Quilter's Academy Vol. 5 - Masters Year

Harriet Hargrave is renowned for being one of the foremost experts in quiltmaking. In addition to authoring several quilting books, Harriet has designed fabric lines and developed new products for quilters.Carrie Hargrave-Jones has been around quilting all her life - sitting in Harriet's lap as a baby while Harriet sewed, learning her colors with machine embroidery thread and her alphabet on the cams of Harriet's old Viking sewing machine. She didn't have a chance not to be involved! Harriet and her mother opened the store when carrie was four years old, and she spent a part of nearly every day of her life at the store. Carrie's interests in college turned to range management and wildlife biology, but no matter what, she always came home to quilting as a hobby. In 2006, Harriet decided she wanted to close the store. She was tired after running it for 25 years as well as traveling and teaching at the same time. Carrie couldn't imagine not having the store as a part of her life. So she moved back to Colorado and now runs the store full-time.

The fifth volume of this ongoing series focuses on medallion quilts, a traditional quilt design that is experiencing a renaissance among modern quilters. The goal of the series is to provide quilters with comprehensive information about quilting techniques and history via a series of lessons that build upon one another. The coverage is broad, including tutorials, historical background, projects, and tips for better quilting, and the authors cover everything from types of medallion quilts to tips for piecing borders to techniques for designing medallion quilts that are balanced and attractive. Both Hargrave and Hargrave-Jones are experienced quilt designers and authors, and their mastery of the topic shines throughout. The projects are easy to customize based on personal taste—the authors purposely used traditional fabrics for a timeless effect—and by the end of the book, quilters will have a repertoire of skills that will allow them to create their own custom medallion quilts. VERDICT Quilters of all skill levels have much to gain from this thoughtfully presented, engaging, and educational book.