This book is correctly titled - all 598 pages of it! It is a comprehensive guide to making quilts, buying fabrics, taking classes, going to shows and retreats and using the computer. There are twelve projects from expert quilt teachers including the most famous team today Kaffe Fassett and Lisa Porter and my long time favorite quilt teacher Libby Lehman. You can tell Meg enjoyed learning about quilting in today's market with today's' quilters and resources, but she didn't forget the past either. She begins by telling us her own quilt history, which began in a snowstorm in North Carolina in 1989 when she was visiting her parents! Ok, so not all quilt history is old. She interviewed me twice and acknowledged my website too. Thank you Meg. This is not a book you read like a novel. It isn't particularly pretty, like most quilt books are, but it's fun and has the modern quilter in mind when she choose the graphics and cover. Purple is the secondary color, black, gray, and purple on white and purple pages. Less than 10 pages are in color The photographs however cover the gamut, from telling about Featherweight machines and showing the original ads to photos of people taking classes and quilts by Carol Bryer Fallert. The book is purposeful. It is more of a yellow pages, encyclopedia type of book, and all the information relates to quilters in some way. One would turn to one of eight chapters, Who quilts today and why, sewing tools and techniques, computer tools and online communities, fabric and shops, teachers and their tips (she highlights 47 teachers), then chapter six begins the how-tos that go through chapter seven and last is eight, dealing with entering shows, shipping and © laws. The final pages include additional resources, glossary, (in the main text there is a "fabric lingo" section following a Q&A with fabric designer May Butler) bibliography of the books she used for info, metric equivalents and the index is a handy one, especially in a book this size. It is a book of interesting vignettes mixed with endorsements on every topic. if you are considering buying a long-arm machine, check here. If you can go to one retreat this year, get an overview here. If you have never quilted before, learn here. If you want to make the most use of your online resources, find them here. You are like a bird flying overhead using this Quilter's Catalog. This would make a great gift for a quilter because of its wide coverage. Although it is not a carry in your purse, unless you have one with wheels, sort of book, it would be a good thing to keep in your car on a driving trip or quilt retreat, and by your computer. You can order this book from Amazon.

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© 2008 Kimberly Wulfert, PhD. Absolutely no copies, reprints, use of photos or text are permitted for commercial or online use. One personal copy for study purposes is permitted. Contact Kim for reprint considerations. quiltdating@jetlink.net  226 W Ojai Ave, Ste 101 #107, Ojai CA 93023-3214 Phone: 805-649-1821