Rating: 
Summary: Geometry made easy
Review: Back in high school I barely got out of geometry so I was truly amazed when Jinny Beyer was able to teach me how to create tessellations. She simplified the process and not only gave me a number of examples but also gave me the tools to create my own tessellations.
Rating:
Summary: Geometry made easy
Review: Back in high school I barely got out of geometry so I was truly amazed when Jinny Beyer was able to teach me how to create tessellations. She simplified the process and not only gave me a number of examples but also gave me the tools to create my own tessellations.
Rating:
Summary: Graph Paper, Pencil and Go
Review: Escher meets my fabric stash! Toss out the kids and the dog and put on your thinking cap and follow the logical steps to learn the simple technique. If you concentrate, you can quickly draft remarkable connections between your shapes or ideas. I'm not too mathematically inclined, but with graph paper (and a good eraser) I found the easy to understand theories simple to apply. This book is a must if you want totally originally quilts that no one else has ever designed before. A must for any quilter who enjoys puzzles and originality.
Rating:
Summary: Graph Paper, Pencil and Go
Review: Escher meets my fabric stash! Toss out the kids and the dog and put on your thinking cap and follow the logical steps to learn the simple technique. If you concentrate, you can quickly draft remarkable connections between your shapes or ideas. I'm not too mathematically inclined, but with graph paper (and a good eraser) I found the easy to understand theories simple to apply. This book is a must if you want totally originally quilts that no one else has ever designed before. A must for any quilter who enjoys puzzles and originality.
Rating:
Summary: Complex Shapes From Simple Ones
Review: Here are some excerpts from my review of this book. You can see the complete review on the Quilter's Review website. "We can all picture a nine-patch design covering the surface of a quilt from border to border. But can you picture a shape that suggests a day lily blossom and that interlocks with itself to create a solid pattern with no background required? "I thought not. Fortunately, if you're up for the challenge of working with complex interlocking shapes, Jinny Beyer has written just the book you need. "Designing Tessellations is a design book, a textbook and a workbook that will help you create exciting designs that can be made into quilts. "Jinny explains in easy-to-understand language everything you would want to know about symmetry and tessellations. The book is well written, with the clear explanations that Jinny uses in all of her books. And the illustrations, many of which are her own fabulous quilts, are very helpful.... "...When reading this book, it is important to remember that Jinny does hand-piecing. That makes these quilts easier to assemble. But that doesn't mean that they can't be pieced by machine. There will be lots of set-in seams to sew in almost any tessellating design. "If you like Escher's work, are fascinated by repetition of pattern or are an advanced quilter, one who can read about an idea and convert it to a quilt, then this book is for you. On the other hand, if you need a pattern to make a quilt or your eyes glaze over at the mention of math, this might not be your cup of tea."
Rating:
Summary: Complex Shapes From Simple Ones
Review: Here are some excerpts from my review of this book. You can see the complete review on the Quilter's Review website. "We can all picture a nine-patch design covering the surface of a quilt from border to border. But can you picture a shape that suggests a day lily blossom and that interlocks with itself to create a solid pattern with no background required? "I thought not. Fortunately, if you're up for the challenge of working with complex interlocking shapes, Jinny Beyer has written just the book you need. "Designing Tessellations is a design book, a textbook and a workbook that will help you create exciting designs that can be made into quilts. "Jinny explains in easy-to-understand language everything you would want to know about symmetry and tessellations. The book is well written, with the clear explanations that Jinny uses in all of her books. And the illustrations, many of which are her own fabulous quilts, are very helpful.... "...When reading this book, it is important to remember that Jinny does hand-piecing. That makes these quilts easier to assemble. But that doesn't mean that they can't be pieced by machine. There will be lots of set-in seams to sew in almost any tessellating design. "If you like Escher's work, are fascinated by repetition of pattern or are an advanced quilter, one who can read about an idea and convert it to a quilt, then this book is for you. On the other hand, if you need a pattern to make a quilt or your eyes glaze over at the mention of math, this might not be your cup of tea."
Rating:
Summary: Really more than a "quilt book"
Review: I'm a ceramic tile maker and have been trying to figure out Escher's designs, with only limited success. I have also had some unexpected mishaps with other types of tessellating tiles. So, I am really happy to have this book. It has helped me through the "gotchas" of making tessellating designs, and has given me many other design ideas. This book is beautiful, well laid out, with excellent illustrations and pleny of ideas. The math employed is usually the minimal amount needed to get the job done, although sometimes she does try to really explain the geometry. (That's where she loses me, but that's OK. I've had LOTS of success without understanding at that level). She explains concepts like translation, mid-point and corner rotation, glides, and mirroring in a way that anyone (even the math challenged, like me!) can understand and work with them. She also covers tessellations made from angles other than 90 degrees (for example, from shapes like triangles, hexagons, kite shapes, etc.) for the adventurous spirited. She includes exercises in case you want to use the book as a textbook for yourself or a class. It doesn't matter whether you are making quilts, tiles or something else. The concepts and directions apply no matter what the medium. Highly recommended for anyone who loves tessellations!
Rating:
Summary: THE Textbook on Tessellations!
Review: I'm a ceramic tile maker and have been trying to figure out Escher's designs, with only limited success. I have also had some unexpected mishaps with other types of tessellating tiles. So, I am really happy to have this book. It has helped me through the "gotchas" of making tessellating designs, and has given me many other design ideas. This book is beautiful, well laid out, with excellent illustrations and pleny of ideas. The math employed is usually the minimal amount needed to get the job done, although sometimes she does try to really explain the geometry. (That's where she loses me, but that's OK. I've had LOTS of success without understanding at that level). She explains concepts like translation, mid-point and corner rotation, glides, and mirroring in a way that anyone (even the math challenged, like me!) can understand and work with them. She also covers tessellations made from angles other than 90 degrees (for example, from shapes like triangles, hexagons, kite shapes, etc.) for the adventurous spirited. She includes exercises in case you want to use the book as a textbook for yourself or a class. It doesn't matter whether you are making quilts, tiles or something else. The concepts and directions apply no matter what the medium. Highly recommended for anyone who loves tessellations!
Rating:
Summary: Stunning
Review: Just when I thought I had quilts all figured out, Jinny Beyer turns my quilting brain upside down and sideways and several other directions too. You will look at this book for months and your quilts ever after will be the kind no one can figure out except you and Jinny Beyer.
Rating:
Summary: Stunning
Review: Just when I thought I had quilts all figured out, Jinny Beyer turns my quilting brain upside down and sideways and several other directions too. You will look at this book for months and your quilts ever after will be the kind no one can figure out except you and Jinny Beyer.
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