Gift Ideas for Quilters: Quilt Reference Books & More
For those of you who love a quilter, here are a few of my gift ideas for quilters. We all have favorite quilt reference books. I blogged about some of my favorites quilting books here. While those are more general quilt books, today I want to talk about some of my favorite quilt reference books, plus some extras.
Quilter’s Precut Companion
From the experts at C&T Publishing comes the must have pre-cut reference guide. Every quilt fabric manufacturer today offers fabric lines in pre-cut sets. You can also find specially curated precuts at your local quilt shop. Whether they are fat-quarters or rolls of 2.5” strips, knowing what you can create with them can be a challenge.
Enter the Quilter’s Precut Companion. This handy little reference guide outlines blocks and shapes that you can cut from various precut fabric packs. Simply look up the precut size and the guide lists multiple options of shapes that amount of fabric will yield.
In addition to the shape sizes, the guide provides block suggestions you can use to design your own quilts from a precut pack. For further help designing your own quilt, the guide also includes yardage recommendations for borders, bindings, and backings. This is a must reference for any quilter.
All-in-One Quilter’s Reference Tool
The All-in-One Quilter’s Reference Tool is the must have guide for all quilter’s. Quilting experts Harriet Hargrave, Sharyn Craig, Alex Anderson, and Liz Aneloski have put their collective quilt minds together to create this complete reference tool. This guide provides charts and lists for everything from supply suggestions to piecing tips and more.
On pages 6-8 you will find a handy a Question and Answer Quick Start Guide. The guide walks you through a checklist for creating your quilt using a Q&A format. Each answer is cross-referenced to the pages in the book that answer the question. For beginning quilters, this Q&A checklist is a useful guide to finding the answers to creating your first quilt successfully.
This guide is another must have gift idea for quilters. It’s the go-to reference in my quilt book library.
Free-Motion Quilting Idea Book
I don’t know about you, but when I read the instructions for a quilt pattern and one of the last steps read “Quilt as desired”, I get stuck. I end up asking myself, “What do I desire” and then have a hard time coming up with ideas.
Enter the Free-Motion Quilting Idea Book by Amanda Murphy. In addition to providing a plethora of quilting ideas, Amanda includes guides for building a pattern design with easy to follow step-by-step instructions. Examples include ideas for specific block patterns, quilting shapes - like half-square triangles, sashes, borders, and more.
As if all of those helpful ideas weren’t enough, Amanda guides you to finding, building, and developing your own patterns. If you are feeling stuck trying to come up with ideas for free-motion quilting, check out this handy little reference guide.
Gift Ideas for Quilters: More!!
If you still don’t know what to get your favorite quilter this holiday season, consider some of the following:
- New Pins - pins do wear out and get bent. And, every quilter can always use more of them. My new favorite pins are Magic Pins, the "fine" pin. They have other options for applique, silk pins and the new fork pins (I need those ;-) )
- A Pin Cushion - ok, I love my vintage “Chinese Holding Hands” pin cushion but like pins, I can always use another pin cushion in the studio
- Rulers - Like many quilters, I have a collection of rulers but they do wear out. New and better designs come out all the time. And, special shapes and designs make cutting special shapes easier. My new favorites are Alex Anderson's Quilter's Select Rulers and Creative Grids.
- Rotary blades - while every quilter has a favorite rotary cutter, the blades need frequent replacing.
- The Binding Tool - From Love Bug Studio - this one's a game changer for attaching bindings
- Local Quilt Shop Gift Certificate - every quilter loves fabric and a gift certificate to a local quilt shop is a win-win. You support a local small business and bring joy to your favorite quilter. You can select the size and they always fit!
What are your favorite gift ideas for quilters?