Inspired by her passion for gardens around the world, Kumiko creates real and imaginary flowers using colors, fabrics, and needlework techniques drawn from her childhood. Reminiscent of antique kimonos, her vivid quilt blocks will encourage quilters to express personal themes in their own quilts through their own combinations of color and patterns. Includes 30 original block designs and six full quilt designs.

Fourteen simple projects: “Readers will be awestruck by the brilliant designs and . . . sidebars on famous stitcher Ayako Miyawaki, yukata cottons, and more.” —Booklist (starred review) Improv quilting—in which quilt designs emerge organi­cally as fabric is cut and stitched—is easy, popular, and fun. In this book, expert quilter Patricia Belyea offers improv instruction and shares her appealing Quilt Manifesto of five simple rules. While providing quilters with a starting point, the fifth rule of the Manifesto, “Break any rule you like,” opens the door to creative freedom. (However, the solid instructions allow even the rule-breakers to create beautiful quilts on the first try!) Fourteen projects combine authentic Japanese yukata cottons and contemporary fabrics; each is finished with bold hand-stitching. The quilt-making process is presented in detail, and each quilt shows the irresistible wabi-sabi influence of Japanese design. “With fresh designs and useful directions, Belyea's book is both practical and aspirational.” —Publishers Weekly

Piece dazzling diamond and gorgeous gemstone quilts Add dimension and luminosity to your quilts with gorgeous gemstone piecing! Learn the basics of abstraction and color theory as you piece stunning works of art with gem quilt expert MJ Kinman. After years of perfecting her technique, Kinman explains freezer paper piecing in brilliant detail with jewel quilting ideas to help you express your own creativity. Get helpful advice on fabric selection and quilting patterns to illuminate each cut. A sample gem quilt pattern helps you practice as you follow along step by step. Then find your own muse and bring any gemstone to life in exquisite detail. Just as gems can sparkle and glow in a million different ways, you’ll be inspired by the author’s work and a gallery of student quilts to help you let go of perfection and embrace the chaos of color and light. Shine on! Learn to create freezer-paper patterns for your own gemstone quilts Build skills as you sew a sample diamond quilt top, with step-by-step instructions See a gallery of ground-breaking jewel quilts from the author and her students

The acclaimed quilter presents ten quilt designs and four bonus projects designed to show off your gorgeous Japanese fabrics in this illustrated guide. Japanese fabrics are renowned for their distinctive quality and elegant, intricate designs. Now expert quilter Susan Briscoe presents fourteen projects specially designed to showcase these gorgeous materials. Inspired by her time living in Japan, Briscoe offers ten quilts and four smaller projects that combine traditional Japanese patterns and motifs with fast and simple techniques. Each quilt is shown in two different colorways and shown both as hand and machine quilted designs. As an added bonus, there are four simple-to-make projects—such as rice bags and table runners—for using up leftover quilt blocks. Japanese patchwork style is incredibly versatile, and the finished projects will be at home anywhere from the most modern interiors to the most rustic cottages.

A Little Piece Of Ground will help young readers understand more about one of the worst conflicts afflicting our world today. Written by Elizabeth Laird, one of Great Britain’s best-known young adult authors, A Little Piece Of Ground explores the human cost of the occupation of Palestinian lands through the eyes of a young boy. Twelve-year-old Karim Aboudi and his family are trapped in their Ramallah home by a strict curfew. In response to a Palestinian suicide bombing, the Israeli military subjects the West Bank town to a virtual siege. Meanwhile, Karim, trapped at home with his teenage brother and fearful parents, longs to play football with his friends. When the curfew ends, he and his friend discover an unused patch of ground that’s the perfect site for a football pitch. Nearby, an old car hidden intact under bulldozed building makes a brilliant den. But in this city there’s constant danger, even for schoolboys. And when Israeli soldiers find Karim outside during the next curfew, it seems impossible that he will survive. This powerful book fills a substantial gap in existing young adult literature on the Middle East. With 23,000 copies already sold in the United Kingdom and Canada, this book is sure to find a wide audience among young adult readers in the United States.

These extraordinary quilt blocks explore themes and images never before encountered in quilts. Some celebrate typically American subjects like the Cadillac and the Charleston, the Indianapolis 500 and Radio City Music Hall. Others explore Japanese images like the rolling waves of a Hokusai ocean or

This essential book for all quilters and quilt collectors tells the fascinating story of quilting around the world, illuminated by the international quilt community’s top experts and more than 300 glorious color photographs. Covering Japan, China, Korea, and India; England, Ireland, France, and The Netherlands; Australia, Africa, Central America, North America, and beyond, Quilts Around the World explores both the diversity and common threads of quilting. Discover Aboriginal patchwork from Australia, intricate Rallis from the Middle East, Amish and Hawaiian quilts from the United States, Sashiko quilts from Japan, vivid Molas from Central America, and art quilts from every corner of the globe. Also included are twenty patchwork and applique patterns to use in your own quilt projects, inspired by designs from the world’s most striking quilts.

A woman in a failing marriage discovers a new pattern for living in the quilting series from the New York Times bestselling author of Ties That Bind. Twice in her life, college counselor Gayla Oliver fell in love at first sight. The first time was with Brian—a lean, longhaired, British bass player. Marriage followed quickly, then twins, and gradually their bohemian lifestyle gave way to busy careers in New York. Gayla’s second love affair is with New Bern, Connecticut. Like Brian, the laid-back town is charming without trying too hard. It’s the ideal place to buy a second home and reignite the spark in their twenty-six-year marriage. Not that Gayla is worried. At least, not until she finds a discarded memo in which Brian admits to a past affair and suggests an amicable divorce. Devastated, Gayla flees to New Bern. Though Brian insists he’s since recommitted to his family, Gayla’s feelings of betrayal may go too deep for forgiveness. Besides, her solo sabbatical is a chance to explore the creative impulses she sidelined long ago—quilting, gardening, and striking up new friendships with the women of the Cobbled Court circle—particularly Ivy, a single mother confronting fresh starts and past hurts of her own. With all of their support, Gayla just might find the courage to look ahead, decide which fragments of her old life she wants to keep, which are beyond repair—and how to knot the fraying ends until a bold new design reveals itself . . . Praise for the Cobbled Court Quilts series “Filled with wit and wisdom.” —Susan Wiggs, New York Times bestselling author “Warmly nourishing, emotionally compelling.” —Chicago Tribune

One of the world's most popular quilt designers describes the thought processes behind her best-known and most dramatic works. The 24 sensational quilts featured in this book demonstrate Kumiko's incredible range, from color choices to design techniques. 100 color photos. 50 line drawings.

Archaeology and crafts combine with these modern quilt and pillow projects inspired by classic art and architecture from around the world. Travel the world without leaving your studio! Tour ancient Greece, Rome, and Israel by way of 10 modern quilts designed from classical art and architecture, while you savor the stories and photos that inspired them. Infused with the mystery of the past, these timeless projects will help you grow as a quilter and move beyond the basics. Explore advanced techniques, including curved piecing, Y-seams, scalloped binding, and more. “Leins creatively pays homage to the aqueducts of the Coliseum, the inner dome of the Pantheon, or the cobblestones on a street…“Flowing Fabric” honors the caryatids on the Erectheum; “Layered Conversations” draws on heaps in old urban landscapes. Lein’s goals include showing that people all over the world, then and now, exploit “the same language of pattern,” including catenary arches, herringbones, and squares within squares.”—Publishers Weekly