‘New Ways to Applique’ showcases new products

NEW WAYS TO APPLIQUE, edited by Jeanne Stauffer and Sandra L. Hatch, House of White Birches, 2003, hardcover, $24.95, 176 pages.

From the very first page, which features a photograph of Sue Harvey’s Lollipop Flowers quilt, “New Ways to Applique” draws the erstwhile seeker of new ideas and designs for quilts further into the book’s pages.

The book’s co-editor Sandra Hatch and design contributors Sue Harvey and Connie Rand live in the Lincoln area and work for the book’s publisher, House of White Birches, which is based in Indiana. Indeed, “New Ways to Applique” and other books about quilting are a part of the work they do.

Lovers of applique technique and quilters of all inclinations will find much in the book to fire their creativity. Each quilt pattern features a product that is used in the construction of the quilt. For example, Harvey’s Lollipop Flowers uses a product called Chenille By the Inch to give the flower motifs a fuzzy texture.

Each pattern consists of several pages of detailed instructions, including skill level, quilt size, block size, number of blocks, materials required, how to put quilt block units together and how to finish the quilt. Instructions are liberally illustrated with how-to diagrams so that the quilt maker has visual cues to rely on. Applique pattern drawings also are included with each design.

Connie Rand’s Fall Fantasy design begins not with a commercial product, but with something we find in our own back yards – leaves. Although her design includes leaf patterns, one could just as well go outside on a summer’s day and collect a few leaves from the old maple to trace.

Sue Harvey’s No Snails in My Garden uses giant rickrack and spray-on fusible webbing in a sprightly design that incorporates hot pink, very lime-y green and most brilliant blue.

Harvey’s Wild Flower Bouquet design uses 3-D techniques to create a clump of daisies, giving the quilt a sculptural effect.

Other designers in the book include Marian Shenk, Judith Sandstrom, Julie Weaver, Connie Kauffman and 11 others from throughout the United States.

Shenk’s Basket of Flowers uses a shadow applique, which gives her design an airy pastel quality. Shenk’s floral denim appliqued bag uses silk flowers and blue tulle to create a shadow effect.

In addition to bed quilt designs, the book also includes applique designs for a holiday table cover, a Christmas tree skirt, a Christmas stocking, wall hangings and a penny rug.

A handy feature of “New Ways to Applique” is the last page, which gives contact information about the companies whose products are used in making the quilts, and a list of fabrics and supplies for each quilt design.

My one wish for the book is that it had included a bit of biographical information about each one of the designers.

Ardeana Hamlin can be reached at 990-8153 or ahamlin@bangordailynews.net.