The Quilting Answer Book: A Friday Review

 The Quilting Answer Book is a fantastic resource for any quilter.  Written by Barbara Weiland Talbert and published in 2009, this manual contains both how-to instructions as well as fix-its for many problems you  may encounter.

The book is written in question and answer format, which makes it very easy to find the information you need.  How do I prepare my fabric for rotary cutting? How wide should a border be? Are there any guidelines? Why choose double over single layer binding or vise versa? Each response is simple and complete and regularly involves very clear, instructional diagrams as you see in the image below. 

I bought this as a beginner quilter when really I had NO idea of what to do. After reading the first 50 pages or so, I had a good hold of the basics.  Great beginner topics include: Quilter's Anatomy 101, Patchwork Building Blocks, Best Quilting Fabrics and Fabric Selection Strategies.  It will take you from the basics of batting and thread through to binding.  A really good guide for any beginner.

If you move a bit further into the book, you'll find it is also resource for the intermediate quilter.  Applique, foundation piecing, quilt design, free motion quilting, hanging sleeves and yo-yos are all covered.  There's a really nice section on quilt embellishment to discuss prairie points, piping and edge trims and embroidery. 

Now, as a resource for the beginner through the expert, there is an entire chapter on quilter's math.  Thank goodness!  Decoding needle sizes, bias binding calculations, cutting charts, quilt size guidelines and reducing or enlarging a quilt pattern are covered.  It is really fantastic to have a resource like this handy.

At just over 430 pages for a suggested price of $15, this is a deal.  I would absolutely suggest that any quilter pick up a copy to have in their sewing space.