Saturday, April 09, 2011

Sew and Quilt in Comfort - A Book Review!

I was lucky enough to be sent Marguerita McManus' new book Sew and Quilt in Comfort:  How to Inexpensively Create and Customize Your Sewing and Quilting Area to Fit you Perfectly.   She is the author of a book that I love Crazy Shortcut Quilts. This is a great book for quilters who are currently creating in a less than ideal setting.  I know you're out there you quilters who have your sewing machine set up on the dining room table or a small card table.  Most quilters don't have a dedicated space or a sewing studio that looks like it could be featured in a magazine.  I wish we could all have a beautiful studio but often it just is not possible!

Am I speaking to you yet?  If you do have a wonderful studio, and, are 100% happy with your set-up, than this book is not for you.  But, if you're one of those quilters who doesn't have an ideal studio - this book is for you!  Marguerita gives doable and inexpensive ways to set yourself up a sewing area that will allow you to sew in comfort!  I absolutely love that her solutions can be taken down and stored easily as they are light-weight, flat and can be stored in a closet or under the bed.  This book offers realistic advise that any quilter could implement.

Marguerita put a couple videos on YouTube showing her table and how she constructed that have got over 50 000 hits and have really helped a lot of qulters.


Watching the videos will make you reconsider how you're currently quilting and how you can easily make your set-up work for you!  The book goes into greater detail than the videos and is a great reference when you're actually changing your set-up.   Several of the tips in the book made me change my set-up for machine quilting.  Moving the sewing machine back a few inches really increased visibility and decreased shoulder strain.  I also love the idea of the faux-long-arm set-up that several quilters use. 

So if you want to easily create a more comfortable quilting area I would highly recommend this book!!  You can get it here on Amazon or even a Kindle version for only $2.99!!  You won't regret it!

So check out the videos Marguerita has a great YouTube channel!

What's your set-up like?  Studio fit for a magazine shoot or the dinning room table?

4 comments:

susan said...

I will have to post pics of my sewing room. I turned a small bedroom into my retreat with the help of my husband and ideas I picked up from quilt shops and friends sewing rooms. No space is unused! My favorite feature is being able to look out the windows at my little pond, the birds at the feeders and the flowers in the garden.

Marguerita McManus said...

Thank you so much for your kind words! You have no idea how happy it makes me to know that you found the information useful and that you are going to try a change or two to improve your comfort!

I just uploaded the PDF version on the publisher's website http://www.loosefibers.com and it's the same price as the Kindle book :)

You're the best!!

Gene Black said...

I definitely want to read this book. Crazy Shortcut Quilts is one I won't let go of.
I saw the how to on the quilting table on YouTube quite a while back. I haven't done all of it yet though.

Inga said...

Bless your heart. I have been looking and looking for ideas like this. I have a table that is perfect and I love it....but it doesn't have the hole to sink the sewing machine into. I have purchased the book you mentioned. Thank you!

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