New Quilt 1: Dairy Barn Quilt National

This is a fabulous book for anyone interested in quilting. The photos of the quilts from the show are clear, with many close-up photos to show detail. This book is great for inspiration for a quilter at any level--these art quilts show that quilts can go beyond traditional patterns. It was especially interesting to me to see quilts by folks who have since gone on to write their own quilt books, or win other big awards, or become well-known in the quilt world. For example, the quilt on the cover is by Yvonne Porcella, who has since written many wonderful books. Each page contains a photo of the quilt (or two photos: quilt and close-up to show detail), specifics about the quilt (size, techniques used, etc.), and a paragraph by the quilter about the quilt. These are fascinating to read.The information about Dairy Barn and Quilt National is also very interesting. As someone fairly new to quilting, I am trying to learn about the big shows, and this book was very helpful in that regard.I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in quilting, and especially those who are interested in seeing how quilts can express much more than a pattern invented 150 years ago. These gorgeous quilts should inspire anyone to push their own quilting boundaries.