Top 5 Books

 I'm Participating in the Blog- o' -Day Challenge here's a link back to moppin.com for the link-up;

https://muppin.com/the-2021-31-day-blog-writing-challenge/

Top 5 Books...

Weeellllll,  I couldn't really narrow it down to just five books but I've tried to organize some of my favorite authors / books into a fairly brief overview. 

 This book was the first quilt book I ever bought.  It was first published by Marshall Cavendish Limited in the UK in 1970 and then in the US by Exeter Books in 1977.  This printing is from 1980.  For it's time it is a very thorough exploration of the world of quilting. 

I still visit it fairly often to look at certain pictures like this one.  I don't know if this was in the 1970 printing but I have seen it in a 1977 edition and it was there.  In any case I think it's an incredibly beautiful and innovative quilt for any time!

I would have to say this next author / teacher was probably the most influential for me in  both those rolls.  Gweny was a great writer and teacher and she was just an all round wonderful person;  Talented and innovative and funny all at the same time!   As you can see I have a whole stack of her books.

Another influence in my path to learning how to design quilts were these two books by Roberta Horton.  

An Amish Adventure was first published in 1993.    Along with books by Elenor Burns  I learned how to use strip piecing to save time and make lots more quilts!  Techniques I still use all the time!   And in a largely Dyed -to- match world  Roberta's book, "Scrap Quilts, The Art of Making Do" really help me see even Ugly fabrics have potential!

Besides books on technique and design Some of my favorite quilt books are about the history of quilting.  I am a huge fan of Barbara Brackman and I have a number of her books:

"Clues in the Calico"  is my quilt history bible.   I refer to it all the time.  I also follow all of Barbara's blogs.  I learn so much from them, not just quilt history but American History, Art History and just all the interesting side information that she writes about along the way.

I stumble upon this book by Paul Pilgrim. and Gerald Roy maybe a year or so ago.  Paul Pilgrim was the maker of the quilts in this book and Gerald Roy provided the background information.  Sadly Paul Pilgrim died shortly after he finish the last of these quilts so he never saw the book published .  But there was a Memorial exhibit of these quilts at the Museum of American Quilter's Society in April of 1997.

It was very affirming for me to see these quilts because I had been using Orphan Blocks to make quilts for a while but I always felt kind of like it was a side show not to be taken to seriously.   But here was this famous designer playing around with some of the same ideas!

This last book really blew my mind the first time I saw it in the Guild Library!  It was maybe 1998 or 1999?  It was originally published in 1987 long before Gees Bend was well known.  But here were all these amazing quilters in the Bay Area who Eli Leon recognized were so talented and he collected their work enthusiastically (over 300 quilts) and then curated a show at the San Fransisco Folk Art Museum in 1987!

I'm a visual person so looking at pictures of quilts is my idea of first class fun and I could go on and on but I'll leave it there.

Take care, cw