Creative Quilts: Inspiration, Texture and Stitch

Features

• Cover Type: Hard Cover with 128 pages
• Published by: Batsford September 28, 2006
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0713490063
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0713490060
• Book Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.3 x 0.8 inches
• Weighs: 1.6 pounds

Product Description
As a sequel to her bestselling Contemporary Quilts, award-winning textile artist Sandra Meech delivers another superlative guide for anyone who’s ever wanted innovative ideas in quilting. Meech’s own work reflects her fascination with the Arctic landscape, but she shows how any needleworker can become an artist, using sketchbooks and journals, and taking inspiration from both commonplace and exotic sources as well as art, architecture, and textiles. The photographs of finished projects provide fuel for creativity, the expert instructions show how to turn ideas into reality, and the array of magnificent techniques (surface embellishment, mixed-media, and three-dimensional looks) match the originality of design. Because these quilts deserve to be displayed, tips are provided on how best to showcase the finished item.

Reader Reviews
Knowing where you want to go but not having a map to get there is a frustrating predicament. Fortunately, Sandra Meech has provided a detailed map for the new quilt artist striving to begin the creative journey. Her book Creative Quilts: Inspiration, Texture, & Stitch, is a thorough guide, lavishly enhanced with photos and drawings. This second book of Meech's (the first being Contemporary Quilts: Design, Surface, and Stitch, Batsford, 2003), seems to be more focused on the serious artist vs. quilt art in general. Although some of the same topics are discussed, she illustrates with new examples. The two books complement one another rather than repeat the content. Ms. Meech serves as an experienced guide through the myriad paths of creativity, providing tools (mind mapping, creating a sketchbook); principles (design, composition, color theory); techniques (stitching, collage, photography) and plenty of ideas. She explores texture, including the technique called wireform, a method of stitching and manipulating fabric to render it in three dimensions. The book is best digested in small bites because of the richness of its content. It would be difficult to absorb all the chapters at once, as the burst of creativity each topic evokes is enough to keep an artist busy for weeks. This book should be in the library of anyone who is serious about working with cloth as art, if for no other reason than as a visual treat. Any artist struggling to get started or looking for a breakthrough would find ample stimulation here.