basic reference volume as well as an inspiring book.In her class, Heather shared many of her tops, both traditional and innovative, and in all cases both the design and workmanship were outstanding. We asked, and virtually all of them were to be included in the book! The pictures alone will make this a worthwhile book. Too many times nowadays, one sees quilts with fabulous pieced or appliqued tops, but with uninspired quilting. What could have been a masterpiece is left at the merely very good. In their classes, the authors help you go the extra step and learn how to design your own quilting pattern to best enhance the style and period of your quilt top. I have been quilting for 10 years, won top ribbons in our county fair, and am pretty much at the expert level (though we can always learn more). If I could encourage my friends to take just one class to improve their quilting, it would be the long-neglected aspect of designing the quilting pattern. I hope and expect that this book will share Heather and Melody's experience and enthusiasm with the many who don't live where they can attend a workshop with these ladies.