Inspiration
 

Please humor me & answer both...
scenario 1: a quilter comes to you as a wise quilter and asks to Borrow a reference book. Which of your immense library of resources would you let her borrow. The one resource you know can help her on her way to continue her quilting education after several classes and late beg/interm skill level?
Scenario 2: a horrible fire has begun in your sewing room & everything will be saved by fire crews, except 1 reference book that must be selected & carried out only by you. Which book do you take with you?

reflect: We're they the same reference book? WhY Not?

Senario 1, I'd loan any book toa good friend whom I could trust returning it.
Senario 2. Books in a fire would be unimportant I'd save my 2 dogs and 2 cats. Friends before material things.

I wasn't sure what to answer in the first one, but immediately thought of Jinny Beyer's block book for the answer to #2....it was also on my list for ?#1. My other choice would be one on color selection...no particular book in mind, but one that would help to expand her/his sense of color and how value can be used in creating quilts... the JB book is done in black and white illustrations and could also be a good reference for value, but it doesn't go beyond light, dark and medium and lacks the interplay of colors.

I work in an LQS and see so many quilters afraid to experiment on their own and let kits and fabric companies decide their color choices....and then the gal that comes in and says "I'm going to paint my bedroom seafoam green and help me find fabrics to go with it and gray". What a fun time as I search for different fabrics in different collections for her to approve or reject...she didn't buy, but now she know what's in the shop and she has an idea of where to start. She had left her color inspiration at home and will be back with it....I hope I'm working the day she is...

1) I have told my quilting friends that they can borrow any book from my library except Eileen Wright's Bargello books.

2) In case of fire, forget the books, I would grab my Bernina 1530 which is irreplaceable. Books can always be replaced!

:)

Scenario 1: I'd let them look through my books and choose one.

Scenario 2: I'd grab my grandson, the dogs, and dh and get out!

Pictures are more important than books.
Of course people and animals come first.
Sewing machine, computer, tv, important papers and files.
But for this post:
1. Better Homes and Gardens -- Complete Guide to Quilting.
2. My collection of recipes that I have in a notebook.

1. I don't have a single reference book that would help a new quilter through her entire journey. I have had to use many books, getting a bit from each one. I wish I could point to just one and say that one will give you all the answers, but I can't. And a book that really speaks to me may not speak in the same way to someone else.

2. No one book is that important to me. The entire collection of books is of great value.

Even if I could choose a book for each question, they would probably be different. The books that are most important to me now are not the books that were most helpful to me 10 years ago, when I started quilting.

1. I'm still very much a novice quilter, so I can't given much of an educated answer to your 1st question. No idea.

2. Re: a fire. We have replacement cost coverage insurance. The ins. co. can replace my sewing machine. While I'd likely feel inclined to grab my sewing machine, the Viking D1, I wouldn't. This model is no longer available as new; therefore, the ins. would replace it with the most comparable model based on what the D1 originally cost. I'd be very happy with that .... though not enough to set my house on fire. LOL :D .

I'm sure I'd want to grab the nicest portraits that are hanging in my home ... mostly of my children in their younger years.

i like my books well enough to move [drag] them from home to home, but none enough to worry about saving in a fire. i've often thought about fires and would want to save my computer before anything else.

My all-in-one block tool - not sure of the exact title. It has a permanent location by my machine.