December 18, 2017
As informative as it is intimate, the latest book from quilting teacher Thomas (Quilting Essentials) focuses on the quilt she made her husband for their 40th wedding anniversary. “We quilters have our favorite ... that are tied to important events and special memories,” writes Thomas, who selected 40 of her favorite block patterns for the project and incorporated the color red (traditionally associated with 40th wedding anniversaries) into each. She introduces each block with a headnote, explaining its personal significance. There’s a block dedicated to her friend Ann, a fellow quilter, who passed away several years ago; another represents her family’s military service. Especially warming is the block inspired by her uncle Reed’s “old blanket” (a perfectly preserved album block quilt with 42 signatures dated from 1842). She explains how to make each block with shaded graphics and with arrows denoting pressing directions at seams. Her best teaching comes in a section titled “Specialty Quiltmaking Skills,” which includes tips on such topics as mastering an accurate seam allowance and folding corners. In the final section Thomas lays out plans for alternate anniversary quilts. The book is best suited for intermediate quilters and does a great job of illustrating the commemorative component of the quilting tradition.
Starred review from March 1, 2018
In 1975, author Thomas fell in love with both quilting and her husband, Terry. To commemorate her 40th anniversary, she designed a sampler quilt featuring 40 individual blocks, each made twice. The blocks include a number of traditional favorites in a framed, on-point layout with appliqu'd flower vines as embellishment. This guide gives instructions for stitching each of the blocks, as well as several setting options for quilters interested in commemorating their own special anniversaries. Both hand- and machine-piecing are used, and many of the blocks require cutting templates provided on a pullout sheet. VERDICT Thomas's chronicle-in-patchwork of her years as a quilter and a military wife brings personal meaning to ever-popular sampler quilts, and skilled quilters will enjoy both the blocks and the stories behind them.
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