Quilter's Academy Vol. 1 - Freshman Year: A Skill-Building Course in Quiltmaking

Harriet and her daughter Carrie, give thorough step-by-step instruction in this first of 5 course books. Easy to follow directions and lots of photos make for an enjoyable learning experience. I highly recommend this book.

Harriet is a highly respected, trailblazing machine quilter and author who has been teaching and inspiring new quilters since the 1980s. I have her other books, and didn't know whether any of the information in this Freshman Year volume would be new to me, but I was pleasantly surprised. Not only did I find lots of new-to-me information to highlight in this book, but it's also an absolutely ideal textbook for teaching the fundamentals of quilting to bright students of any age -- this is the Gifted and Talented workbook of quilting! If you subscribe to the opinion that "mistakes you can't see from a galloping horse don't count," this is NOT the book for you. If you're looking for a "quilt-in-a-day" project or something you can quickly whip up over the weekend, this book is not for you. If, however, you have perfectionist tendencies and long to someday create complex quilts with perfectly matched seams and perfect little triangle points, if you don't want to be stuck forever at a beginner's skill level, if you're willing to put in the time to build a solid foundation of skills and knowledge so you can take your quilting wherever you want to go, then this is the perfect book for you.When my mother and I took a class with Harriet a few months ago at the North Carolina Quilt Symposium, she talked to the class about a disturbing trend away from beginner classes that teach fundamentals in favor of project-based, "quilt in a day" type classes. This approach gives new quilters the satisfaction of making a quilt right away, but can leave them ignorant of the basics of precision cutting, accurate piecing, color and design theory, and drafting. After several classes, the student may have made several entire quilts, but is unable to apply what they have learned to other projects and completely unable to design an original quilt. Even worse, by rushing through the process to finish by the end of class, many new quilters develop bad habits that result in small inaccuracies. If your seam allowance is off by 1/16" to 1/8" in a simple quilt with few pieces, it's not a big deal -- but when that "minor" inaccuracy is multiplied by all of the pieces in a more advanced block, it results in units that don't fit together at all. For this reason, many younger quilters especially, who typically have no prior sewing experience, find themselves stuck at the beginner level and believe that intermediate and advanced quilts are just "too hard."What I love about the Quilter's Academy format is the way that in-depth academic information and advice for selecting equipment and setting up your workspace is interspersed with the hands-on exercises and projects, and that each "class" in the book builds on the knowledge and experience gained in previous "classes." It's exactly the way a good science textbook would be laid out, so students can read the chapter and understand what they are doing before they get out their little goggles and do the lab exercise. I also love that, even in this very first "Freshman" book in the series, Harriet teaches the basics of understanding base block grids and beginning drafting and design.I'm currently using this as a workbook to teach my 10 and 12 year old sons. When my 10-year-old explained to everyone at the fabric store why the saleslady should tear his fabric across the grain instead of cutting it off the bolt with a scissors, I knew I had picked the perfect book for me and my kids! :-)

i have sewed for years, but never did any quilting. After I bought a new sewing machine with a quilting table and accessories, I looked for a book for beginning quilters. Quilter's Academy Volume 1 looked interesting.There are 11 different quilts in Volume 1 -- all of them are lap-sized or table runner so that you are not overwhelmed by a large project while you are learning. Each new project teaches new methods and builds on what you have learned already.Harriet Hargrave and her daughter Carrie do an excellent job of detailing how to quilt. From what supplies are needed to the most basic beginning instructions - this was just what I needed!From the 1/4 inch seam to the how and whys of ironing (Starch IS your friend), to how to get your blocks exact, I followed the directions to complete my 1st quilt top based on Harriet's Winter Woodland using the Fence Post pattern. Step by step there are MANY pictures.I then bought Harriet's "Heirloom Machine Quilting" to learn the actual process of quilting the 3 layers together - quilt top, batting, and backing. I wanted to do the quilting and binding then myself so that I would not be intimidated by them. It's not perfect, but I love how it turned out. My husband has been showing that quilt to everyone!It is encouraging to know that all the quilts in the Quilter's Academy and Heirloom Machine Quilting were ALL quilted on regular home sewing machines. You CAN do your own quilting!I totally finished my 1st quilt, and have finished the quilt top for the 2nd project in the book - Harriet's Triple Rail Fence. The second came together faster and better than the 1st. While I am thinking about how to do the quilting on this one, I started on the 3rd project - a Log Cabin quilt which I am making from denim.I would recommend Quilter's Academy Vol. 1 and Heirloom Machine Quilting to any new quilter or to any quilter who wants to hone their skills.PS - Missouri Star Quilt Company has many excellent quilting tutorials on YouTube. After I read and study how to quilt, I look up different topics to SEE how they are done. Harriet and Carrie, Please make us some DVDs of your Quilting Academy books!

This book is suppose to introduce a novice to quilting. Half of the book content seems to be dealing about materials and cutting and working surrounding,. The ten projects given in this book are not easy for novice as there seems to be gap between building the layer for example it fail to mention binding the quilt, the baten, the back sheet, how to assemble the three layer together? Don't be deceived by the title, I was expecting a bit more when I read 'academy' in the title and for my money. I have seen better introductory books.

This book contains all you need to make a quilt, except the experience. For beginning quilters it is a boon, especially if there is no access to quilting classes. More experienced quilters will enjoy re-discovering the pleasure of making traditional patterns, while being reminded of some points which may have been forgotten. As with most practical skills, quilting is a life-time learning opportunity, and that's great news in any interest. This book is a very well planned support, providing education in modern improvements as well as traditional methods.

A very easy to follow book with each step clearly set out.I am using this as a teaching aid for my patchwork group and I am able to follow each week/class easily. There are some issues as this is obviously written and directed at the American patchwork community but they are easily overcome by reading and thinking uk quilt language.A very good book for beginners and experienced alike to brush up on skills. I await the next one.

Seriously folks, this works. If I follow Harriet, my pieces match and I get what I'm expecting. The minute I fall into old habits, things go wrong. How I wish I'd found these books when I started quilting. I'd have far fewer wrinkles, grey hair and ugly quilts.

This is a must have series of books for the beginner and experienced alike. Your quilts will be excellent and accurate, but the fun of quilting is not lost.