The new edition of this classic — which every quilter should have on their desk — is a quilter’s dream come true. It has clean illustrations of the blocks, as well as a depiction of the same blocks in full color. I reach for my original version almost daily as I try to puzzle out a block, or dream up new combinations in making my quilts. While I didn’t think Barbara Brackman’s Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns could be improved, I was wrong. This new version will make it easier to find interesting blocks to make, to research the history of our work, as well as to link us to our rich heritage of quilting.
That blurb at the top is what I wrote for Electric Quilt, the publishers, when they contacted me earlier this fall. As long-time readers know, I’m an enthusiatic user of this book (my edition was published in 1993). When I need an idea for a baby quilt, I turn to the Nine-Patch section. When I am creating quilts for my classes, I peruse the more complicated sections, as well as the traditional Four-Patch. She has Wheels! She has Fans! She has uneven Nine-Patches! And the best part is that now it comes in color, AND in black and white, as you can see by the sample illustrations. That way the coloring can be suggested, or you can go hog-wild, coloring up your own blocks.
But the absolute best part (if there can be only one best part) is that now we can connect our blocks to those of those early quilters. We can identify them, linking all of us together with those women who drew their blocks out on paper, working their quilting in among their gardening, their laundry, the raising of their families, their teaching, their mending. Now you can use Barbara Brackman’s careful research to make your quilts, coupled with the updated and colorful version of this book. I am so excited!!
Here’s my True Story: while the bulk of my blocks in SHINE: The Circles Quilt come from a church in Slovenia, when I was just getting started on this idea, I turned to my Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns and found Feathered Star, block #3389. I made it, and when I visited that church, I was able to show the guard in the kiosk a photo of this block — “my art” is what I said — and he gave me permission to take more photos of the glorious art in that Serbian Orthodox Church. That quilt, which is still cooking along, had its genesis from this book, a block from around 1933, according to Brackman’s notes on its provenance. And one of you can win this book. Keep reading.
- Electric Quilt, the publisher, is currently offering 30% off the book if customers “pre-order” it on their website by November 24 . I’m just telling you this, so that in case you are not the lucky winner, you can still have the opportunity to take advantage of the 30% pre-order discount. Details here: https://electricquilt.com/pre-order-and-save/
- EQ expects to start shipping the book December 1, 2020. Perfect for holiday giving. (And yes, I plan to have a Christmas holiday this year, and although more kilos may join the Covid kilos, it will still be worth it.)
- If you want any other information about the book, they have general info at their website, such as FAQs, a blog post, and reviews (maybe you’ll see mine there?) Click to head there: https://electricquilt.com/online-shop/encyclopedia-of-pieced-quilt-patterns/
Here’s the official details:
- Enter to win a copy here, or pre-order the book through November 24th at ElectricQuilt.com.
- Giveaway winner will receive one copy of the book shipped in December, 2020.
- The Electric Quilt Company will ship to U.S. addresses for free, others will have the option to pay for shipping costs, so yes, international readers you can enter (but you’ll just have to pay for shipping–they will contact you).
- The book will be shipped directly from Electric Quilt. I’ll forward them your info after contacting the winner by email.
- You can also enter on my Instagram Account @occasionalpiecequilt It’s a slightly different set of guidelines; pay attention, so you’ll be in the running.
Okay, gushing over! Get ready, get set, go! I’ll choose the winner on All Saints Day (November 1st) because I know you’ll be too busy on Halloween to pay attention.
GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED. THANK YOU TO ALL WHO ENTERED!
Leave me a comment below telling me what you want for Christmas. Get creative, get close to the heart, get wild, or shoot for the stars.
OccasionalPiece--Quilt! 
Oh my goodness! Are we thinking along the same lines, or what? I just published my blog post with a link to the pre-ordered book. Of course my post is mostly about my latest quiltmaking, but I was just pondering whether to order the new version. You’ve just convinced me. Thanks!
What I want for Christmas more than anything is to NOT be in Covid quarantine, shut-downs, etc… I want life back to normal so very badly. I want to be able to spend the holidays with my son and my parents without worrying about Covid or forced social distancing. (I’m sure there are many others who feel the same way). In this pandemic craziness, I’m not even feeling the spirit of the holidays this year because I’m so depressed.
I also wish for all my son’s wishes and dreams to come true…this is a constant wish, not just a Christmas wish.
Hmmm. This book would make a great Christmas gift! Other than that, I’d just like a relaxed day with my husband and FaceTime visits with family. I’m looking forward to putting up a tree this year, as we’ve traveled the last couple of years, and did not have one.
