A Piece of Cake
Sweet and Simple Quilts from Layer Cake Squares
This book is lovely, and inspiring and approachable for quilters of all skill levels who want something a little different.
Buying bundles of small cuts of fabric makes it easy to coordinate a pieced project without stress, but for quilters who might not know what to do with these little squares, Peta Peace offers fourteen fun projects suitable for beginners, in her book A Piece of Cake: Sweet and Simple Quilts from Layer Cake Squares.
“Layer Cake” is the term used for collections of fabric produced and bundled by manufacturers. They typically include a ten-by-ten-inch cut of each fabric design in a line, and they make it possible to make quilts and other projects without the guesswork of finding fabrics that will look good together.
Using these collections as inspiration, Peace incorporates other fabrics into her designs to make larger projects than would be possible just using Layer Cakes. She uses a lot of white to break up the patterns of the colored fabrics she chooses.
The quilts range in size from those that would be suitable for a wall hanging or baby blanket up to those large enough to use as bedspreads (the largest is 84 inches by 84 inches). She also includes a pillow, a table runner, and a couple of mini quilts for those who like smaller projects or want to try their skills on a small version before committing to a large blanket.
The patterns are well designed, simple but interesting, and heavy on pastels and feminine colors. The samples are impeccably put together, and the quilting is beautiful, in some instances much more complex than a new quilter might want to attempt.
The project instructions include many illustrations that show how the pieces go together, as well as several pictures of each finished project. Helpful tips throughout the book advise quilters on how to change the look of a project to make it their own.
A tools-and-techniques section at the back of the book covers everything a new quilter would need to know in order to get started, from measuring, cutting, sewing, and pressing squares to putting the quilt together, quilting the top, and adding binding.
This book is lovely, and inspiring and approachable for quilters of all skill levels who want something a little different from traditional quilt designs and colors with a lot of fuss.
Reviewed by
Sarah White
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. No fee was paid by the publisher for this review. Foreword Reviews only recommends books that we love. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
