From ELECTRIC QUILT
“When Barbara [Brackman’s] first edition of her book was released, it instantly became the most valuable, helpful, and necessary quilt reference work ever written….I did not think Barbara could top her first classic opus, but with the additional blocks, full-color illustrations, and the brilliant partnership with Electric Quilt, she has!” says, Alex Anderson, co-host of The Quilt Show. This classic quilter’s resource, which depicts and catalogs over 4,000 pieced quilt blocks, has been out of print and difficult to find for a number of years, but The Electric Quilt Company, headquartered in Bowling Green, is bringing it back this December in a fully modernized and updated third edition.
This one-of-a-kind resource is the result of over 40-years of research by quilt historian Barbara Brackman. Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns initially grew out of Brackman’s quest to find the name of every quilt pattern. But after decades of study, she now acknowledges that quilt pattern names vary widely by region and time period, stating “I don’t present this index as the authority on pattern names, which like all vocabulary, change over time. The right name for a pattern is what you call it.” While she has learned that not every pattern has a name, her work has resulted in the most complete index of published names for American quilt block patterns.
The third edition of Brackman’s Encyclopedia adds over 160 new blocks to the 4,000+ found in previous versions and is presented in full color for the first time! All of the pieced quilt block patterns are illustrated with both a line drawing and sample color suggestions that are based on the black and white shading of the original patterns, ensuring that quilters will never run out of inspiration! Textile enthusiasts will love the detailed information on pattern names and publication sources included with each block pattern. The book is easy to use in a multitude of ways: look up block designs by name to find a perfectly themed pattern, search by layout and construction information to find the name of the pattern in a historic quilt, or just browse the pages until your next quilting project catches your eye!
Beloved by both modern and traditional quiltmakers and quilt historians, Brackman’s Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns is a one-stop-shop for quilt pattern identification and ideas for your next quilting project. “Brackman’s Encyclopedia is well-established as the standard—in fact, only—reference for identifying and classifying quilt patterns,” explains Alden O’Brien, Curator of Costume and Textiles at the DAR Museum in Washington, DC. “With multiple names for a design and vice versa being common, ‘Brackman numbers’ provide a much-needed, common frame of reference. With new drawings in color, this edition will prove even more accessible and is even more user-friendly.”
“No matter how much we evolve as quilters our foundation will always remain rooted in the traditional building blocks of patchwork,” notes popular fabric designer and modern quiltmaker, Tula Pink. “Barbara Brackman’s updated Encyclopedia is an essential primer for anyone who is passionate about quilts, whether you are a collector, a maker, a designer, or a historian.”
The Electric Quilt Company will also be releasing an updated version of its popular BlockBase software (sold separately) for both Windows and Mac in early 2021, which allows users to easily print templates, rotary cutting charts, and foundation paper piecing patterns for any of the 4,000+ blocks found in Brackman’s Encyclopedia. Users can print the templates and charts for any size block they need, bringing Barbara’s research to life in their own sewing rooms!
The Electric Quilt Company was founded in 1991 by Dean Neumann, Professor of Mathematics at Bowling Green State University, and Penny McMorris, Corporate Art Curator for Owens-Corning Corporation and producer/host of several PBS quilting shows. After retiring from BGSU, Neumann taught himself computer programming and created the first quilt design software called “Electric Quilt.” McMorris debuted the novel Electric Quilt software (a DOS program) on a segment of her WBGU-TV program, “Great American Quilt.” Today, in its eighth version, Electric Quilt is the leading quilt design software in the world.
Barbara Brackman is a quilt historian and author from Lawrence, Kansas. She’s been fascinated by quilt patterns for more than forty years and could not rest until she’d indexed more than 4,000 pieced patterns for her Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns. She writes several blogs about quilt history and patterns including Material Culture (http://barbarabrackman.blogspot.com/). She was inducted into the Quilters Hall of Fame of Marion, Indiana, in 2001 and is a founding member of the American Quilt Study Group.
Book Information
Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns
Compiled by Barbara Brackman
522 pages, 8,819 ills., 8.5 x 11
Paper ISBN 978-1-893824-97-3 $59.95
Publication Date: December 1, 2020
