East-Meets-West Quilts: Explore Improv with Japanese-Inspired Designs

Fourteen simple projects: "Readers will be awestruck by the brilliant designs and ... sidebars on famous stitcher Ayako Miyawaki, yukata cottons, and more." --Booklist (starred review)

Improv quilting--in which quilt designs emerge organically as fabric is cut and stitched--is easy, popular, and fun. In East-Meets-West Quilts, expert quilter Patricia Belyea offers improv instruction and shares her appealing Quilt Manifesto of five simple rules.

While providing quilters with a starting point, the fifth rule of the Manifesto, "Break any rule you like," opens the door to creative freedom. (However, the solid instructions allow even the rule-breakers to create beautiful quilts on the first try!)

Fourteen projects combine authentic Japanese yukata cottons and contemporary fabrics; each is finished with bold hand-stitching. The quilt-making process is presented in detail, and each quilt shows the irresistible wabi-sabi influence of Japanese design.

"With fresh designs and useful directions, Belyea's book is both practical and aspirational." --Publishers Weekly