Weekend Review: Quilt Talk

 

Quilt Talk / Sam Hunter
Lafayette, CA: Stash Books, c2014.
144 p.

As many of you already know, I am a sewist but also a librarian. I love seeing sewn text! Lately I've come across a rash of books on adding text to quilts, using varied techniques. This is the first one I'll share this month. 

I picked this up thanks to my library, and have been really entertained by it! It includes 12 projects, but the projects are not all full quilts; as shown on the cover, she has small projects with just a few letters so you can get started without too high a level of intimdation! 

This book is focused on paper piecing - there is a big section at the end with all the patterns to copy for all the letters. The book opens with a guide to paper piecing, if you've never done it before this will be particularly useful. You sew bits of fabric onto your paper foundation backwards to get the letter shape -- I've never done paper piecing and must admit that the process looks quite complicated to me, even though she's created a process that doesn't require specialized tools. There are also a couple of charts full of math and measurements in order for you to size the letters up and down, and adjust the kerning as needed (the spacing between letters & words). There is a full alphabet included, both upper and lower case, plus accents, and a row of special characters you might be most likely to need. If you're into this kind of text making this book will be a great resource.

It's a bright and cheery book, with many of the colour choices bright and modern. The photography is clear and plentiful, so that it's fun just to look through this book for inspiration. There are a variety of projects and each one has the instructions for the lettering, but also how to make the project itself (like the little bucket bags on the cover). Projects range from baby quilts to full size quilts, from wallhangings to house decor. So you could do any project as is, or just use the lettering guide, or even just the bigger project without lettering. Lots of options here. You can find out more about it on the author's website if you're interested, and of course could get a copy at your local library to check out the techniques if you're also wondering about the possibilities of sewn text.