Three yard quilts are a wonderful way to create beautiful and functional quilts with just three yards of fabric. These quilts are perfect for beginners or for those who are looking for a quick and easy project. The magic of three yard quilts lies in their simplicity and versatility. With just three yards of fabric, you can create a stunning quilt that will be cherished for years to come. The limited amount of fabric allows for a quick and efficient quilt-making process, making it ideal for those who are short on time or new to quilting. One of the most amazing aspects of three yard quilts is their versatility.
A brilliant book on writing craft, providing the reader with a new way to think about composing fiction. It’s also simply a delight to readsmart, well organized, and full of muscular writing and funny anecdotes." — Robert Boswell, author of Tumbledown
He has received numerous accolades, including fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Turchi combines puzzles and discussions of magic tricks as well as conventional literary analysis to show how arranging information to deepen the sense of mystery can make writing more interesting.
One of the most amazing aspects of three yard quilts is their versatility. With just three yards of fabric, you can create a quilt that can be used as a throw for a sofa or bed, as a wall hanging, or even as a baby quilt. The possibilities are endless.
A Muse and a Maze
With his characteristic talent for finding the connections between writing and the stuff of our lives (most notably in his earlier hit Maps of the Imagination: The Writer as Cartographer), Peter Turchi ventures into new, and even more surprising, territory. In A Muse and a Maze, Turchi draws out the .
- Paperback
- 9781595347596
- Published: October 2015
- eBook
- 9781595341945
- Published: November 2014
With his characteristic talent for finding the connections between writing and the stuff of our lives (most notably in his earlier hit Maps of the Imagination: The Writer as Cartographer), Peter Turchi ventures into new, and even more surprising, territory. In A Muse and a Maze, Turchi draws out the similarities between writing and puzzle-making and its flip side, puzzle-solving. He teases out how mystery lies at the heart of all storytelling. And he uncovers the magicthe creation of credible illusionthat writers share with the likes of Houdini and master magicians.
In Turchi’s associative narrative, we learn about the history of puzzles, their obsessive quality, and that Benjamin Franklin was a devotee of an ancient precursor of sudoku called Magic Squares. Applying this rich backdrop to the requirements of writing, Turchi reveals as much about the human psyche as he does about the literary imagination and the creative process.
With the goal of giving writers new ways to think about their work and readers new ways to consider the books they encounter, A Muse and a Maze suggests ways in which every piece of writing is a kind of puzzle. The work argues that literary writing is defined, at least in part, by its embrace of mystery; offers tangrams as a model for the presentation of complex characters; compares a writer’s relationship to his or her narrator to magicians and wizards; offers the maze and the labyrinth as alternatives to the more common notion of the narrative line; and concludes with a discussion of how readers and writers, like puzzle solvers, not only tolerate but find pleasure in difficulty.
While always balancing erudition with accessibility, Turchi examines the work of writers as various as A. A. Milne, Dashiell Hammett, Truman Capote, Anton Chekhov, Alison Bechdel, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Antonya Nelson, Vladimir Nabokov, Charles D’Ambrosio, Michael Ondaatje, Alice Munro, Thomas Bernhard, and Mark Twain, elaborating and illuminating ways in which their works expand and deliver on the title’s double entendre, A Muse and a Maze.
With 100 images that range from movie stills from Citizen Kane and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid to examples of sudokus, crosswords, and other puzzles; from Norman Rockwell’s famous triple self-portrait to artwork by Charles Richie; and from historical arcana to today’s latest magic, A Muse and a Maze offers prose exposition, images, text quotations, and every available form of wisdom, leading the reader step-by-step through passages from stories and novels to demonstrate, with remarkable clarity, how writers evolve their eventual creations.
Peter Turchi has written and coedited several books on writing fiction, including Maps of the Imagination: The Writer as Cartographer, A Muse and a Maze: Writing as Puzzle, Mystery, and Magic, A Kite in the Wind: Fiction Writers on Their Craft, and (Don't) Stop Me if You've Heard This Before and Other Essays on Writing Fiction. His stories have appeared in Ploughshares, Story, the Alaska Quarterly Review, Puerto del Sol, and the Colorado Review, among other journals. He has received numerous accolades, including fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. He is a professor of creative writing at the University of Houston.
