Book Review: Incredible Quilts for Kids of all Ages by Jean Ray

If, like me, you're unable to resist the many, many bright and cheerful children's prints that are available, this book is for you. It'll solve the problem of what to do with the yards of fabric you've already got in your fabric stash and provide a justification for buying more.

There are step-by-step instructions and full-size templates for making fourteen quilts, from big brother/little brother (or sister), to fish, creepy crawlies, circus clowns and, my favourite, a family of faces.

The underlying principle of these quilts is that visual excitement is developed through fabric, rather than complex designs. So, for example, the big/little brother quilt is made from a repeat of two blocks, but in every one the little figure can be wearing a different color shirt, pants, socks and shoes. If you're making this quilt for a particular child, you could use fabric scraps from clothes that you'd made them or they'd outgrown or worn out.

The introductory chapter will help you with making the quilt the size you need it to be, as a kid's quilt ought really to be in proportion to the kid, not adult sized, because kids' quilts generally get loved (and washed) to pieces long before the kid's grown up.

If you're someone who likes a whole quilt design set out for you, with instructions for every step of the way, or if you're looking for some great block designs to fit together into a quilt, read Incredible Quilts for Kids of all Ages. Just don't show it to any kid you're not prepared to make a quilt for!

Finally, a great line from the book: "'If that's a baby quilt,' asked five-year-old David, 'what's it going to be when it grows up?'"

Published by Quilt Digest Press, ISBN 0-8442-2640-8

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