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I love quilt books that look good
and KANSAS SPIRIT - 15 HISTORICAL QUILT BLOCKS AND THE SAGA OF THE
SUNFLOWER STATE looks good from front cover to back cover and every
page in between. New this fall from Kansas City Star Books,
KANSAS SPIRIT authored by Kansan Jeanne Poore, is a collection of more
than 18 new quilts made from 15 different blocks. But be
forewarned, there are no "historical" or old quilts shown in
the book. The block instructions are all written for the modern
method of rotary cutting and the photographed quilts are machine
quilted.
Good news! When you are through just looking at the pictures,
the "reading" continues to be fun! The idea for this
book was "hatched" at a weekend retreat, where author Jeanne
Poore and friends (20 other past and present board members of the
Kansas Quilters Organization, a state-wide quilt guild open to anyone)
decided to work on projects that included blocks with particular
Kansas roots. You get to "meet" Jeanne and her friends
in a short biographical section in the front. A small picture of
each person's resulting quilt or project is included next to their
biography, which makes for a "fun" connection.
The quilts are primarily sampler quilts, which I like, each using the
same collection of "historical" quilt blocks in a different
way. Every featured block has a chapter which includes a lovely
watercolor illustration of a Kansas scene or historical event and a
short explanation of how the block fits into Kansas' history. The
quilts often feature fabrics from Kansas fabric designers. The
photography is very good and I find it helpful that the quilting used
to finish the quilts is clearly visible.
While each of the quilts is nice, my personal favorite is Jeanne
Poore's STAR STEPPING, using the Courthouse Steps block and star
blocks in the border. The watercolor illustration and historical
tie-in features the well-known Chase County Courthouse in Cottonwood
Falls. This courthouse is a favorite of my husband's. Maybe
I just had an idea!
When you get ready to start sewing, there are rotary cutting
instructions for each of the 15 blocks in both 6- and 12-inch sizes.
There are complete instructions for several of the large quilts
and smaller projects shown. You may even be inspired to
interpret your own family's history using the stars of the state flag,
windmills from prairie farms, tornadoes, pioneer trails, dugouts and
courthouses, flowers, trees and crops, and more.
My only criticism of the book is of the illustrations of the blocks'
construction. A beginner who likes to follow the pictures should
not use this book alone to try to sew these blocks. The
illustrations are missing the seam allowances so do not look like the
fabric units when actually sewn together. This can be critical
for a beginner who is trying to get their blocks to look like the
illustrations. This is true of all the illustrations of
construction in the book, and makes me wonder if the illustrator is a
quilter. Hmmmmm?
Well, the author is a talented quilter and has a lot of friends who
are talented quilters and the quilts are very fun to look at and
inspirational. I highly recommend this book even for
non-Kansans! Thanks again Kansas City Star Books!
Click on the picture for complete information on
ordering this book.
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