Book Review: The Ultimate Guide to Machine Quilting

Hello fellow guild members!  At last month's meeting I had mentioned that I would be reviewing the book The Ultimate Guide to Machine Quilting which is co-authored by Angela Walters and Christa Watson. Whether you're a seasoned quilter or just starting out, a sit down quilter or a long armer, there's something for everyone in this book.

The reason I started quilting back in 2012 is because I wanted to learn how to do the beautiful designs I saw on finished quilt tops. After my husband got me my first really good machine that Christmas, I jumped right in to free motion quilting and I've never looked back.

While I've only quilted on my sit down domestic machine, I have a burning curiosity and desire to learn how to long arm quilt. One of my favorite features of this book is that it approaches machine quilting from both techniques. The pages are color coded and both quilters guide you through step-by step on how to achieve a specific design or motif.

There are 10 full color patterns used in the book and the photos are just stunning. The clarity and quilting details are so helpful. (Kudos to photographer Brent Kane and Martingdale for such beautiful photos!)

If you are strictly just a sit down or long arm quilter and are worried that half of the book won't pertain to you, think again. Much of the advice and tips from both Angela and Christa can be applied to developing your own skills regardless of your preferred method of quilting. Here is my own example: while I am pretty good at some of the more difficult motifs, like feathers, I have had a mental block when it came to ribbon candy. I could never seem to get the design to look uniform. Here is the advice that Angela gives on how to master it:

After reading it, something clicked in my brain. I always tried to make the lines touch but never overlapped them. Just that slight adjustment of allowing the lines to overlap a bit made all the difference to me and before you know it, I was quilting ribbon candy! And as you can see, I didn't even need to overlap anymore. I call this a great success!

We're very lucky to have Christa coming to visit us in September and I'm even more excited to meet her and learn from her after reading this book. If you have the opportunity to get your hands on it, I highly recommend it. You won't regret it! You can find it at your local bookstore or any of these online retailers:  Christa's shop, Angela's shop, Martingale, or Amazon.

~ Diana

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Please note: I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased and honest opinion.