What do I want for Christmas? Normal life! (hah!)
I would also take unlimited fabric – in case I ever use up what I have 🙂
For Christmas I would love to be able to get together with my left kidney! She lives in another country working hard to ensure that my favorite sister stays healthy! I would love to give her a hug and a squeeze in person instead of zooming!
Aren’t you awesome!!!
all I want is a safe, happy Holiday season with my family and friends! Of course time to get my projects done and a healthy, happy New Year would be good too. 2021 has me looking forward to the New Year like never before!
I love this book and would love it for Christmas along with jewelry of course.
For Christmas this year I would love for everyone to heal and to be healthy, to be able to be with there family’s. I would also like to be able to get a little something made for all my loved ones and for them to have a great holiday. I don’t really want anything for myself, however I don’t have anything like this book and would be honored to have this in my sewing room. Thank you for making people happy.
For Christmas, more than anything else, I’d like to be able to have my son and his girlfriend over for a dinner celebration. Due to the pandemic my husband, Tim, and I are playing it safe and so we understand it’s not realistic. Consequently, Tim and I will enjoy a quiet but safe day. He’s a fanatical reader so I would gladly drown my sorrows in your Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns if I were lucky enough to win it. Thanks for running this contest!
Happy Halloween, Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas to you Elizabeth. How nice of you to have this event. A third edition! Look forward to seeing it.
I’d like 28 hour days for the next couple years so I could finish UFOs. I never thought I’d be tempted by the new edition, having the old one, but you tempt me!
What do I want for Christmas? I want covid to be gone! I want to hold my grandkids whenever I desire to. I want no more lives to be lost. I want no more covid illness. Yes, I know this all is not possible but we can hope. On a lighter note. Barbara Brackman is a quilting treasure. I would be honored to win a copy of her new book (have the old). Thank you for this opportunity.
Tis book would be a great gift!
If wild and crazy can be the limits then I MUST say a new sewing lair! What better way to while away my time and squirrel away my fabric hoard! I love your blog. Thanks for all the positivity.
My Christmas wish is to have my family around with no covid worries. But if I can’t have that fabric by Tula please.
I would like to have peace from political news and peace from Covid. I would like to travel to Canada to see my children and grandchildren without having to quarantine for 2 weeks in a hotel. I hope you have a wonderful holiday season.
I would like to wake up in the morning and not have a care in the world about what the president is up to.
I have narrowed my Christmas wish list down to Tula Pink’s Linework fabric. We will see if hubby picks up on my hints.
I haven’t really thought much about Christmas yet. I have been looking at Singer featherweight machines and would love to get one from “Santa” sometime. 🙂 Not sure why, but those little machines just make me want one!
That is quite the question! I would love for my house to be clutter free. I keep cleaning and getting rid of things but it doesn’t seem to make a difference unfortunately.
I want time with family for Christmas but like everyone, I want Covid gone and a safe, peaceful new year.
I haven’t even thought about Christmas! I have every material thing I really need, and things like being able to see friends and family, and travel again are just not realistic. One thing I do need must come from within; I need to get over my “fear of finishing” and get a few special UFOs done, even if they don’t turn out perfect. I’ve already pre-ordered the Encyclopedia.
Well, I have a Lisa Calle Proline ruler set on my wish list, but I second Carol G.
I have the 1993 printing of “the book,” and have been drooling over this updated version. I trust your evaluation of it and I’d love it for a birthday or Christmas present. What I’d really like for Christmas is some Elves to come organize all my sewing supplies so I can focus on Just Sewing! (Well, I can dream, right?)
Unrealistic but I would love to have our girls from Eugene,Oregon, our older son and his family from Tampa FL, our younger son and his family from Shawnee KS, and our oldest granddaughter from Parsons KS here for the holidays. We live in a Senior Citizens Village in Kansas and can’t have that many visitors yet.
Thank you for the chance to win Barbara’s book. Happy Holidays to all!
I’d absolutely be prepared to pay postage to Australia for this! What a treat….! Good health and health care- that’s what I wish for, for everyone!
Peace on Earth…..if only for Christmas Day. Maybe I could get that by turning off digital devices and avoiding the news for a day.
Thanks for the giveaway, I see my Christmas present suggestion for the Hubbie To buy me is now taken care of.
I would like to have the Christmas gathering that our grandparents’ descendants have had for over 70 years that has been cancelled because of Covid. However, I’m thankful that my immediate family will be getting together. Wishing everyone a safe, peaceful holiday season.
