Reader Reviews

Threadwork Unraveled - 11/17/2010
Reviewer: Stevii Graves from USA
Don't buy this book if you are sewing-machine phobic! But if you do use a sewing machine, this book could become your new BFF. Smith covers it all, from thread choice to needles to tension. Then she gets down to the real business and leads us into the techniques of machine appliqué and machine quilting, both marked and unmarked. This book needs to live next to your sewing machine.
Threadwork Unraveled - 11/09/2010
Reviewer: Connie Krochmal from USA
This title features a number of garden quilts with various motifs, such as foliage and trees. There is an exquisite four-season quilt that can be used throughout the year. Of all the projects, this is my favorite. It depicts a tree in each of the seasons. Most of the projects are fairly small, and feature nature and gardening themes, particularly leaves. Each of the small projects is designed to help readers learn a specific lesson, such as machine quilting or appliqué. For each project, this has a list of fabrics and supplies, and color illustrations, easy to follow, step by step directions. While some quilting books begin with fabric, this title is unique. It sheds light on subjects that receive little attention––thread and needles. Readers will learn all about the different types of thread, its selection, and use for various kinds of sewing and quilting techniques. In addition, this explains many other things that are vital to good sewing, such as choosing needles, foundation fabrics, using your sewing machine, marking tools, and organizing your sewing work space. --Connie Krochmal, www.bellaonline.com/articles
Threadwork Unraveled - 04/30/2010
Reviewer: Quilting Arts Magazine from USA
Quilt artist Sarah Ann Smith shifts the focus from fabric to thread in this lucidly written and detailed introduction to the art of threadwork. With this book as your guide, you’ll enter the arena of machine stitching well armed. If the finicky details of thread tension, thread weight, and needles have intimidated you in the past, Smith will put you at ease as she explains all the basics. Smith discusses how to decoratively incorporate thread into appliqué work, but the book’s most inspirational sections encourage quilters to use a needle and thread as they would a paintbrush and paint, creating fine nuances of shading and detail that can’t be captured solely with cloth. Her advice ranges from the technical to the theoretical as she guides the reader through design considerations such as light source and coloring. Five stitching projects are included, but Smith encourages quilters to experiment, creating samplers of different stitches and tensions before incorporating them into their work. --“Quilting Arts Magazine,” April/May 2010, page 82.
Threadwork Unraveled - 04/30/2010
Reviewer: DownUnderQuilts from Australia
Threads are more than just items to hold your fabric pieces together –– they are a whole design and decoration source unto themselves. Sarah Ann Smith will show you how to use thread on the surface of a quilt, garment or other project with appliqué, embellishment and quilts. There are extensive chapters on thread, needles and tension –– and then you can branch out to try some projects to practice your skills. -- www.downunderquilts.com.au, digital issue #140, page 10.
Interview with author Sarah Ann Smith - 04/30/2010
Reviewer: Patti Ives, The Appliqué Society from Sequim, WA, USA
Look for "Meet the Quiltmakers...Sarah Ann Smith, Unraveling the Mystery of ThreadWork," an extensive interview by Patti Ives editor of The Appliqué Society newsletter with Sarah Ann Smith, author of AQS publication "Threadwork Unraveled."The interview appears in the March/April 2010 issue. http://www.theappliquesociety.org