Out Of The Box, by Mary Lou Weidman

Mary Lou Weidman consistently wows quilters through her amazing lectures, workshops, books and patterns.  Her recent book, "Out Of The Box: unleash your creativity through quilts" is an other amazing book, was  published by Martingale & Company, home of That Patchwork Place.

In this book, Mary Lou continues to inspire quilters to be creative and stretch our imaginations!  Clearly, creativity is what this whole book is about.  She sets out to help quilters of all levels, by sharing her thoughts on being creative, whimsical, unique, and out of the box.   Mary Lou helps you discover your inner artist and teaches you how to tell a story through quilting.

The book starts off with providing inspiration that is very helpful, especially for those of us that are fearful of letting our creative spirit out of that box.  Mary Lou provides a fun checklist to help you determine if you are an out of box person, or already on your way!  But don't worry, if you feel your box is nailed shut, this book will help you open your box and crawl out of it!

While you may be scared to come out of the box, the chapter on "Getting Started" will really help you.   This chapter, and the majority of insights shared in this book are definitely unique.  This is an inspirational book that you'll certainly enjoy cover-to-cover.    I  enjoyed so many of these insights and found that they apply to many aspects of our lives, not just our world of quilting.  But then, this is probably what makes this book so amazing and how Mary Lou is able to inspire others to create such amazing story quilts.

Chapters are also included that provide insight on color, as well as fabric selection and supplies, along with how to create a short-story quilt.  You'll also find information to help with applique, building better borders, binding and more.  And, I loved the vast gallery of inspirational quilts that are included in this book. 

This book is a must have for any quilter wanting to pursue creating Story quilts and a great book for those that are interested in creating quilts that are fun, inspiring, and make a statement.   I also recommend this book for anyone that wants to broaden their quilting skills, and create a fun project.  It is easy for us to get caught doing the same basic style of quilting and this book can certainly help you learn new things and take you on a different road in the world of quilting.

While you should be able to find a copy of this book in your local quilt store, you can also purchase it from the Martingale & Company's online store.