2020 Christmas Wish List:
-A new sewing machine with a regulator foot. I have set high goals and think a regulator foot would be of benefit for my quilting journey; and
– Healthy World Peace.
That is all!
I would like the elves to come in and finish all my ufos so I can start more. If that is too much can they please just bind a few quilts for me. Here’s to better times ahead.
What I would like for Christmas is for everyone to know that the birth of Jesus,our Savior from sin, is the true reason for celebrating Christmas!
Over the years I have always wished for peace but this year my wish is more earnest than ever. A Christmas wish that we could all listen to each other and even though we may not agree, accept that another persons ideas may be different than our own but not necessarily bad. Like others, my husband and I will be spending Christmas at home alone, this will be the first year we have not been with at least one of our kids and family. 2021 just has to be better! The book sounds fabulous and if by chance I won would be a great Christmas gift to myself.
My Christmas this year will have DH and I snug at home, with FaceTime visits with kids, grandkids and great grandkids. My wish is that all of our families stay safe and stay home (3 were tested today for Covid – fingers crossed for negative results) and that the numerous bags and mugrugs I am making for our Food Bank Christmas hampers bring a smile to someone’s face in this very trying time we are are all experiencing. This book is on my wish list for a pick me up gift to enjoy on those days when inspiration just isn’t there. Winning it would be a real joy. Thank you for the chance at winning.
Looks like a gorgeous new edition of a classic and I would gladly pay international shipping! My Christmas wish… for COVID to wane enough for our kids to be able to visit us in Japan!
If I shoot for the stars it would be a Martelli Cutting table or even better a Longarm. On a realistic note I would go for Sizzle Quilts book but more likely I’ll get a Merry Christmas and a new pair of clogs. That works too. I am sure the Grandkids will send me a puzzle. Love these.
I would love to visit my brothers, nieces and nephews (including 3 babies who I have not yet met) in England. Really miss family visits…hopefully in 2021! This book is a must for any serious quilter. I would love a copy.
I can only pick ‘one’? But I want it all: a Covid free world where I could use the Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns, third edition to share with all my wonderful quilting friends and we’d all make more quilts.
I don’t have a list of material things I want for Christmas. What I really want is to be able to see family and friends and to have some type of pre-Covid normalcy in life. I guess that’s what most everyone wants.
Spending time with family is my Christmas wish. Thanks for the draw.
Wouldn’t it be great to have “Peace on Earth” this Christmas? That would be my wish. But with all that’s happened this year, I doubt that this is the year the world will be at peace. So, I wish for health and contentment for all. This Encyclopedia would be a bonus (which is probably more attainable than my first two wishes, unfortunately). And I hope you and everyone have a merry, safe Christmas holiday.
We’ve discussed this great book before. I had to check the date of mine and it is a 1993 as well. It’s hard to imagine an improvement to it. My wish for Christmas is that we can all gather and celebrate the season without worries.
A safe holiday for everyone, and I second Carol G’s request. A boxful of Quiet Play fabric and this book would also be delightful! Happy holidays everyone!
I would love for this virus to be over for good and for everyone to just get along, everywhere 🙂
All I can think of that I would want for Christmas is to be able to see my ten grandchildren (and their parents of course😉). 🎄
What I want for Christmas is for all the divisiveness, hate, and such to change to the unity, love, compassion, etc.
I would just want harmony in the family. Just that.
I just sent my wish list to the family because it makes gift giving easier on them. While there’s stuff on the list, the best gift would be getting together for the holidays.
I would love for Santa to bring me all the resources to take my quilting to the next level. Books and tools to inspiration and connection with my forequilters. Namely my mother and grandmother.
All I want for Christmas is a quiet safe day with those I live with and to dream of Christmas 2021 when I hope we will all be together again. I know it is a simple wish, but it is heartfelt.
I would love this book! especially after reading your blurb!
This book is so perfect! A quilter’s dream, for sure!
For Christmas this year, my greatest wish is to be healthy and have the virus eradicated forever! In more physical terms, I’m hoping to get my sewing room completed with IKEA pieces. They have been out of stock most of the year due to the pandemic, so fingers are crossed for new shipments!
Like everyone an end to covid-19. I worry about the impact of another lockdown particularly on young families and those on their own. A more trival wish would be to travel and see for real the work of quilters worldwide – kantha, mola, boro and so many more
Thank you for your generous giveaway! I would love a world where people think of others (and wear masks when they are out) instead of themselves, especially when it costs them virtually nothing!