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Review: Material Obsession

I’ve been showing my copy of Material Obsession around like crazy – it’s quickly become one of my favorite quilting books.

Before I start geeking out, you may already know that the authors, Kathy Doughty and Sarah Fielke, have a shop in Sydney, Australia and a great blog – both of which share the book’s name. These women clearly know their quilting inside and out, and they’ve taken a number of historical quilt block patterns and turned them into gorgeous, modern quilts.

Okay, now I’ll start geeking out. This is a hefty, high-value book, weighing in at 208 pages. There are full instructions for 23 quilts, ranging from simple to complex.

This one, called the Avalon, is an absolutely fantastic beginner quilt. How many beautiful fabrics are there in the world, with large-scale patterns that would showcase perfectly in this design? The piecing is simple, and the finished project is lovely.

Speaking of piecing, I was utterly charmed by the simple constructions illustrations. I am fairly geometrically challenged, and for some reason, these drawn diagrams make perfect sense to me.

Another thing that’s great is that each quilt is photographed in a casual setting, like this (the design is called Fanciful Flowers)…

…And also in a full flat shot, like this. So you can get an accurate idea of how the quilt is constructed, but also see how it looks in use.

(And while we’re looking at this one, called Stripping Vine, isn’t it great how this design makes use of wide stripes of the large vine print?)

The back of the book is devoted to a very clear and helpful section on quilting basics, containing photos and tips on cutting, piecing, binding, and quilting. I’m a very beginning quilter, and I found everything very easy to understand. This is a book I could use for a long time, growing my skills as I worked my way from the simple projects to the complex ones.

I should say that, along with the diagrams, the assembly for each quilt design is expressed in text steps. Normally not my favorite mode of instruction, but the steps are expressed very clearly. I think a beginner making one of the beginning designs would be able to follow them just fine.

Here is one of those more complex designs, called The ‘Burbs. The house blocks are so delightfully off-kilter, being pieced with some randomness. In fact, there’s no set size for the blocks, so there’s no set size for this quilt! You just make houses and people until you have something you like, and assemble. That kind of causalness in quilting absolutely delights me.

There are wonderful interpretations of the traditional star quilt, Dresden Plate, Pineapple block, and others. Really, there’s not a single design here I don’t like.

I should also point out: the pages contain all the templates for the applique and embroidery in each design. Again – very high value book.

One last thing that deserves mention: the authors’ helpful advice on choosing a range of prints to make each design. Rather than getting into the same old color-wheel discussion you seem to see in every other quilting book, Doughty and Fielke’s advice reads more like: “Make sure you have some larger- and some medium-scape florals, some stripes, and an assortment of small-scale prints.” Or, for another quilt, they advise using a series of fabrics from the same designer. I think this is great advice – and much easier to manage when I’m in the fabric store, confronted by too many options.

Anyway – two thumbs up, four stars and all that, for sure.

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By Sister-Diane | March 20th, 2009 | Tags: , , , | Category: Craft Books, Fabric Crafts

40 comments to Review: Material Obsession

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