Juanita Neilands

written in 1988, this was one of the first books that I used when teaching quilt construction in the late 80's and early 90's.
Still has some wonderful easy quilts for beginners.

This is an excellent book for the beginner who knows next to nothing about quilting. There are detailed chapters that cover how to choose a pattern, color selection, fabric preparation, laying out and cutting the pieces, and how to sew the pieces together. Appliqué is treated in it's own chapter which discusses how to prepare the pieces and to sew them by hand or machine. Quilting patterns, for the sewing of the layers, is discussed as are the methods of marking the quilt for stitching. The kinds and methods of putting a binding around the edges is followed by a discussion of how to draft your own patterns, making it possible to recreate a historic quilt in your own collection or to look at a photo and reproduce a quilt pattern in your own layout. The final chapter is a sampler quilt that can be made as a class that meets for 11 sessions. Each block is shown in a color diagram with the stitching pattern in a second diagram in black and white. This is an excellent book to be used by teachers, beginners, and quilters of all levels of expertise. ( )

Marge Van Dusen