I’m very excited to review Elizabeth Hartman‘s gorgeous new book Modern Patchwork today, and we’re so looking forward to Elizabeth sharing some of her quilts in a special presentation at tomorrow night’s PMQG meeting!

Modern Patchwork includes a dozen new quilt designs to take you beyond the basics – territory beautifully covered in her first book, The Practical Guide to Patchwork. Along with full, detailed instructions for creating each quilt, she shares many extra tips and ideas in the back of the book (more on that in a minute).

I wanted to spotlight two of my favorite quilts from the collection. Looptastic is a stylish and striking design of concentric circles, created through a surprisingly simple, straightforward sew-and-turn applique method. I love the aqua and citrus colors Elizabeth used in this quilt – inviting and full of life.

But if you have another vision in mind, she offers a lovely alternative: two other totally different color and style options, each created as a mini one-block quilt. Each quilt in the book gets this wonderfully open-ended treatment!

I also love Xylophone, a lively, colorful, angular design that sweeps across a neutral background. It reminds me of her Chopped Vegetables pillow patterns, another instant favorite.

And of course she has some interesting alternate takes on this one to share as well!

After the quilt patterns, Elizabeth offers a thorough guide to constructing a quilt, from choosing fabrics and piecing to quilting and binding. Along the way she shares tips for making a design wall,

keeping your work organized,

and some of her signature patterns for free-motion machine quilting. (If you’re interested in free-motion, I highly recommend her class at Modern Domestic, or if you’re not local, checking out her posts on the topic over at her blog).

We are so thrilled that Elizabeth will present at tomorrow evening’s PMQG meeting (7 pm in room S1 in the Stagecraft Building, across the street from the main PNCA building). She’ll be giving away copies of the book*, fabric, and templates** to lucky winners, so make sure to put your name in the bucket. And check out her blog, Oh Fransson, for a July 1 announcement of a new Modern Patchwork quilt-along!

*Thank you to Stash for sending a review copy of the book, plus the ones to give away at our meeting!

**Speaking of templates, our own Jill Collins of PMQG offers templates from many of the Modern Patchwork quilts (including Looptastic, Honey, Fire Drill, Happy Hour and Owl Eyes) in her Tabslot Etsy shop!