"It's OK to Sit on My Quilt" by Mary Ellen Hopkins

My favorite is always the next one.

Seriously, I have purchased a lot of quilting books, and the ones that were the most help when I started are not the ones I look at now. I think we all go through different phases in our quilting, and there are many books that are helpful along the way. I purchased only one Eleanor Burns book, and I was not happy with it at all. Too much about her personal life; maybe not all her books are like that, but it turned me off. I really like Judy Martin's Log Cabin book (and her other books).

Quilt Savvy by Diane Gaudynski.

Karen K. Stone Quilts. Her use of color and instructions it feels like she is right there talking to you.

Anything specifically about quilting history to 'shake things up' a bit?

501 Quilt Blocks is my hands-down favorite too. There's not much in the way of techniques, but there are LOTS of cool blocks. When I need information on techniques, either to try a new one or improve my skills, I borrow something from the library or I go online for tutorials.

I learned a lot about color and gained some confidence putting fabrics together from Color From the Heart by Gai Perry.

I keep going back to my Better Homes and Garden, Big Book of Quilting!! Love it to pieces, comes in a three ring binder, so you can add clippings, patterns or notes.

I've used this one so much it fell apart!

My two cents will lean towards crazy quilting, anything by Judith Baker Montano, I have all her books, DVD, Marsha Michler, and Carole Samples are others...I have every book on line that I can find about Crazy Quilting...they all offer something different and I love learning from them all...BJ