Phenomenal Fat Quarter Quilts: New Projects with Tips to Inspire & Enhance Your Quiltmaking

I just started quilting 10 months ago, I had never sewn or quilted before that. I have now made 2 quilts from this book and am going to make more. I love this book! The directions are very clear and easy to understand and follow. There are smaller quilts and large quilts. You really can't go wrong with this book!

Phenomenal Fat Quarter Quilts (c 2004) by M'liss Rae Hawley has a string of 5 star reviews. While this book has some traditional quilts, it focuses more on more contemporary artistic designs. Color choice varies accordingly. Looking to go beyond the tried and true? This book's for you! Designs and color choices are reminiscent of art displayed in a modern museum. This book stretches the creativity of the reader.

I have been dying to take a class on M'Liss Hawley quilts but don't like paying the price for the classes. I bought this book for the Quilt Interrupted pattern. Wow!!! All the projects are beautiful and its great the there are two or three versions of each quilt to spark every quilter's imagination.

Like every other quilter, I can't resist those packages of fat quarters. Someone else has done the hard work of matching fabrics that work together so well that they sparkle. But when you get home... what the heck can you do with them? By this point, I've collected quite a few quilting books, and I'm often surprised at the varied quality. Sometimes, the quilts are pretty, but the step-by-step process is unclear. Sometimes, the sample quilts are perfectly nice, but *I* would sure never make them. Not in THOSE fabrics. Or you can't even figure out what the quilt would look like. M'Liss Rae Hawley avoids all those traps. I'm just finishing the first quilt I've tried from the book, and I'm very impressed. The instructions are very clear, with plenty of sensible tips about color choice, cutting techniques, and so on. I'm going to make a point of looking for more books by this author. First, all the quilts in this book are attractive. She also gives SEVERAL photos of what each pattern will look like, using different fabrics -- which is particularly appreciated since fat quarter packs can very from a rainbow of batiks to a collection of floral fabrics, and it's hard (at least for me) to estimate the resulting mood of the quilt. There's plenty of eye candy and creative inspiration. As you'd imagine, these quilts all feature fat quarters -- anywhere from 6 to 12 of them. Don't expect to grab that package and get right to work, though, as every quilt needs at least one additional fabric; often, it's a focus fabric, sometimes a background. Also, while the quilts are bed-size, they're pretty much for smaller beds -- usually twin, maybe full. Great book, though. Recommended.

M'Liss has done it again with another great book of quilts starting with fat quarters. Most of these call for 8 fat quarters and a background fabric. Some are simply, others are more complex. She has a great quilt that's a gentle introduction to curved piecing, for quilters wanting to add this handy quilting skill. She also incorporates machine embroidery into one of these patterns, but gives alternatives for people will more basic sewing machines. I'm gathering my fat quarters and my rotary cutter!