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>When I first saw the title of Alethea Ballard’s new book Maverick Quilts on the list of upcoming C&T titles, I admit that the title made me a bit skeptical. How much of a maverick can a quilter be if their work is good enough to be published? I thought. Although my own quilting experience was minimal, I had gone the route of ignoring the rules. From the disasters that resulted, I learned that the rules are there for a reason and if I ignore them, I will be taught a lesson. I will be taught a lesson every single time, no matter how small a corner I cut. So I started respecting the rules and reading the instructions. And that’s why I smiled at the idea of a book of Maverick Quilts.
Fast forward six months and here I am writing this blog post. Having just read Alethea’s book, I now not only understand what a Maverick Quilter is, but I want to BE one! And I am happily admitting I was wrong before, not because it is my tendency to admit it when I have made a mistake—because believe me, it isn’t—but because being a Maverick Quilter means freeing oneself from the fear of making mistakes. But there is more to being a Maverick Quilter than that. The introduction in Alethea’s book explains it perfectly of course:
>The difference between my experience with breaking the rules, and being a Maverick Quilter like Alethea is Alethea knows which rules to break. And I, on the other hand, have no idea what I am doing. Until now, that is. Because her new book contains a wealth of insider knowledge and it is the exact kind of information I have been waiting for: Specific instructions on how to be rebellious and have more fun quilting!
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It turns out that “maverick” isn’t the only fun word in this book. On page 7 the reader learns what a “zinger” is and how it is used. I love the included example image of Alethea’s zinger and I can’t wait to experiment with creating my own. Click on the below images to enlarge them and get a taste of the Alethea’s narrative.
Her candor is so refreshing for me to hear because it shows me that I am not alone in my tendency to buy fabrics I love but have no idea how I will use. An example of this is her description on page 6 (below) of how she finally starts cutting up the precious novelty prints she couldn’t stand the thought of wasting should the project turn out to be a flop. It’s so encouraging to know that she took the plunge, hasn’t looked back since, and has a collection of successful projects to show for it.
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>Alethea’s book is punctuated with these blue tip boxes and each one contains an ingenious idea for breaking a rule…and getting away with it! Doesn’t that sound fun?
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>On top of the wealth of renegade ideas and playful approaches Alethea shares with us, the book includes 10 incredible quilt projects. Novelty and large-scale prints are a weakness of mine—I really can’t get enough of them—but I have always had trouble figuring out how to put them to use in my quilts. I can’t wait to try Alethea’s methods of incorporating them into quilts for fantastic results. The projects in Maverick Quilts teach you exactly how to mix-and-match your favorite large-scale prints, novelties, and panels with other colorful fabrics. Here is a sneak peek at a couple of my favorite project images.
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>This book is so refreshing and a great starter book for beginners because it makes quilting seem so approachable and unintimidating. I hope you all treat yourself to a maverick-style quilting experience with Alethea Ballard as your guide. I promise it will be fun.
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There is no finger wagging in my sewing room.
-Alethea Ballard
>Now we want to hear from you, dear blog readers. What quilting “rules” do you like to break? When is the last time you defied convention and took a quilting matter into your own hands, or into unknown territory? One lucky blog reader will win their very own copy of Maverick Quilts and to be in the running all you have to do is leave a comment HERE or on Facebook telling us about one of your own maverick quilting moments.
Comments will be closed at 9am PST on Tuesday, June 14, 2011 and the lucky winner’s name will be announced later that day!
Extra comment entries are available to you if you want to maximize your chances at being the giveaway winner! If you take one or more of the actions listed below, enter an extra comment for each, and in that comment tell us what you did and link to the proof where that’s possible.
- Place one of our blog badges on your personal blog (make sure it includes the html code that links it to our blog)
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- Tweet a link to the giveaway & mention our twitter username @ctpublishing
>Visit Alethea Ballard’s Maverick Quilts website and her blog!
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