17 Dec Amish Quilts: The Adventure Continues

Even before I became a quilter I loved Amish quilts. In 2000, I was lucky enough to see an exhibit at the University of Michigan Museum of Art featuring some of the Amish quilts from the collection of Faith and Stephen Brown.  I remember standing in front of the quilts and being in awe of the depth and richness of the colors and the graphic impact of the simple shapes.  Not yet a quilter at the time, it never occurred to me that I could actually make a quilt in the Amish style.

In celebration of their 30th anniversary, C&T Publishing has released “Amish Quilts:  The Adventure Continues”, honoring their first publication “An Amish Adventure” by Roberta Horton.  Roberta’s introduction includes a wonderful explanation of what makes Amish quilts so special.  I particularly liked the section describing six varieties of Amish quiltmaking for us to consider.  These ranged from actual Amish quilts made by the Amish to Amish-inspired, Beyond Amish and Amish Gone Modern.

The book includes a wonderful gallery of quilts and 21 patterns.  Two of the patterns caught my attention right away.

Squared Repeat

Terri Carpenter’s “Squared Repeat” is a fantastic modern take on the diamond in a square block.  A bit closer to the Amish tradition is Linda Johansen’s “AmIrish Butterflies” which is an Irish Chain design.  I’m itching to make this one with a black background and some coppery colored chain blocks; a color scheme I fell in love with at another Amish quilt exhibit.

This book is a wonderful addition to the quilting library of anyone who loves Amish quilts or has an interest in bold color and design.

(Disclosure:  C&T sent me the e-book version of “Amish Quilts” for review after I gushed about how excited I was for it to be released)