Pictorial Art Quilt Guidebook
Leni Weiner
C&T Publishing; $29.95

I have a fondness for collage, and this highly usable, user-friendly guidebook teaches you how to take a photo and translate it into a fabric collage. Leni Weiner’s premise is that the photo frees her from figuring out the proportions, perspective, light and shadows. Using a photo, Leni creates a full-size pattern, traces sections onto freezer paper and uses the pieces to cut fabric. (One tip Leni shares is to use the free program GIMP to work with your photos.) Leni divides the book into three sections. First, you will learn about color (without needing your color wheel), value, print and scale. She has a wonderful value scale of gradations in gray, from white to black, so you can identify what value your fabric is. With the fundamentals in place, Leni takes you step-by-step through making an art quilt from a photo. When you are ready to venture on your own, you can use her practical ways to approach common elements, such as trees, rocks, and animal and people features. An additional project is also included. I cannot wait to delve more deeply into the process.

If you have tried Leni’s techniques, I would love to hear about below. If you would like to learn more, you can look for the book at your favorite quilt shop or book retailer. Here’s a link to Amazon  if you would like to learn more about the book.