Rotary Cutting and Speed Piecing

The one-star reviewer obviously didn't read the description - this is NOT a pattern book! No wonder she was disappointed. It clearly states, "More than 230 color photographs and detailed step-by-step directions tell you how to marry rotary cutting with the best piecing techniques...Learn these tips and tricks from the pros..." (And yes, you CAN make the quilt on the cover...once you learn how to do half-rectangles and strip piecing! There's just not a written "pattern" for it - the authors tell you how to "dissect" a quilt block to figure out the components used, so you can make the components and make just about any pieced quilt yourself.) And this book (as are all Rodale's Successful Quilting Library books) is just that. It's a very clear, picture-filled with accurate descriptions of different techniques that are used across a huge variety of blocks. This book in particular introduces the beginner quilt to strip-piecing and techniques to make point-matching during block construction easier and more precise. An intermediate quilter may pick up a new technique or two; an advanced quilter has little to gain from this book. I highly recommend it to beginners, though, as the techniques covered are invaluable to a lifetime of quilting.

I really have not had time to study this book. It looks helpful from just glancing at it.

I purchased this book when I first took up quilting over a year ago. I feel that it really INTRODUCED well all of the new ways that quilters are making quilts faster and easier. I never thought of returning it, and I'm surprised with the previous reviewer's comments. While there are a few unhelpful hints -like alternating pieced blocks with whole squares for a faster quilt top(duh!), I am not at all disappointed with the lack of patterns as I prefer to design my own. Don't we get enough of those from the plethora of magazines we quilters hoard? Patterns often take up space in a book that I would prefer be used to instruct more on technique, color choices, or quilter's diary for inspiration. Perhaps that's just a matter of personal choice. I own several Rodale books that I am always pleased with. PROS: chapters on Accuracy Guaranteed, Rotary Cutting Unusual Shapes, Building Strip Piecing Skills (only interesting for a beginner, like piecing different strips of fabrics together and cutting out shapes from there), designing blocks with Triangle Squares, Double Stitches Triangle Squares - an interesting way of stitching strips on both ends, then cutting out triangle squares and you're done, Fun with Half Rectangles (I liked learning about the idea of tipping your blocks on an angle, then filling with half rectangles), Foundation Piecing (tips for designing your own and combining it with applique, curved piecing, Strip-Pieced yardage, Clues for Cutting and Piecing - encouraging you to disect the quilts you admire and showing you how to copy them UNHELPFUL, FILLER CHAPTERS: streamline your workspace, speedy scrappy nine patch - obvious and boring, fast faux mini quilts, speedy big quilts - that's the one with the suggestion to add empty blocks, the buddy system - obiously two people work faster than one, if you can find one! BOTTOM LINE: BEGINNERS,WELCOME TO THE WONDERFUL NEW WORLD OF MUCH EASIER QUILTING!