PICK FOUR

Hello Everyone,

England gave us the FAB FOUR, and now England has given us PICK FOUR by Sue Abrey.  Let’s all get A Ticket to Ride and hop on the double-decker bus and drive down Pennie Lane on a book blog hop.  There will be a total of ten stops along the way which means you have ten chances to win an autographed copy of PICK FOUR.  The best thing about this book tour is….you don’t have to pack a bag!  No airport security, just the security of knowing that you will have a great time going Here, There and Everywhere.

Do You Want to Know a Secret?  Once you get a copy of this book, you are going to want to quilt Eight Days a Week!  First of all, I read the book like a novel.  Sue’s very matter of fact way and essence of being a quilting Paperback Writer, makes you feel that she is right in the room with you, coaching, encouraging and sharing her knowledge, love of quilting along with her sense of humour. (That spelling is for you Sue.)  She figuratively Holds Your Hand through the process of quilt making from beginning to end.

Those of you that follow my blog know my quilting style.  I’m a scrappy quilt maker for a couple of reasons.  I love the complexity of a scrappy quilt.  I love the challenge of combining all different colors, styles and scales of fabric together.  I have hundreds of fat quarters all begging to be selected for the perfect placement in a quilt.  When I first sat down with my cup of coffee and Sue’s book I thought, “I’m in trouble now!”  How can I decide on only four fabrics in a quilt, when I’ve been known to use over four dozen fabrics at one time? 

So here was my challenge…..PICK FOUR fabrics Lynn…..only FOUR and Let It Be. Rein in your thinking. Think outside the box while staying in the box. Remember, the fewer the fabric choices, the more important those choices become. I achieved this by applying Sue’s technique for choosing fabrics which is fun and not the least intimidating. She’s a Woman who understands that it isn’t always easy to select fabrics for a quilt. I followed her technique as I selected the fabrics for the two projects I made from the book. Four interesting fabrics equal one interesting quilt.  Here are the fabrics I selected to make Stars at the Crossroads.

Block #1.

Block #2.

In no time at all, thanks to Sue's clear, concise directions and illustrations, I had a table topper ready for quilting.  (Sue's book has full size quilt designs, for the sake of time, I made smaller versions.)

The book is broken down into four sections.  Sue will take you full circle from fabric selection, quilt making techniques, to choosing a quilting design. Then comes the fun part, the projects, for beginning to advanced quilters.  I’ve Got a Feeling you are going to make more than one of Sue’s wonderful designs.  This is where I had another problem, Because I couldn’t decide which project I wanted to make first!  There are 12 beautifully designed quilts in PICK FOUR. 

I didn't want to stop at just one project!  I selected another grouping of four fabrics and started making Lis's Midnight Flower Garden. (I feel a song coming on Dizzy Miss Lizzy, and I know it's a stretch, but you have to work with me people.)  I'm thinking to myself that I'm really getting into this Pick Four!

This has the appearance of a complex block, yet is not complex to make.  Surprise yourself and your friends when you make this quilt.

 I zipped through this and made another wonderful table topper. 

Sue is a master at creating a secondary design when the blocks are sewn All Together Now. She also addresses searching out the secondary designs when you start thinking about how to quilt your quilt and gives you so much Help. One section of the book is a detailed set of questions that walk you through making your quilting decisions. Every design in the book includes a section on color alternatives and quilting options. There is none of this Quilt as Desired business!

Here is a great example of a secondary design.  I have lots of open space to do some wonderful machine quilting.

I learned so much from Sue’s book.  I was intrigued by the way she illustrated how to make a large block, cut it apart, and before you can say, “Bob’s Your Uncle”,  there is a whole new design before your eyes!  She experiments with different layouts and encourages you to do the same.

I work in a quilt shop one day a week and I know the resource I’m going to turn to when I hear someone say, “I have the hardest time choosing fabrics.”  The illustrations are excellent as well as the commentary.  I will be using PICK FOUR as a resource long past When I’m Sixty-Four. 

Now for more fun.  In the comment section, tell me your favorite Beatles song and relate it to quilting in some way shape or form. My 2-year-old Golden Retriever Zinnie, will be the impartial judge and select a winner of an autographed copy of PICK FOUR.  All decisions are final, and the judge can be bribed with Kibble and dog biscuits.  The comment section will be closed at 12pm Pacific Standard Time on Saturday, September 3rd. 

I want to thank Sue for giving me the opportunity to review her book and her generous offer to give one of her books to ten lucky winners over the course of the blog hop.  If you don't win, please go to your local quilt store, Amazon.com or Martingale Press to get a copy of the book.

Here are the rest of the stops along the way:

Wed 31 Aug - Paulette at Sweet P Quilting

Fri 2 Sep - Trudi at Quilting Prolifically

Sat 3 Sep - Hazel at Cotton Cocktails

 
Have fun and enjoy the blog hop. I'm anticipating great comments from many of you!

As always,

Lynn