Minnesota Quilts: Creating Connections with Our Past is a unique treasury of exceptional quilts, fascinating quilters, and their stories from the Minnesota Quilt Project, whose members traveled the state for nearly twenty years, photographing and documenting quilts and interviewing quiltmakers. The result is a collection as varied and expressive as the makers themselves. From early pioneer days to the 1970s, these quilts, showcased in glorious full-color photographs, span a significant era of Minnesota and reflect our distinctive heritage. Whether you’re a quilter or someone who has a love of quilts and their history, this collection of Minnesota’s extraordinary patchworks will help you create connections with your past.

Bold Shapes and Clean Lines for Faster Modern Quilting Breathe some fresh air into your quilts with 20 stunning contemporary projects from designer Laura Preston. Using simple shapes and solid colors, Laura’s method streamlines the traditional quilting process for beautiful quilts in less time. Quilt tops come together quickly with large-scale cuts of fabric and as little piecing as possible, making these projects perfect for beginners. Advanced quilters can delve into modern techniques such as creating curved lines and working with negative space rather than intricate quilting blocks. From chic wall hangings to cozy crib-size and queen-size quilts, every project doubles as a work of art. Fueled by her minimalist lifestyle traveling the United States in her Airstream trailer, Laura’s designs reflect the striking landscapes of the American West. The Arches Queen Quilt showcases the dramatic curves found in Arches National Park in Utah. The Lone Pine Pillow, with its range of triangles, was inspired by the Sierra Nevada mountains, and the Sand Dollar Table Runner was sparked by a beach in Big Sur, California. Follow Laura’s insightful design tips, and soon you’ll start to see inspiration everywhere. With illustrated step-by-step instructions and in-depth tutorials, this book is an essential resource for the modern quilter.

"Each of the quilt patterns in this book is rated by skill level -- easy, beginner, or intermediate -- based on the degree of piecing difficulty. Once you've used our easy unit-construction methods to make your first nickel quilt, you'll be ready to move on to one of the more challenging projects." From inside book.

Machine-quilting pro Lori Kennedy has taught hundreds of quilters how to start and, more importantly, how to improve their machine quilting. Now she's packed her vast knowledge, and more than 150 up-close photos, into 25 hands-on lessons you can turn to anytime you need guidance. Each lesson has a practice session and questions to help you evaluate what worked and where you may need a bit more practice. Whether you stitch your way through a lesson a day or save them for weekend quilting time, you'll soon be building skills and confidence, and quilting your projects with ease. You'll learn: Why it's important to start doodling (page 19) How to prevent drag or resistance when quilting a big quilt (page 44) When to mark, and ways to avoid marking pitfalls (page 72) How to create focal points and contrast with your quilting (page 116)