I was so pleased that Tong brought her Civil War Sampler to
a recent show and tell. She lives in Arkansas now, made this in
California.
She's from Thailand and she bought my book Civil War Sampler to learn more about her new country. She said she had a hard time choosing period reproduction prints as she had no idea what vintage American quilts looked like. But she did a terrific job.
Tong also didn't know much about patchwork and noticed right away there are no instructions in the book. I told her "You can have patterns and stories for 50 blocks or you can have how-to directions. You can't have it all in the same book."
That's Becky Brown's model in the book.
She said she asked new friends for help. "What is a Y seam?", etc. (She's not the only novice to notice there are no basic instructions in the book.)
Sorry. No room!
A general how-to book like this Visual Guide to Patchwork & Quilting
from C&T is probably a good companion book for new quilters.
Tong's quilt turned out great. She learned a lot about American history and quiltmaking and she is a novice no more.
That's why I write books.