Utility-Style Quilts for Everyday Living

Exceptionally well illustrated, written, organized and presented, “Utility-Style Quilts for Everyday Living” is unreservedly recommended for personal and community library Quilting instructional reference collections.

Sharon Holland’s passions led her to design fabric for Art Gallery Fabrics. She created the “Quilt-It-Today” and “Sew-It-Today” magazines, for which she has served as editor, photographer and graphic designer. In her debut book, “Utility-Style Quilts for Everyday Living” she aptly draws upon her years of experience and expertise to provide quilting enthusiasts with 12 well illustrated projects, ranging from table runners to a queen-sized quilt. Ideal for the novice beginner, “Utility-Style Quilts for Everyday Living” offers a wealth of skill-building design tips and suggestions throughout, and teaches each technique in an non-intimidating way with a focus on the quilt’s ultimate use – not on unattainable perfection Each individual fast-pieced project is great for beginners, with skill-building design tips and suggestions included throughout. The results are lovely patterns making a compellingly inspired reason to dig into any stash and make a quilt that will be used and loved for years to come. The quilts are inspired by timeless and well-loved block patterns and use surprising fabric and color choices to put a new, modern spin on tradition. Exceptionally well illustrated, written, organized and presented, “Utility-Style Quilts for Everyday Living” is unreservedly recommended for personal and community library Quilting instructional reference collections.

Unlike show quilts, which often seem too precious to use, quilt pattern designer Holland’s creations are for everyday use, with a focus on simplicity and easy piecing. The 12 projects in this book range in size from table runners and baby quilts to queen-size quilts, but most can be made larger or smaller by changing the number of blocks sewn. The cutting and assembly instructions are straightforward and include diagrams for many of the steps. The simplicity of the piecing allows the quilting to shine, and Holland includes suggested machine-quilting designs for most of the items, as well as tutorials for hand quilting and hand-tying.

VERDICT Quilters of all skill levels who are looking for unfussy designs and cozy comfort will be drawn to this collection.

Sharon Holland’s passions led her to design fabric for Art Gallery Fabrics. She created Quilt-it…today and Sew-it…today magazines, for which she is an editor, photographer, and graphic designer. This is her first book.