cover image Australian Patchwork Designs: A Step-By-Step Guide to Piecing, Quilting & Applique

Australian Patchwork Designs: A Step-By-Step Guide to Piecing, Quilting & Applique

Margaret Rolfe. Sterling Publishing (NY), $12.95 (150pp) ISBN 978-0-8069-6354-9

In this superb guide, the reader will discover a generous collection of color photos portraying projects designed and made by the author and other Australian needlecrafts experts. The attractive motifs include Down Under birds, animals, flowers and other indigenes; even Sydney's fabled opera house has inspired a stylized pillow design. The colors range from creamy, pretty pastels to bold, dramatic hues. There are purely decorative as well as useful articles among the 60 suggested for copying or adaptation: quilts, cushions, wall hangings, dresses, pot holders, boxes, totes and others. Techniques include patchwork, applique and quilting according to the methods the author learned from American artisans. The steps of each project are clearly explained, accompanied by patterns for tracing or enlarging. (June 10)