Stitch and Split Applique: 12 Raw-Edge Projects

Rating:
Summary: Fun...fun...fun!
Review: I got this book Thursday evening; by Sunday I had half the sunflower quilt done. I would rate this project as easy but with a lot of work. You can see this quilt in the book preview. You need a lot of different fabrics for the projects but they're still relatively easy. The instructions are well-written and easy to follow. There is a lot of advice for the individual quilts and you really can't screw up if you thoroughly read AND follow the instructions. I opted not to have raw edges so that made for more work. I used an applique stitch for each layer of the flowers.

I think this method is easily adaptable even though most of the 12 sample projects are really cool and different.

I would not recommend this for a first-time quilter. I stand by my assessment that the quilt I'm making is easy, but it is time-consuming. Each flower has 16 different fabrics. There are a lot of steps before you see something tangible. But if you're patient and stick with it you will love this unique method of applique.

So why didn't I give this book a "5"? A couple of the quilts are a bit ho-hum and patterns aren't life sized. You need to be able to enlarge them to make the quilt the same as the original. I ended up not enlarging the pattern. I simply adjusted the background and border to the scale of the flower pattern (that's what math classes were for!). Lastly, I the binding isn't as good as it can be. Still, I am really glad I bought the book and will be starting another pattern when I'm done with the sunflowers.

Rating:
Summary: Bravo!
Review: These two designers have done an awesome job of translating their unique ideas to today's quilting. The instructions are easy to follow, the pictures are great, and their fabric choices are really spectacular. The fabrics they chose for these patterns really show off the stitch/split design. The stitch/split technique is one with which you can get on a roll with and then it doesn't take as much time. I look forward to any and all of the Jayme/Joan books to come! Keep 'em coming!