Granola Girl(R) Designs Nature's Table Toppers: 18 Table Toppers Celebrating Nature's Seasons (Landauer)

Instead of baking sourdough, recently, I've been doing needlework and quilting. It has no calories, and it means that I'll be _really_ set for holiday season!However, I don't have the concentration necessary for big projects, and I'm trying to sew primarily from my fabric stash. Plus, frankly, I've discovered that most gift recipients are as grateful for a homemade table topper as they are for a whole bed quilt. Thus: It was time to get a new set of quilting designs. This appeared to be the ticket.It's a good set of basic designs, for sure. These are bright, attractive, and _easy_. If you're new to quilting, and you want to try a set of standard designs, you can take on a small project and get through it quickly. However, after I bought the book, I realized that the 18 table toppers "celebrate the seasons" primarily through applique (such as snowflakes or spring flowers)... and I'm not particularly into applique. The seasonality is largely tied to holidays, such as Christmas or Halloween, but unlike many such books there's several that are about the time of year instead (fishing, or dragonfly summer).I only made one of the table toppers so far (because, like I said, meh on applique). I can't speak to the instructions because mine was more "inspired by" the design than treating it as a careful recipe; first, I already had a handy Eleanor Burns ruler for making flying geese, and also I lost count and made entirely too many blocks. In other words, I'm just now finishing a baby quilt that started as a table runner. But that's on me -- don't blame it on the book!One disappointment is that the designs don't give a lot of direction for how to "quilt the quilt." With such a small project, you can quilt the entire thing in your sewing machine, but you have to peer closely at the photos to see what they did... and it's mostly an all-over design or stitch-in-the-ditch. I would have liked to treat this as a "stretch myself" exercise to get me to do fancywork on a small project.Still, it's a nice book. If you're into applique, or want to try it on a small scale, this would be a good choice.

I really like the templates to work with. Gives a lot of options.

My review will be biased since the day I discovered Debbie Field's designs I have been a diehard fan and this book of patterns does not disappoint. It's her usual array of beginner and up style patterns. Some complex, but all clearly explained and the patterns detailed so anyone can accomplish a work of "Debbie" art. I live in the country and love it and this brings it right indoors. You can't go wrong with this book no matter what level of expertise you are at and it inspires you to get creative and go for it!!!

I was so pleased when this arrived. I have been wanting a book with just table toppers. So many books you get there are a lot of things you aren't interested in but this is just about the right topic. Got so many ideas and have already stated working on one.

I was disappointed. The patterns on the cover were good but too many inside were lodge type and that was not appealing. I'm sorry I bought it.

Love the book, It has lots of nice patterns in it. Can't wait till I have time to do a couple. Instructions are well written and easy to understand.

Well written and easy to understand intstructions , I especially love all the colored pics, very inspiring, can't wait to get started!

Great.