Two new quilting books you don’t want to miss and a Giveaway!

Just like fabric stash, a quilter can never have too many books on their bookshelves. They add to our repertoire of patterns, show us techniques we’ve not tried before, teach us new things and reinforce the basics. Here are two new titles worth adding to your reference library.

If you like quilt patterns that are traditional “with a twist” you will love Link to the 30's: Making the Quilts We Didn't Inheritby Kay Connors and Karen Earlywine; 96 pages; That Patchwork Place (Martingale). Based on the earliest quilter’s use of scraps and “Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without” this book is a scrap quilter’s dream. According to the authors, “…we try and make [quilts] the way we know the women of the time made them, with lots of muslin background, a wild display of colored prints and bright solids, and loads of hand quilting.”

Although created with today’s reproductions 1930’s fabrics, the beautiful and unique quilt patterns found in this book are true “scrap quilts” and would be just as beautiful and timeless in more modern fabrics as they are in the repro fabrics. Definitely a book you will turn to when you need that quilt for someone special or when you simply want to use up some of your stash.

Quilters often balk at the thought of learning to machine quilt on a home sewing machine. Actually taking the plunge and being brave enough to take the initial step seems to be the hardest hurdle, but next comes moving past “stitch in the ditch” and “meandering” and moving on to actual quilting designs. As more quilters face today’s economic crunch, it becomes too expensive to send out all but our most spectacular creations to a long arm quilter, and often too time-consuming to quilt by hand. The answer? Become competent in quilting on your home sewing machine.

Free-motion Quilting Made Easy: 186 Designs from 8 Simple Shapesby Eva A. Larkin, 95 pages, That Patchwork Place (Martingale). A well-written, detailed, step-by-step instruction book on how to learn machine quilt on your home sewing machine. Good basic instructions on mastering thread tension, controlling stitch length and quilting in smaller sections. Larkin moves the reader slowly through the process of learning, recommending exercises on both paper and fabric “sandwiches”. “My favorite designs are those that are easy to quilt, add texture to the quilt top, and require little marking.” She relies on eight basic, easy to master shapes for all her designs – the oval, loop, lopsided figure eight, tulip, heart, triangle, diamond and flower.

If you’re ready to take the plunge into machine quilting or ready to move past stitch-in-the-ditch and stippling, Free-Motion Quilting Made Easy is a great tool to step you through the process.

WIN “LINK TO THE 30’S: MAKING THE QUILTS WE DIDN’T INHERIT” – GiveAway #2

Leave a comment on this post before 9pm (EST) April 3, 2009, for your chance to win a copy of this “hot off the press” book. Winner will be selected randomly on April 4 and notified by email, so be sure your comment includes a way to contact you. Winner will have 48 hours to respond.

For a second entry, put the QOB blog button on your blog or web site, and leave a second comment telling me the address of same.

For a third chance to win this great book, write a post on your blog about this giveaway! Be sure your blog address is available in your comment.

Good luck!