Kids Can Quilt

First off, that's my quilt on the cover, hanging on the wall, and my sister's quilt the young boy is sewing on. We were both extremely excited to be chosen for the cover of her book! Barbara taught a group of the neighborhood kids in California the year we were all stationed there and I have to say, I learned quite a lot from her. She really knows how to make quilting interesting and fun, and this book is definitely the product of a lot of hours of research and fun. I highly recommend it to anyone trying to interest their child in learning to quilt!

Thinking of teaching a child to quilt? Don't miss out on this book if you are. This book is so unique in that it helps to explain how to actually help children learn. Not everybody instinctively knows how to teach a child and the book is a really wonderful tool to help you along the way. This book addresses a host of areas including how to teach a lefty, great tips on how to help kids learn how to use the sewing machine, and a whole lot of other things you would not have thought of. I love the bottle cap pin cushion and the sewing bag projects! They are so clever and simple and give kids the ability to make their own personalized sewing notions. The instructions for hand quilting includes lots of illustrations and machine quilting is covered as well. With 13 blocks to choose from, you are sure to find something for everyone to try. I love this book and Barbara's other book, Traditional Quilts for Kids to Make. Both packed with more blocks than other books for kids!

This book is an excellent introduction to quilting for children. It gives step by step instructions on simple quilts and wall hangings in several different sizes with a variety of themes . The method used in this book allows the child larger pieces of fabric to sew together. A quilting ruler and a marking pencil are used to make lines that the children then sew over. The method does waste a small amount of fabric that is cut off after sewing, but theses scraps could be saved for the children to use later when they get into more advanced quilting techniques. The different blocks are based mainly on holiday themes. The largest project is a wall hanging with a block that would represent each month. All designs are interesting to young children from cats and flowers to baskets and hearts. Other projects in the book show you how to take one block, such as a heart, and quilt it in different fabrics. They also give the child ideas of how to go beyond the instructions and ideas presented in the book. The baskets in one idea quilt were all filled with different items. These examples allow the child to think about going beyond the patterns presented after they master the simplier blocks in the book. I plan to introduce my daughter and her friends to quilting using this book. Enjoy!