Quilt Improv: Incredible quilts from everyday inspirations Paperback – Illustrated, 27 Sept. 2013

I couldn't wait for this book to arrive and I love the quilts. 2 things let it down which is a real shame. Firstly the Typeface - very difficult to read and see even in the day light ( I don't need glasses to read or sew) because it is a very light, thin font - it needed to be bolder. Even the bold headline paragraphs are not easy to read because of the silly font - not quite italic but similar. This is a book where the text needs to be easy to read as it contains a lot of instructions. Secondly, some of the instructions themselves are incorrect. For example, each quilt has a Key to the blocks that make it up. On page 76, The Garden Wall quilt, the image that should be Strip Piecing is actually Crazy Triangles, and on page 112, The Building Blocks quilt - 3 out of the 4 block images in the key are incorrect. Block 2 should be Half Square Triangles but in fact shows an image of Chain Pieced Strips, block 3 should be Log Cabin but shows a String Block ( this maybe understandable as the strips are placed on point to make a square so someone who has never done patchwork could get this mixed up) block 4 should be Quarter Circles but shows Pieced Squares. I do hope that these issues are sorted out in the next print as it is very confusing for a beginner to patchwork and frustrating to the reader. I think Lucie Summers has done a great job and its a real shame that her first book has gone to print with these issues.

Lucie Summers is British which makes reading this book a real pleasure, whilst I enjoy American books I get a bit fed up with the American terminology, this makes a refreshing change.Lucie has some lovely ideas and themes which are also great for using up your stash (what do you mean, what stash?).There is sufficient information in the early chapters to go ahead without experience but I really think you would have to be extremely determined. However, with a little experience, this book will provide a great way to "do your own thing" in an original way, the designs are meant to be interpreted as you wish.I also like the way in which Lucie shows her inspiration boards and how she translates it into a quilt idea; I haven't tried this yet but I will - just as soon as I clear the decks of UFOs (unfinished objects).So, to summarise, if you don't have a "stash" and you have no UFOs this may be a bit advanced for you but it is possible to utilise the lovely ideas with specially bought fabric (then you WILL have the beginnings of a stash, I promise you).The only negative point I would like to comment upon is the font the book is printed in. It's very fine and seems to be grey rather than black. It's not a major showstopper unless you have poor eyesight but it does make the "look inside" feature quite difficult to read.

I ordered this book together with this one: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1617691380?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00I was looking for inspiration and tips into making less structured and more spontaneous patchwork/quilts, and I find that both books are quite interesting, but ultimately a bit disappointing. The text and the philosophy behing the quilt making process is very different, but in both cases intriguing. The book is an enjoyable read, but the end results of all the creative process are some astonishing ugly (in my opinion) quilts. If you like this style of quilting (yawn-inducing choice of fabrics, screaming colours and gawky compositions) or can ignore the pictures, you can get some interesting insights from the text, but if you are looking for visual inspiration you might find the book somewhat dispiriting (I do).I have one more critic to do, and it's that I'm tired of quilting/needlework books telling me that I need a list of materials/tools/workshop facilities as long as my arm, when I know for a fact that all one needs to quilt is a place where to sit out of the rain, some fabric and tread, a needle, sharp sissors and maybe a pencil and some paper scraps for templates. I am a bit sad that such a thrifty "pioneer" craft has been apparently transformed into a luxury hobby.That said it is nice to read a book about creative quilting, (creative, as opposed to just endlessly redoing the same classic patterns over and over again). I just wish that some of the more subtle quilt-artists out there would publish something more inspiring.

I pre-ordered this book so have been waiting for it for a while. In the meantime I have bought another improvisational quilt book, but I should have held fire, this one is just what I was after.I have a made a few quilts and am now looking to improve my technique and to be inspired, but I do not want 'quilt recipes' telling exactly how much of a particular fabric to put where to churn out a copy of somebody else's work.This book is well set out, with clear sections providing techniques and inspiration to create beautiful quilts for yourself. I know my creations will never be even close to the beautiful work of Lucie Summers, but as a result of buying this book they will be better than they were and still uniquely my own style. It is the best craft book I have bought in a long time.

I like the ideas in this book and the undoubtedly fresh approach. BUT, and apologies if I have read this erroneously, but in the Plates piecing map, it seems to suggest cutting a quarter circle out before cutting a quarter circle " the same size" to replace it. Now I am no expert but what about two seam allowances?

Real inspiration here. I enjoyed the whole read and got plenty of ideas.

I've been thinking of making a patchwork quilt for some time, but I was unsure where to begin. I'd looked at other books, and even bought some quilt patterns, but I wasn't really inspired until I read this book. I loved the relaxed approach Lucie has to the subject. She believes that making quilts should be fun; that they should be sewn well; and that they should be personalised with the makers own individuality. This really appeals to me, and I can't wait to get started.