I was asked to review a free ebook for McCall’s on the modern quilting movement. I have to confess I’ve been listening to what others have to say about this movement.  The clean crisp designs that use a lot of white appeal to me. I think that might be because of my love of antique quilts and antique fabrics. But, I don’t see it as something new. I can pull out reference books of antique quilts and find dozens that would qualify as ‘modern’ quilts.

The first quilt in the book is charming. It is a beginning quilter project with easy to understand instructions for strip piecing and color layout. A super simple design to construct with a complex look.  I could easily do this quilt using bright vintage prints. 

Rainbow Rhythm is more complicated and rated for confident beginners. This is my least favorite of these three charmers. Any time you have half-square triangles there is a good chance your measurements will get off. There are lots of ways to make them. The method given here that tells you to stitch these oversized and then cut them down can be confusing. I think it fosters sloppiness in piecing. It takes no less time to cut, stitch and press accurately than it does to make blocks too big and cut them down. Who needs the extra work?

The third quilt called Lemon Squeezy is an all in one strip pieced quilt. Starting in the middle, working on your foundation of backing and batting, you build the quilt from the center diagonal out to the edges. I’ve used this technique for quick and easy quilts. This one is bright and cheerful with the use of bold print fabrics. 

A copy of the book can be downloaded for free at McCalls Quilting.