The Quilt Speaks


Book Description

The Quilt Speaks highlights the ingenuity and creativity of abolitionists, the people instrumental in helping guide folks from enslavement to freedom along the Underground Railroad. Using quilts and songs, they shared important messages that kept people safe along their long journey to freedom. The Quilt Speaks gives children an opportunity to delve into this fascinating world of historical deception, secrecy, desperation, and thoughtful hope.Journey with us as history unfolds itself and reveals the importance of a spiritual and seemingly simple quilt square.Children will delight in singing and accompanying themselves as they learn the languages of spirituals and quilt squares from a turbulent time in American history.




Quilt Talk


Book Description

You’ve got something unique to tell the world. What better way to get your message across than sewing your words into a quilt? Fiber artist and quilt designer Sam Hunter teaches you to say it all with 12 new projects featuring modern, paper-pieced text blocks. The book includes patterns of an easy-to-read font that includes lower- and uppercase letters, numbers, and symbols. Sam covers everything you need to know about paper piecing, choosing fabrics, and designing your own quilted words. Use Sam’s designs to get started, and then stitch up your own words to give any occasion the ultimate personal touch.




Mooshka, A Quilt Story


Book Description

Karla loves her special quilt, Mooshka. But Mooshka is more than just a quilt. Karla's grandmother lovingly pieced Mooshka together using scraps of fabric from members of Karla's family. Each square, or "schnitz," shares a special memory of Karla's ancestors and their lives. Mooshka speaks, comforting Karla at bedtime with whispered stories. When new baby sister Hannah arrives, Karla's routine is disrupted and Mooshka falls silent. Only when Karla shares Mooshka with her sister does the quilt begin to speak again and tell Hannah the treasured stories of her family.




A Quilting Life


Book Description

“With its diverse selection of fabrics and designs, A Quilting Life is a fine pick for any quilter looking to produce family-oriented keepsake results.” —The Needlecraft Shelf Bring the handmade tradition home with these charming quilts and home accessories. Inspired by a grandmother who loved to sew for her family, quilter and blogger Sherri McConnell gives traditional patterns like hexagons, stars, snowballs, and Dresden Plates a new look featuring fabrics by some of today’s most popular designers. Nineteen cozy projects include pillows, tote bags, table runners, and larger quilts—quick and easy designs that make great gifts. “Sherri’s book is a treasure! It’s full of fun and straight-forward patterns for quilts, table toppers, pillows, bags and more—all the goodies to make a cozy home.” —Thimbleanna “Would you like the opportunity to make tomorrow’s heirlooms in today’s vast selection of prints? . . . If so, this could be the reference book that will get you started. There are 19 projects, mainly focusing on handmade household items but including some larger quilts too.” —Fabrications Quilting for You “Beautiful inspiration if you are a seasoned quilter, but also a great resource with clear and in some cases, simple patterns for newbies as well.” —Diary of a Quilter “Color photos of finished needlework projects accompany step-by-step diagrams and assembly patterns, while at-a-glance sidebars covering materials and cutting allow needleworkers to gauge the complexity of each project.” —The Needlecraft Shelf




Adventures in Improv Quilts


Book Description

Take on color and creativity with improv quilting! Find inspiration in Improv and start your journey with bold colors and unique designs! Improv expert Cindy Grisdela shares the design principles and construction strategies for successful quilts every time. Explore three different ways to create improvisationally, from the easiest—using one block in different colors and orientations—to combining block units using various techniques—to aspirational, free cutting the entire quilt and designing it on the wall before sewing. Finished creations result in one-of-a-kind artwork! Master three different improvisational styles to create original works of art Design and construction process made easy with expert strategies Guided exercises will have you creating stunning Improv quilts in no time!




Quilts and Health


Book Description

Name an illness, medical condition, or disease and you will find quiltmaking associated with it. From Alzheimer's to Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Lou Gehrig's Disease to Crigler-Najjar Syndrome, and for nearly every form of cancer, millions of quilts have been made in support of personal well-being, health education, patient advocacy, memorialization of victims, and fundraising. In Quilts and Health, Marsha MacDowell, Clare Luz, and Beth Donaldson explore the long historical connection between textiles and health and its continued and ever growing importance in contemporary society. This lavishly illustrated book brings together hundreds of health-related quilts—with imagery from abstract patterns to depictions of fibromyalgia to an ovarian cancer diary—and the stories behind the art, as told by makers, recipients, healthcare professionals, and many others. This incredible book speaks to the healing power of quilts and quiltmaking and to the deep connections between art and health.




Stitchin' and Pullin'


Book Description

This collection of poems that tell the story of the quilt-making community in Gee’s Bend, Alabama, is now available as a Dragonfly paperback. For generations, the women of Gee’s Bend have made quilts to keep a family warm, as a pastime accompanied by sharing and singing, or to memorialize loved ones. Today, the same quilts hang on museum walls as modern masterpieces of color and design. Inspired by these quilts and the women who made them, award-winning author Patricia C. McKissack traveled to Alabama to learn their stories. The lyrical rite-of-passage narrative that is the result of her journey seamlessly weaves together the familial, cultural, spiritual, and historical strands of life in this community.




Tar Beach


Book Description

CORETTA SCOTT KING AWARD WINNER • CALDECOTT HONOR BOOK • A NEW YORK TIMES BEST ILLUSTRATED BOOK Acclaimed artist Faith Ringgold seamless weaves fiction, autobiography, and African American history into a magical story that resonates with the universal wish for freedom, and will be cherished for generations. Cassie Louise Lightfoot has a dream: to be free to go wherever she wants for the rest of her life. One night, up on “tar beach,” the rooftop of her family’s Harlem apartment building, her dreams come true. The stars lift her up, and she flies over the city, claiming the buildings and the city as her own. As Cassie learns, anyone can fly. “All you need is somewhere to go you can’t get to any other way. The next thing you know, you’re flying among the stars.”




Everyday Quilts


Book Description

Lap quilts get snack fallout at TV time. Kids' beds see lots of playtime as well as sleep time. And who knows what Fido and Kitty do when no one's looking? These quilts are the kind you love to make but don't worry about using. Enjoy 15 easy machine-pieced patterns that any confident beginning quilter can create in no time. These quilts are fun to make and great time-savers. Also included are anecdotes and recipes, so the book can serve as the focus of a gathering for sewing, snacking, and story telling-perfect for making charity quilts.




Art Quilt Maps


Book Description

Award-winning quilt artist Valerie Goodwin shows your customers how to transform the places they love and places they ve always wanted to see into hypnotic art quilts. Readers learn step by step how to create fiber collages based on maps of their favorite real and imaginary places. The book features a large photo gallery of quilt maps by Valerie and her students. . Innovative designs keep your customers creativity engaged . Fully illustrated guide covers a variety of basic mixed-media techniques . Bundle this book with fabric paints and mediums, markers, and fusible web"