November 2016 This is a book thsat appealed to my eye first, the rich colours used on the front cover demanded to be looked at more closely. It was almost put down as quickly as I had picked it up when I saw the word 'curved designs' as I am not a great lover of curves, but this book has me itching to try the techniques. Louisa calls her innovative method 'Double Vision' and it consists of clever cutting and layering of fabric to create curves in an easy way. The book is divided into sections, each one explaining the technique in more detail, making recommendations about colours and fabrics and adding stitch and other embellishment, The 11 projects are suited to a more contemporary patterned and coloured fabrics and the quilts are more of an art quilt than a quilt bed so this may not appeal to all. Louisa's double vision method along with the kisses and hugs - all will become clearer if you read the book- started as a doodle made on a car journey. From this simple drawing of circles in squares grew a way of sewing without curves and making stunning art quilts. I am already delving in my stash and thinking of colours I will use in my own double vision quilt.
Popular Patchwork
I am absolutely crazy about this book, I don't think I have ever said that about a book before. This book is full of fantastic quilts that look very complicated but are achieved with a simple and easy technique. Once you plan and cut your pieces, the make-up is easy. You'll be able to make visually stunning quilts. Follow the instructions for no curved piecing. There are 11 quilt projects to practice layering, texture, colour and pattern to produce vibrant designs. This book looks at shape, values, colour selection, machine applique, embellishing, finishing and hanging. Apart from the fabulous projects there is also a gallery. I am definitely going to have a go at this, got a few ideas myself. It's certainly a new slant on quilting. The only draw back I can see is that I think it takes even more fabric. My favourite projects are the ones on the front and back cover. Highly recommended.
YarnsandFabrics.co.uk
Dec 16 Louisa L. Smith has a simple premise for this book: creating layered and complex quilts from circles and the negative spaces created by them within a block. In the theoretical section, she explores some of the fundamentals of colour theory and a very useful Proportionate Colour Wheel shows the strength of the primary and secondary colours, recommending how to balance colours in your work. Many of the examples are included later in the book as quilt projects. The quilts are made up of layers of different methods of construction. By building up the circles, the negative space shapes become shapes in their own right. In this way, the quilts created are like optical illusions, with parts popping out into the foreground or fading into the background. By using such simple, limited tools, a great variety of results is gained. By using hand-dyed and printed fabrics in addition to commercial ones, the detail in the quilts is increased. Templates are provided at the back of the book but if you wanted to take a shortcut, cutting dies or patterns on digital cutting machines are usually available. This book has a beautiful gallery of work so there's enough to keep you interested in the variety of designs or to get you started in tackling your own.
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