Wednesday book review and more gelli printing

I've been playing with gelli printing again today. The photos show various experiments with mark making and layering colours. I'm hoping to use most of these as covers for small, simply made notebooks.

I used a dried poppy seed head as a kind of stamp, as well as using more bubble wrap. Doesn't the seed head make a pretty shape?

I managed to pick up several copies of today's free Metro newspaper while I was out buying groceries, so that'll come in handy as printing is a mucky old business. It also makes you look at everything anew. I was rummaging through the recycling bag in the kitchen, thinking I can use an empty yoghurt pot to make a circular pattern on the gelli plate. Also, things like cardboard - the sort that looks corrugated - will be useful for linear patterns.

It's been a busy day, what with shopping and a spell on the allotment, and I still need to wrap some birthday presents, pay the credit card bill and tidy up my sitting room which looks like a bomb's hit it. But - as it's Wednesday - I need to do my book review.

Okay, today's craft book up for consideration is 'Quiltessential' by Erin Burke-Harris.

It's not a newly published book, having been out since 2013, so if you want to buy a copy you're likely to find it second hand or in a library. The book's main quality is that it's comprehensive and gets back-to-basics.

You can see from these content pages that you're taken through what you need to know about quilting, from how to tell your calico from your linen, your velveteen from your voile. There are sections on making quilt blocks, sashing and borders, binding, making your quilt 'sandwich', as well as featured textile artists such as Anna Maria Horner and Blair Stocker.

The book's layout is clear and appealing, with lots and lots of colour photographs. It's both a practical reference book and an inspiration book you can dip into every now and then.

I'd recommend this book to beginners mainly, but experienced quilters can find plenty in it to enjoy too.

Okay, I hope that's been useful. Now, I'd better prise myself off the sofa before I take root. I'll get some practical things done, then later on treat myself to another episode of 'Borgen' on the iplayer. Small pleasures, eh?

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Threads of Freedom and charity shop bargains

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