Creative Quilt Challenges: Take the Challenge

not what I wantd

I am so excited about this book. I have met the authors and they are talented art quilters and dynamic individuals. I have been on a journey to evolve from a traditional quilting design to intuitive, freeform, and exploratory quilting design, and this book supports my journey. The concepts and ideas in the book are accessible whether you are a seasoned art quilter or new quilter wanting to explore creative design skills. The examples, photos and quilts in the book are beautiful - Pat Pease and Wendy Hill are incredible talented. I enjoyed seeing the evolution of a piece as it passed back in forth between Wendy and Pat during their creative challenges. This book would be fun to use as a template and inspiration for a challenge with a quilting friend, a group or with a quilt guild. Well done!

I have to be honest, nothing in this book excited me. I do appreciate the back part with techniques. I've never heard of inset squares and that will be helpful to know. Personally I think this book is better suited for a traditional quilter who is looking to expand his/her repertoire beyond following patterns. If you are already an improv quilter comfortable with design and color, the challenges might not seem innovative or like they will push your creative limits. I'm going to gift this at our traditional guild's annual Christmas party this year. I much prefer Sherri Lynn Wood's Improv Handbook that came out in 2015 and recommend that to quilters looking to go beyond following a pattern. One thing that clued me in that this book is not something I need is a mention of using a color wheel tool (and there's nothing wrong with that, but I'd rather rely on my instincts). That tells me right away that the person this book is written for is not an intrepid creator, but a person who has difficulty seeing beyond the directions on the page. If you have doubts picking fabrics and choosing colors, this book might be something to help you get more creative and confident. I was hoping this could be a book I follow along with to see my abilities grow, but it just doesn't fit my needs.

So far, I've enjoyed this book a great deal. I love the challenge format which is partially instructional but also encourages you to be creative. Wendy and Pat provide a number of great tips a long the way that have helped me improve my process. The quilts pictured in the book are absolutely gorgeous and make you just envious enough to want to do better. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in branching out or to just hone their craft.

Love this book. The quilts are one-of-a-kind and beautifully different. There are many new techniques I haven't seen in basic quilting books. The quilts in this book, as well as the clear instructions, have inspired me to make my quilts more unique and interesting going forward. It's obvious the authors love fabric and sewing as much as I do!