Skip the Borders

(More Reviews by This Staff Quilter)

Skip the Borders by Julie Herman of Jaybird Quilts really speaks to me; I'm a big fan of quilts without borders. Julie is such an inspiration to so many young quilters; the fact that she's done so much and has such passion for what she does is pretty impressive. I'm a fan of borderless quilts because I like how the patterns within the quilts just keep going, keeping your eye moving around the entire quilt. To me, borderless quilts represent the impact of the newer generations of quilters that fall under the "modern" moniker. I think that is partly because these types of quilts allow for strong patterns and bold prints. Although she's a big fan of no borders, she is giving her impression and design sensibility throughout the book while still acknowledging when, in fact, to still use a border, because some really do need to be framed in. I think her book is really informative and displays some really beautiful quilts. Some of my favorites are "White Stars", a bold quilt using one block with different fun prints and "In Formation", which is a lovely twist on a chevron or zigzag design. I'm not a big fan of Batiks personally, but her "Dot Dot Dash" is so soft and beautifully subdued, I'm really drawn to it.