This book is way beyond my piecing abilities but I wanted to give it a try. One thing about doing these book reviews is that it does make me push on some limits that I may not otherwise attempt!

This book doesn’t make it easy, but it does make it easy to follow instructions. The thing I liked was the choices you could make about how to make the different patterns. Curves and dimensional work was beyond me but I managed to get through some straight seam piecing! The hardest time I had was the fabric choices but the introduction helped there.

Throughout the book I was fascinated by the "implied" detail of the flowers. At first glance you wouldn’t miss the detail that was missing. It is not necessary in the piecing and can be added later in the quilting process if necessary.

My quilting friends think that Ruth McDowell is top drawer and after reading and enjoying this book I can understand why. The clever way she uses fabric and pieces it together is both inspiring and unique. I admire anyone who can take things from nature, divide them into several pieces, put them back together using another medium and come up with another beautiful whole. Not only is Ruth a master at this, but she writes about it clearly so that even a novice can understand the basic premise.

I admire this woman and have thoroughly enjoyed this book. The samples pictured in the front will inspire quilters on to the greatness of their own designs after they have mastered Ruth McDowell’s techniques.