Colorful Batik Panel Quilts

As many in this business do, I receive numerous requests to review books and products on my blog.  I always turn these down. However, when a query arrived about the above pictured book by Judith Vincentz Gula, I was intrigued, and said yes...for two reasons.  Over the past couple of years, I have been working almost exclusively with batiks, and am a huge fan of these beautiful hand dyed fabrics. I welcomed the opportunity to learn more.  The second reason is that I am familiar with the author's website and found it to be a wealth of interesting information.  I landed there first from a Google search on "batik tjaps", and have re-visited the site many times to view Judith's collection of antique and vintage copper tjaps.  

Colorful Batik Panel Quilts: 28 Quilting & Embellishing Inspirations from Around The World  by Fox Chapel Publishing, shows how to embellish Indonesian  hand-made batik panels, to turn these Fair-Trade fabrics into one-of-a-kind art pieces for your home.  These techniques would work with beautiful Island Batik fabrics as well as with the panels Judith shows. 

The book flows in a logical progression, from the starting point of explaining the batik process, to bordering and embellishing the panels, and ending with a gallery of 24 finished art quilts. Although the book is not large, there is a great deal of information packed into the 64 pages.  Clicking this link will allow you to see a few of the pages, which include simple patchwork instruction for 3 projects (such as how to create log cabin blocks) as well as a primer on hand embroidery stitches.  This is not an in-depth look at batiks by any means, but a good introduction to open one's mind to possibilities. The strength of the book lies in the profusion of pictures on every page, vibrantly printed on glossy stock.  I enjoyed seeing the beautiful pieces created from these fabric panels.