Katie Clark Blakesley

I've had Vintage Quilt Revival for about a year, and finally got around to making a project from it. The blocks, projects, aesthetic and photography are all very appealing and pretty. But either it was my dumb luck, or the book suffers from a number of errors, because the cross-patch bag project's measurements were all wrong.

It is supposed to make an 8.5" block before finishing. The book tells you how many of each type of block to cut out, and in what size; this I did, right off the bat. Then it says to get the template off the cd and print 16 copies and use foundation piecing to put them together. Well, this is absurd. The cross-patch block is not difficult, from a piecing perspective. Careful measurement and piecing will work to produce a good block without wasting 16 pieces of paper. Also, I don't have a cd drive on my computer, and I'm not buying a new laptop so I can make better use of a $20 book.

Or it would, if the measurements given for cutting were accurate.

But they weren't.

(Aside: the inner pieces are given as 1.5" wide. The outer pieces are given as 2.25" wide. I have double-checked and yes, it does say 1.5", and yes, it's for all of the inner pieces, not just one--so not a typo. I have a feeling that the 2.25" is the correct one so if you are going to make the crosspatch bag from this book, cut your inner squares out at 2.25"x 2.25", and the white strip as 2.25" x 6". That should work better.)

So I made up the first block just following the diagram, and the lattice arms on the outer portions were about an inch wider than the arms in the inner portion, completely breaking the interwoven effect. I had to take them apart and trim an inch off of the outer lattice pieces to make the effect work--and at that point, of course, it was no longer 8.5". It was 6.5". Which would mean a bag that was 12" across instead of 16" across. Not something I was really keen on.

So I trimmed all the outer pieces into sizes that would work with the inner pieces, cut out pieces for one more block, and turned it into a cushion cover. (3 blocks x 3 blocks with an envelope back in a solid yellow.) It's a very pretty cushion cover, and I've had the 18" form inside it hanging around for years, waiting for an appropriate home. But it's not a bag, and I'm not sufficiently motivated to try another project from the book to see if they have more accurate cutting measurements. I'll just use the book for inspiration, and use block instructions from elsewhere.… (mais)

Twenty classic quilt blocks are presented in Vintage Quilt Revival with examples of how to use them for a non-traditional quilt design. There are three categories for ways to look at the quilt differently: variations on placement/size; color or pattern; and form - intentionally offset lines or repeating the pattern. The twenty blocks are then used to create three different sampler quilts - one by each of the authors/designers - to show how the same core pattern can look very different through the use of placement, fabric choices, or framing and sashing.

I picked the book up because I like the Cut Glass Baby Quilt pattern so much and wanted to read more closely the instructions, maybe also see what else would catch my eye.

The photos are beautiful with modern bright colors - lots of secondary and tertiary hues with white and tan. The instructions are very clear with several diagrams for each block, showing the layout of the pieces and how they fit together. In fact, there are instructions for the central block for each design as well as the larger quilt (or pillow or tote bag...). There are also design notes for each project, explaining the technique, skill level, and what makes it "modern" (this last one is a bit of a stretch for me for some of them, but I think the authors were trying not to repeat anything and they do include a little story explanation). Scattered throughout are little history snippets which may or may not tie into the project they are associated with.

The paperback book comes with a CD from Interweave of paper piecing templates, and I believe the ebook version has a downloadable PDF file. Over half of the projects use paper piecing, even if they're built entirely out of rectangles and half-square triangles. I haven't taken a look at the CD, mostly because I don't have a printer to even bother with the templates, so they're fairly useless. I'll probably end up with a ruler, protractor, and some trial-and-error to make my own cutting templates when I'm ready to start my Cut Glass quilt.

Also, while the book does have instructions for how to paper piece and some of the basic tools needed, it's not an introductory book at all, and it only talks about the patterned quilt tops. Many of the patterns are labeled as suitable for beginners, but really one should have at least some experience with matching points and corners before picking this book up.… (mais)