Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Book review: Casting Shadows

Casting Shadows is a great book for beginning quilters who are interested in art quilts or adding dimension to their traditional quilts. Colleen Wise uses plenty of examples in her gallery, which provide the reader for a lot of good reading and inspiration. I can highly recommend this book.
I'm a beginner, and you can see my attempt at her quilt pattern "Emerald City" here. I've used mostly greens and browns for my quilt, giving it a tranquil, peaceful feeling.
In this book, you'll find five full-color quilt patterns, plus an amazing number of techniques that you can use in hers or your own patterns. She includes a 16-page gallery of quilts that showcase these techniques at the end of the book.
The author begins by discussing how color and value can add dimension in quilt construction. She continues in additional embellishment techniques such as painting, appliqué, discharging and others for adding shadows to the surface of your quilt. While many of her designs and patterns seem complex, the pattern I used took one day to piece completely. She uses many strip-piecing techniques that are great for a beginner like me.
Casting Shadows includes some more complex patterns which include circles and curved piecing. I haven't tried these yet, however. I'll be sure to post them here when I do.

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