Review: Baby Patchwork

Baby Patchwork: Small Quilts & Other Gifts
by Gianna Valli Berti

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Baby Patchwork / 0-8069-9933-0

I own quiet a few quilting books, and they tend to all cover a lot of the same common ground - use rotary tools for cutting, sewing machines are nifty, thimbles prevent massive internal bleeding, and so on. This book is no different in that regard, so I'll just note that this one covers the basics well, before moving on to what sets it apart from all the other quilting books.

First of all, the book is very pretty and modern. The page backgrounds exude a crisp, clean, shiny white and there's not very much of the "country quilting" motif here. Definitely, the editors were going for a "not your grandmother's quilting resource" here, so if you like "modern" quilting books, this one will definitely catch your eye.

Second, there's a surprising amount of new ideas here. The quilted braided wreaths are great, and provide a new way to display your craft on the wall besides the standard "quilt on a wall" design. (And they're a great way to make something cool with very little material needed.) There's some decent gift bags here, and plenty of small quilts, and believe it or not there's a quilted "cake" to trot out on birthday occasions. I'm not really sure who would prefer a quilted "cake" to a yummy, messy confection, but it's cute and different.

I recommend this book if you can get it at a decent price. It's got some new ideas in it, and the presentation is certainly very clean and crisp.

~ Ana Mardoll

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