Book Review: Mastering the Art of McTavishing 2nd Edition Expanded and Revised

Hello everyone and welcome to a book tour and review of Karen McTavish's latest release  "Mastering the Art of McTavishing 2nd Edition ~ Expanded and Revised" ~ published June 2014 and available for purchase from

 On-Word Bound Books.

Photo Courtesy On-Word Bound Books

You all know that I absolutely love using McTavishing on my quilts -- especially as a background for wool applique.

If you're looking to learn Karen's beautiful signature technique to enhance your quilts, 

this is the book for you!

I received a "review" copy from the delightful Sara at On-Word Bound Books, and couldn't wait to dive into it.  

The book is 128 pages long and includes 2 DVD/Videos (2.5+ hours) with awesome, down to earth, McTavish instruction.

The fun part of this publication is that you receive both the 1st and 2nd Edition DVD/Videos for the price of one book!   If you already own the 1st Edition you'll be thrilled with the new content and teaching approach of the 2nd Edition.

One of the finest things about this book is the inclusion of more than 45 quilts from National and Award Winning quilters showcasing a more modern use of McTavishing on these types of quilts:

Applique
Whole-cloth
Pieced
Modern
Art Quilts and Apparel
As Background Fillers
With Victorian Feathers

There are literally hundreds of full-color, beautifully photographed, McTavished pieces on the pages of the book.   Some were quilted by Karen McTavish...

Courtesy On-Word Bound Books Quilt Artist Jan McTavish - Quilted by Karen McTavish

And some were quilted by contributing quilters and modeled by Karen.  

I think it's awesome to see how other people interpret Karen's stitch.

Courtesy On-Word Bound Books... by Linda Alexander - Modeled by Karen McTavish

On the 2nd Edition DVD/Video, Karen shares a sampler of McTavishing designs that can be used for a more Modern look -- she explicitly shares these McTavishing variations:

Mini McTavishing (my favorite)

Curls and Swirls (my next to do!)

Paisleys

Clam Shell

Motorcycle Flames

Cyclone

Freehand Victorian Feathers (another favorite)

Also included in the DVDs, Karen and the contributing quilters cover McTavishing on Long-Arm machines, Domestic Machines AND via Hand Quilting...  Pretty Awesome!

While watching the videos, I jotted down a few things Karen shared that really hit home:

• Match your thread to your background fabric
• Use thin thread -- 50WT or finer - Karen uses silk and nylon (I'm a cotton girl myself ;)
• Strive to have as few stops and starts as possible!  (Love this)
• McTavishing is very forgiving -- you can backtrack, sneak around your quilt, and rework areas that need it without it being obvious. 
• When necessary, picking (ripping) out McTavishing takes forever !!  (I can relate to that statement ;)
• Think small, be relaxed and do the best you can!
• There are no rules!!

Wait until you see how Karen Stops and Starts her quilting -- I just LOVE it....   (She does a video of her stops and starts on her Facebook page too-- click here for the video).

I think what I like the best about Karen McTavish is her style -- she has a flair of her own, one that can't be mimicked.   I really enjoy her simple, honest, and laid back approach to sharing McTavishing.  

Image Courtesy On-Word Bound Books - Karen McTavish

What you see is what you get.   

Thank you Karen McTavish.

After reading the book and watching the videos I couldn't wait to get stitching.  I work on a domestic sewing machine -- so I followed the first 10 steps in my "Do You FMQ" Tutorial (see it by clicking here).

I loaded up my #Aurifil Mako Cotton 50Wt thread  {{*love*}}  with every intention of following the "New" Basic McTavishing instruction,  but found myself falling right into my favorite McTavishing stitches:  Mini McTavishing and Freehand Victorian Feathers. 

I guess I've established a McTavishMillering or McMillering style of my own.... I'll let you decide if you like it -- but I'll have to rework on a larger piece to get the feel for "The New Basic McTavishing".

I'm calling this my "McTavishMillering Milkbone" ha ha ha.  It's a 14" x 22" cut of Mini McTavishing and Freehand Victorian Feathers McTavish style.

I started with marking the feather spine (only) around the 14" x 22" muslin.   I used two layers of batting, one Hobbs Heirloom 100% Wool and another cheap medium loft poly.

Of course I always quilt with my favorite thread, Aurifil Mako Cotton 50 Wt (in the top and the bobbin).  I quilted this entire top on my Janome Horizon, using 3 full bobbins, and with NO BREAKS!!  That amazes me!!   I love #Aurifil thread.  

I stitched the inside feathers first, using Karen's freehand Victorian feather "bump back" technique (included in the DVD's), and then I stitched the outside of the feather.   NOTE TO SELF:  Next time leave a little more room around the perimeter of the sample for better control/grip as you stitch. 

I proceeded to McTavishMiller the inside of the feathers, taking care to only start and stop once.   (Well... except I had to change my bobbin twice :)

After that I started McTavishMillering the outside of the feathers and I didn't like it - I felt it needed a small border between the feathers and the McTavishing....  So I picked (aka ripped) out a 6 inch x 2 inch section...

OH MY... I can certainly tell you that you don't want to have to pick McTavishing -- especially Mini McTavishing.   Why, oh why, am I so fussy ??

I picked out the Mini McTavishing to the right side of the feathers below to add some echo stitching:

 Took me at least 2 hours.

So after the picking was done, I echo stitched the outside of the feathers twice and filled with Mini McTavishMillering...

In this picture my spines are still wet from removing the blue water soluble pen marks.  The Clover Eraser Pen that Karen uses on my wish list...  it seems to work like magic!

Generally I like the way it came out -- it was great practice and Karen's DVDs, guidance and encouragement helped bunches!!  On my to do list is to change the Milkbone to feathered hearts -- won't that look sweet ?   For those that don't know what a Milkbone is -- click here ;)

Also next time -- I will try to break my old habits and follow Karen's New Basic McTavishing instructions so the quilt will look like this !!  Isn't it just stunning ??   Love, love, love!!

Image Courtesy On-Word Bound Books

Now for the Giveaway -- Use the Rafflecopter below to gain up to 6 chances to win my copy of "Mastering the Art of McTavishing 2nd Edition Expanded and Revised".

If you don't have a Facebook account -- no worries - simply use your name and email address to enter.  International entries are welcome!!    

The Raffelcopter will give you one mandatory (blog comment) and several optional ways to win -- try it out!

If the Raffelcopter widget doesn't load right away, refresh your screen and give it a minute -- sometimes it's fussy!!

The Giveaway is open until the end of day, Saturday, August 9th and the winner will be announced on Sunday, August 10th.

Thanks for stopping by and good luck!

Hugs,

Karen

PS.   You can see more of my McTavishing here, here, here, here, here, here, and in this Facebook Album.

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