Easy Precision Piecing

Subtitled ‘A New Approach to Accuracy and Organization For Quilters’ I think this quilting book would intrigue most quilters from beginners to advanced. Accuracy and organisation (as in order of sewing) come top of the list for many quilters I know. So what does this book offer? An Introduction to the system; quilt block builders and bases, precision tools, choosing preparing fabric, precision cutting, blocks and patchwork as well as projects. There are just 6 projects, all appealing. The introduction highlights 6 problem areas, but even as a beginner I never had the problems highlighted. I have however seen these questions come up in forums, so they are problem common. The book claims to be about effortlessly achieving precision. The block builder is for placement of fabric, the base is like a mini design wall and a place to stow away your blocks. Arrows indicate direction of pressing. This system, although to me seems a little over the top, is a lifesaver for preventing accidental knocking over of blocks and the order they were in. It is hardly time saving though. Same with sewing with headers and footers, for most projects this is unnecessary. Her techniques also make frequent use of basting glue, which I dislike immensely.There is a lot of ideas for pressing and so on and storing fabric. Useful information on grain, selvedge, bias, cutting and sewing machine tension. Basic common sense but I did not see anything new here. Shows accuracy for making basic blocks such as squares, pinwheels and nine patches.Clear instructions including photographs and line drawings for each project and good finishing techniques.

-- Karen Platt * www.karenplatt.co.