If you, like me, feel pretty sure that you wouldn't be able to create a quilt as beautiful as Cheryl Arkison's in a month of Sundays, then, paradoxically, this is the very book you need.
A Month of Sundays features over a dozen projects - including bags, quilts and accessories - that you can make for your family, which are both scrap-/pre-cut-friendly - excellent if you are on a budget or are a fabric hoarder - and pitched at a variety of skill levels. Novices like me, and those who have quilted before, will be entranced by her focus on "low-volume" fabrics that lend a still small voice of calm to any project. Not only that, Arkison gives us many helpful clues as to how she attains the simple life that enables her to slow down and sew.
Arkison has the rare ability to encourage and inspire whilst being friendly and down-to-earth. It's clear that her priorities are family, friends, food and quilts and the love she has for these four areas of her life shines on every page. Reading A Month of Sundays is like making a new friend.
Who wouldn't enjoy a month of Sundays?
Most people don't realize the values in any piece of art are really more important than the color - well almost - in "pleasing" the eye. The eye seeks contrast, and the eye seeks calm, and it is the value which can accomplish both. Value is the lightness or the darkness of a color or fabric. So the projects in A Month of Sundays by Cheryl Arkison from Stash Books, all using "low-volume" fabrics, invite everyone to "slow down" and enjoy family, friends, food, sewing and quilts. The book, with generous "white space," is in itself peaceful and the projects, lest you think they might be dull and too quiet are anything but. They are purely calm inducing - like living a month of Sundays all at once. The projects are all simple but fresh and many would make good last-minute gift projects.
November 2013 American Quilt Retailer
Arkison (Sunday Morning Quilts) draws a dreamscape of quiet afternoons sewing and playing. Her lulling, maternal voice whispers “slow down.” She pieces together four themes to take it easy: relax, eat, shop, and explore. Before guiding the reader on these personal journeys, she introduces an idea for committed beginners: using “low-volume” fabrics in which white or a light base dominates any graphics or colors, so there is less contrast in color, value, and scale. In the “Relax” chapter, she writes: “True relaxation comes when you concentrate on something other than the stress of real life.” She offers instructions for quilts called “View” and “Beach Grass” and for a mat for playing “button Sudoku.” She presents “Crossword” and “Sherbet” quilts in the chapter “Eat,” as well as apron and napkin patterns; a “Hugs and Kisses” quilt of X’s and O’s and a pattern for a wine carrier in “Shop”; in “Explore,” the quilt features large-scale pinwheels in many greens. Patterns for a sac k and a scarf also reflect that theme. The last section, “Basics Plus,” covers no-nonsense how-tos.
Modern quilt lovers will love Cheryl's follow-up to Sunday Morning Quilts. In her second book, Cheryl explores four things her family enjoys doing on weekends - Eat, Explore, Relax and Shop - and all 16 lovely projects reflect these inspirational themes, and reminds us to 'live in the moment'.
Cheryl explores four themes in this book: relax, eat, shop and explore. The projects are all made using soft, muted fabrics and are scrap-friendly. They are suitable for the confident beginner as well as the advanced sewer. The family-friendly projects include quilts, bags and more.
Who wouldn't enjoy a month of Sundays?
I was having lunch with my friend Sheila, an admitted book junkie, and she was commenting on how much she was enjoying just reading this book. It was interesting to me that she mentioned it as I knew that I was going to be reviewing it this season. So bonus for you, you get two opinions on this book. This book is much more than just a quilting book. The book not only offers quilt patterns, but also other sewing projects, some recipes and some interesting reading about Cheryl's philosophies. Cheryl's quilts are what I would call more modern looking but with what she calls "low-volume fabrics." She does encourage you to "turn up the volume" and how to do it, if you are so inclined. Cheryl will also be teaching one of the quilts from this book at Quilt Canada 2014.
If you, like me, feel pretty sure that you wouldn't be able to create a quilt as beautiful as Cheryl Arkison's in a month of Sundays, then, paradoxically, this is the very book you need.
A Month of Sundays features over a dozen projects - including bags, quilts and accessories - that you can make for your family, which are both scrap-/pre-cut-friendly - excellent if you are on a budget or are a fabric hoarder - and pitched at a variety of skill levels. Novices like me, and those who have quilted before, will be entranced by her focus on "low-volume" fabrics that lend a still small voice of calm to any project. Not only that, Arkison gives us many helpful clues as to how she attains the simple life that enables her to slow down and sew.
Arkison has the rare ability to encourage and inspire whilst being friendly and down-to-earth. It's clear that her priorities are family, friends, food and quilts and the love she has for these four areas of her life shines on every page. Reading A Month of Sundays is like making a new friend.
