Fabulous Facades: Create Breath- taking Quilts with Fused Fabric

In her latest quilting manual, Loughman (Luminous Landscapes) draws inspiration from the architectural treasures she and her photographer husband, Tony, encountered on various trips to countries all over the world. The featured quilt designs are modeled after structures including a mosque in Abu Dhabi; a mansion in Newport, R.I.; the Ponte Vecchio in Florence; and even a hippie’s Volkswagen bus, all of which are presented alongside her husband’s photos of the originals. Before getting to the specifics of construction, Loughman lays out basic elements of design (shape, texture, repetition, and balancing), color (on wheels and in schemes), and fabric (for walls, bricks, and skies). Then she addresses fundamentals of fused fabrics, from creating the pattern, with an emphasis on perspective, to preparing freezer paper for bases and exploiting computers and apps. Although Loughman includes a quilt made by her 11-year-old granddaughter, this style of quilting suits advanced sewers who can follow detailed directions. (Sept.)