501 Quilting Motifs Book Review

I love reviewing books and Friday is a perfect day for these posts...don't ya think? 

Books are one of my favorite quilting tools....I get so many ideas and information from all my quilting books.  I've noticed recently that I don't have a large supply of Quilt Reference Books.  Books that I can go to for either block designs or quilting designs or basic how to stuff when I'm stuck on something.  So, I've been adding to my Quilt Reference Library and one excellent book that I have found is 501 Quilting Motifs - Designs for Hand or Machine Quilting from the editors of Quiltmaker Magazine and published by Martingale & Company. 

Rarely if ever do I even think about the quilting design when I'm making anything that will be quilted.  That is the last step for my brain to compute.  I spend all my time and energy focused on the fabrics and making sure I've done the design/pattern correctly....then when I'm finished I go into a blank stare when it comes to designs to be quilted.

Ya know, I've seen some pretty basic quilts...nothing fancy....but then when they have been quilted with an amazing pattern the entire quilt is just a masterpiece.  Do ya know what I'm talking about?  I think one of the ways those folks transform their work is by choosing quilt designs that dance on top of the quilt or enhance the pattern and fabric.

 

In order for me to know what would make a quilt dance....I need lots of ideas and that's where the 501 Quilting Motifs book is a perfect tool to help me take that next step.  There are tons of quilting designs (501 to be exact) and they are categorized by sizes so you can check out the area you need filled and flip to that section of the book.  If there is a design I love and it is smaller....I have a printer that enlarges so I just enlarge the design before I transfer it.  There are flower designs, foods, geometric shapes, hearts, seasonal/holiday, vines and leaves, circle and angle patterns, children/teens and feathers too. 

501 Quilting Motifs is spiral bound as you can see...don't you wish all quilting books came spiral bound?  I love spiral bound books because they are much easier to manage and they lay nice and flat on the table.  Ok, back to my book review....I got sidetracked a bit...that happens sometimes.

Check out the Fleur-de-Lis pattern above...not only do you get the pattern but on the side of the pattern there are several lay out designs to give you ideas about what would best enhance your quilt.  Since I'm a visual person that really helps me see how the designs will look once placed together on a quilt.

That's not all either....they also cover tips for choosing your motifs and how to adapt the designs but also the variety of  methods of transferring the designs and  marking tools too.  That's always the sort of information that helps me.  Even thought we all have a method that we use for marking our designs this books also has a table that lists all the different products (generic not specific-pencil, chalk, soap etc).  The table includes advantages and disadvantages of each of the tools.  So many things I don't think about and they've thought of it for me...gotta love that. 

Do you need an addition to your Quilt Reference Library?  If you do, I highly recommend 501 Quilting Motifs....and if you are a IHAN blog follower....I've given it a special price at IHAN (for new followers IHAN stands for http://www.ihaveanotion.com/)  just for you :)  Enter IHANBlog in the coupon code box on the order check out page and you will get a nice discount :) when you order 501 Quilting Motifs (the offer expires 8/31/2011) if you type in the code and you have not ordered this book I will not honor the discount.

Smiles,

Kelly