Reading Quilting Books – Tips To Get You Started
Whether you’re an expert at quilting, or are just beginning, you will find you can advance your knowledge a great deal with the number of books on quilting that are available. There are several categories that quilting books fall into and a number of titles are available. The categories are historical, encyclopedias on how to pattern, art books and books on the joy of quilting.
The most popular are the how-to books and they are a must for beginners. They have a wide range- from books on the overall quilting craft to step-by-step instructions books. There are also books that take each aspect of quilting and methodically explain it. The instructional books first deal with basic aspects like selection of fabric and basic tools needed to get started and then they will proceed to give instructions regarding assembly of the quilt blocks and then the quilt. They also give detailed explanation about quilting through hand as well as machine. Every quilter must have atleast one book of this kind in her quilting library and then will proceed to collect a good many of these books. When in you’re on your quilting project, you will need to refer to these books many times.
Encyclopedia of patterns is another book that every quilter should have purchased in time. These books display a range of block patterns and also show the basic assembly. Because these books have to cover a wide range of topics, they will only briefly discuss all the aspects without going into too much detail. If its detail you want, you need to take a book that features instructions on specific patterns. With the number of quilting techniques and block patterns that exist today, you can imagine how extensive these books will be. For instance, books of this kind will dedicate an entire volume to go in to the details of a Log Cabin Pattern.
Because quilting can be dated way back in the American history, this craft and its nuances have been extensively studied and there are many a historical books available on it. It is truly inspiring to the modern quilter when she sees the great many designs that our ancestors did with the limited supplies available to them. There are also quilting books which deal with the pleasure one gets out of quilting, both from solitary pursuit and from the social form like quilting bees. There is also an entire segment dedicated to quilters who have revolutionized the art of quilting. These quilters often display their work in museums and galleries and also publish books that are not only on quilts but also the thought processes that went behind making them. Quilt collectors publish books too. They are just as inspiring as the historical books quilting.
Choose a time, when there is likely to be no interruption, to go through the range of quilting books that you want to make a part of your library. You can either go to a local bookstore; your library or you could even search online for the books you are looking for. Take out enough time to browse and get a feel of the number of titles available to you. Undoubtedly you will be tempted to buy more books than you initially planned but you can short list a few and save the rest for later.
One of the greatest joys of quilting is going through a book on this topic and luckily there are enough books and titles to select from.
Abhishek Agarwal
http://www.articlesbase.com/needlework-articles/reading-quilting-books-tips-to-get-you-started–739734.html
February 25th, 2010 at 3:01 pm
Could you please read this and critique it?
Well today this scene popped into my head and I just had to write it down and expand on.
Anyway, I was wondering what you thought about it and if you could give me some tips and advice as to ways I could make it sound better.
I am sure there are lots of things I need to do to it!
Any help is much appreciated! Thankyou!
The hastily written letter felt oddly heavy in the girl’s hand. It seemed the weight of the words written on it’s paper equated to the amount of shock and distress it would soon bring. She grabbed the small grey rucksack from her bed and pulled it over her shoulder and wiped the sweat from her brow. Carefully and quietly, she tiptoed down the old staircase, avoiding the steps that creaked eerily when one stood on them. The girl held the letter to her heart, kissed it and placed the crumpled paper on the worn kitchen table. Taking one last look around the tiny house she called home, she tiptoed over to the front door and stepped out into the warm summer night.
The air was still and quiet as if the night too was sleeping as silent as the people it enveloped. Gravel crunched under the girl’s feet; it felt as if her footsteps were the only sound she could hear. Inside, her mind was anything but quiet with the battle she was fighting with her conscience. She debated whether she should reach out and open the rusty gate at the end of the driveway. Stepping out into the world unknown was a risk she was willing to take, yet a little voice inside held her back. Thoughts raced through her mind like pictures seemed when you flick through the pages of a book. Where was she to go? What was she to do once she left, and would her family cope when they wake up in the morning to find her bed empty, and a suspicious note on the table?
‘No,’ she thought, clutching her hands to her face. ‘Get a grip on yourself, I must leave, I have no future here and nothing to keep me happy, but what about my family?’ The guilt this thought formed, brang images to her mind of her mother, father and her sweet little sister who she so dearly loved. Trembling, she shook her head as if to shake those thoughts away and opened the gate.
The stifling air made it harder to walk and breathe, but the girl was determined to put distance between her family and herself, as if to make the separation easier. She strode on through the night until exhaustion set in; physically and mentally. The closely packed trees to the side of the road hosted a perfect place to rest and eat out of sight. She perched down on a fallen tree and dropped her rucksack down onto the carpet of pine needles. Massaging her aching feet, she looked up to the horizon and a faint orange glow was to be seen. Daybreak was arriving and she could hear the sounds of people awaking from their slumber way into the distance; dogs barked and car engines started. The valley which she gazed down upon was beautiful. Farmland stretched for miles and the many paddocks looked like a patchwork quilt. The first rays of sunlight warmed her face as she welcomed the dawn of a new day.
I think I am using ‘the’ too much in this.
@xxkatie.m: Yes, point taken! I really do need to slow up a bit.
Thanks
@Kendra. : Thankyou very much for your detailed answer! I really appreciate it.
@JustRowan: Yes that sentence sounded awkward when I wrote it and I think your version sounds much better! Thanks
February 25th, 2010 at 8:03 pm
Okay I’m a bit confused (but i did sorta skim through it) Of what i did get it sounds pretty good
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February 25th, 2010 at 8:05 pm
sounds pretty good but you may want to slow down a bit from the part where shes leaving to all the sudden its the next day and her feet ache.
like more story should go between those times.
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February 25th, 2010 at 8:07 pm
i like it. it’s cool.
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February 25th, 2010 at 8:09 pm
Okay, paragraph one:
Good, except when you say: ‘avoiding the steps that creaked eerily when one stood on them,’ is a little confusing at the end. I think instead of saying ‘when one stood on them’ you should say "when you/she stood/stands on them." It just makes more sense to me because when I read "one" I said to myself, ‘One what?’ but then I quickly realized what you meant. Other than that, it is very well written.
Paragraph two:
I feel like the first sentence needs some more punctuation in there, but I can’t figure out what or where. I think that might make it more easy to read, but I don’t know, that’s just my opinion.
‘The guilt this thought formed, brang images to her mind of her mother, father and her sweet little sister who she so dearly loved.’ Brang needs to be changed to brought. The rest is good.
Paragraph three:
‘The stifling air made it harder to walk and breathe, but the girl was determined…’ I think "the girl" should be changed to "she." [Just sounds better to me.] Everything else is flawless.
I think this is truly well written.
Good job and good luck with the rest of the writing process.
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February 25th, 2010 at 8:11 pm
I don’t think you’re using ‘the’ too much. If you are, I didn’t notice.
You are going pretty quick. And I noticed some odd sentences. But past that, I like it quite a bit.
One of the sentences I’m referring to is: ‘Get a grip on yourself, I must leave, I have no future here and nothing to keep me happy, but what about my family?’
I think it would flow better if it were, "Get a grip on yourself. I must leave… I have no future here, and nothing to keep me happy. But what about my family?"
However, it is your story. Do what you wish.
I like it a lot. I really want to know what’s going to happen.
Good luck!
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February 25th, 2010 at 8:13 pm
that was really good! i loved the descriptive way it was written.
it really made me want to keep reading. the whole time i was just like "what was the letter? where is she going?"
OMG I NEED 2 FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENS NEXT!!!!!!!!
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