Book Review: Liberty Love

I've gone a little crazy these last few weeks--I think upwards of five quilting/sewing books have been delivered to my house since January 1.  What can I say?  My Amazon wishlist has been lonely and I needed to spend some time with it.  And this doesn't include the number of books coming from the library!

I plan on reviewing most (if not all, let's see how boring my upcoming projects are!) of these books, and wanted to start with the latest release: Liberty Love, by Alexia Abegg.

I also thought this would be a great opener because it ties the two of us--Ariel, Ms. Londoner, and me, country bumpkin U.S.A.--together, even though Ariel has told me she doesn't go to Liberty.  I admire her restraint.  I'm a bit of a ridiculous person (see above re: books) and would blow my entire salary there in a couple weeks.

I have really high standards for books, both fiction and non-fiction, and craft books are no different.  I won't accept a book with an excess of unnecessary projects, especially projects that seem to exist only to waste my stash. I also don't want anything too cute, too country, too babyish, or too outlandish.  Thankfully, this book arrived and I didn't have any of those thoughts at all.

The book opens with this picture, the Marcelle Medallion quilt.  I love this as more of a work of art than a quilt.  Look at all the different fabrics used!  I see Liberty, Denyse Schmidt, MoMo, Yuwa, Pez...such an eclectic mix.  It boggles my mind that someone (Alexia Abegg, I'd bet) chose the fabrics, put them together, and walked away with a quilt so gorgeous it looks like both 2013 and 1913, even 1863.  I love it!

After the introduction and the obligatory "here's how to sew" section, Abegg includes a fold-out of Classic and Seasonal Liberty prints:

 I want them all.

The projects included in the book are sectioned by type: baby quilts, quilts, accessories, clothing, what have you.  I love the baby quilts.  I really enjoy making baby quilts anyway, but the Liberty and modern fabrics together are so feminine and soft I want to make them for myself and my cats.

Who doesn't love stars?  This is the Sugar Stars Quilt.

I almost never sew accessories, and I don't know why, because they're such a good use of small scraps.  However, I've been thinking of a new pincushion lately, because my little tomato is falling apart at the seams, and this log cabin pincushion is just too pretty.  It would also be pretty cost-efficient: there are plenty of Etsy listings for Liberty scraps under $15, and considering how tiny these pieces are, you'd be able to make a few pincushions from one scrap pack.

I also like the Sew and Go Organizer, which is surprising, because these typically don't hold my interest.  I don't travel with my sewing, but I'm attending the Sew South Retreat next month and will need to pack up my things and trek off to the South Park neighborhood of Charlotte.  This would keep everything together, but I think I need some Liberty-themed scissors, definitely.

 The clothing in this book also stands out as "adorable" instead of "an afterthought."  Seriously, if I never see another boxy, caftan-like pattern in a book, it will be too soon.  Alexia designs for Green Bee Patterns and many of her patterns are for women and children.  Unsurprisingly, those were the patterns I liked the most!

The Little Pearl dress is so classic and feminine, lacking ruffles, hot pink, or an excess of quilting cottons.  I need to make an army of these for absolutely no reason at all.

The Michelle My Belle dress is also so summery, and is the big-girl version of Little Pearl.  Instead of Liberty, though that is wonderful, I'd like to make one in chambray with a tiny Liberty ruffle for the spring.  I did just get a nice cut of chambray I've been itching to use...

The Lulu Tunic reminds me of Colette's Macaron but not as dressy.  This would be cute with leggings in the fall or winter.

One giant perk is all the patterns are included in the back of the book!  I'm not picky about pattern envelopes; I see some bad reviews on Amazon for different books because "the envelope doesn't have a Velcro closing--how am I supposed to keep track of paper in an envelope?!"  Well, be an adult and just do it.  Anyway, I really appreciate books that include patterns instead of basing everything on templates or rectangles.  Thanks Alexia!

Overall, I give this book two thumbs up and think it's a great addition to any modern sewing library.  Now I need to go buy a ton of Liberty and never escape the crushing debt it causes, at $37.00 a yard.

I was not compensated for this review.  I bought my copy off Amazon.  I really love books and sewing and am more than happy to spend money and share my opinions with the masses.