Book Review: Mindful Meandering

I was very excited to see this new book, "Mindful Meandering" by machine quilter extraordinaire Laura Lee Fritz. Laura's machine quilting is memorable to anyone who has seen her amazing work in person -- she can effortlessly quilt in elaborate animals and motifs that take a quilt to a whole different level.

While I admire that sort of work, in my own machine quilting I like having a big arsenal of meandering designs. So when I saw that Laura has done an entire book on meandering machine quilting designs, I figured it'd be pretty great.

And I was right. Laura not only provides some basic tips on machine quiltiing and using meandering designs effectively, but she includes 132 different meandering designs....most of which are something a bit different than the ones I've seen elsewhere. Many of the designs incorporate very simple images -- say, continuous line saiboats scattered among a wavy water design. They have visual complexity but they don't look difficult to sew. She also includes a section on how to use meandering designs in block formats, as well as showing how certain designs look when used in a square format.

I know I'll be referring to this book often as I plan my machine quilting. The book is available for pre-order only now from Amazon.com, but you can get it now directly from C&T Publishing.