Turchi invites us to think about books as mysteries unfolding in time, giving us clues that we piece together." — Washington Post
One of the country’s foremost thinkers on the art of writing. Turchi argues that writers are like magicians who aim to lead us to a state of wonder." — Houston Chronicle
Altogether stimulating." — Brain Pickings
Consistently engaging, lively, and thought provoking. The interactive element is also a delight, as there are actual puzzles scattered throughout (answers are provided in the back) to demonstrate the challenges and rewards offered by puzzlesand by good writing. Readers and puzzle lovers should find much of value." — Publishers Weekly
My favorite book about literature. . . . Anyone who likes books should read it." — Chris Offutt, author of No Heroes
A brilliant book on writing craft, providing the reader with a new way to think about composing fiction. It’s also simply a delight to readsmart, well organized, and full of muscular writing and funny anecdotes." — Robert Boswell, author of Tumbledown
The wide-ranging connections Turchi draws are convincing, provocative, and not infrequently funny, drawing the reader into a labyrinth of reflection where each turn brings a new surprise." — Santa Fe New Mexican
He’s done it again. Peter Turchi, the best-selling author who inspires artists, designers, and anyone trying to understand how to capture an audience’s imagination through storytelling, has written a book that aligns the art of literature with puzzle creation and illusions." — World Literature Today
Turchi combines puzzles and discussions of magic tricks as well as conventional literary analysis to show how arranging information to deepen the sense of mystery can make writing more interesting." — Chicago Reader
A glorious craft bookabsolutely delightful." — Julia Larios
“Full of lush illustrations, embedded puzzles, and notes on Harry Houdini, Alison Bechdel, tangrams, labyrinths, and sudoku.”— Fiction Advocate
“To leave readers slightly bewildered, to leave them with some questions answered but also with the understanding that other questions are unanswerable, to challenge readers to be satisfied with uncertainty – that’s exactly what Turchi encourages in this book.”— Numéro Cinq
“But as much as A Muse & a Maze seeks to explore the inner workings of the craft of writing, the book isn’t interested in pulling aside the curtain on the art form’s intrinsic wondrousness. If anything, Turchi’s collection of citations, motivations, riddles and games yields as many questions as it answers.”— Mountain Xpress
“Informed and informative. thoughtful and thought provoking.”— Midwest Book Review
“Turchi combines puzzles and discussions of magic tricks as well as conventional literary analysis to show how arranging information to deepen the sense of mystery can make writing more interesting.”— Chicago Reader
“The tension between these concepts—puzzle and mystery—forms the center of Turchi’s learned, funny, and uncategorizable book, part writing guide, part literary criticism, and part playful compendium of tricks, games, and problems.”— Colorado Review
“In A Muse and a Maze, Peter Turchi skillfully draws the reader through some of the most fundamental and challenging questions that writers face, tricking us into learning more about ourselves and our writing process by making us think we are learning about something unrelated to writing: games and puzzles. But herein lies the brilliance of his approach—we drop our writerly defenses and open ourselves to receiving information via a new angle, and before we know it, revelations about writing and process become apparent.”— Brooklyn Rail
“A Muse and A Maze offers sharp insights into the craft of writing, illuminating the process of puzzle-making and mystery-building that makes reading novels so absorbing and rewarding. ”— West and Grand
- 50 Books | 50 Covers by Design Observer with AIGA and Designers & Books
- New York Times Bestseller
- Print Regional Design Annual
- PEN Southwest Book Awards Creative Nonfiction
- Foreword Reviews' INDIEFAB Book of the Year SILVER Winner for Writing
While always balancing erudition with accessibility, Turchi examines the work of writers as various as A. A. Milne, Dashiell Hammett, Truman Capote, Anton Chekhov, Alison Bechdel, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Antonya Nelson, Vladimir Nabokov, Charles D’Ambrosio, Michael Ondaatje, Alice Munro, Thomas Bernhard, and Mark Twain, elaborating and illuminating ways in which their works expand and deliver on the title’s double entendre, A Muse and a Maze.
The simplicity of three yard quilts also makes them a great project for practicing and refining your quilting skills. With fewer pieces to work with, you can focus on perfecting your cutting and piecing techniques without feeling overwhelmed. This makes three yard quilts ideal for both beginners and experienced quilters looking to brush up on their skills. Another magical aspect of three yard quilts is their ability to showcase beautiful fabrics. With such a limited amount of fabric, every print and color choice becomes even more important. This allows for creativity and experimentation when selecting fabrics, resulting in a visually stunning quilt. In conclusion, the magic of three yard quilts lies in their simplicity, versatility, and ability to showcase beautiful fabrics. Whether you are a beginner looking for an easy project or an experienced quilter looking for a quick and satisfying project, three yard quilts are a fantastic option. With just three yards of fabric, you can create a quilt that will be cherished for years to come..
Reviews for "Three Yard Quilts: Create Beautiful Quilts with Minimal Waste"
1. Sarah - 2 stars
I was really excited to try out the three-yard quilting method after hearing so much about it, but unfortunately, "The Magic of Three Yard Quilts" did not live up to my expectations. The book lacked clear and concise instructions, making it difficult for beginners like myself to follow along. Additionally, I felt that the designs featured in the book were quite basic and didn't offer much variety. Overall, I was left feeling disappointed and frustrated with this book.
2. Mike - 1 star
I found "The Magic of Three Yard Quilts" to be a complete waste of my time and money. The quilting projects showcased in the book were incredibly uninspiring and lacked creativity. The instructions provided were confusing and poorly written, making it nearly impossible to successfully complete any of the quilts. I would not recommend this book to anyone looking for innovative and engaging quilting patterns.
3. Jennifer - 2 stars
As an experienced quilter, I was looking forward to exploring new techniques and designs through "The Magic of Three Yard Quilts." However, I was left disappointed with the book's lackluster content. The quilting patterns provided were repetitive and lacked originality. Additionally, the book lacked detailed explanations and step-by-step instructions, leaving me feeling confused and frustrated. Overall, I felt that this book did not offer anything new or exciting to the quilting community.
4. Mark - 2 stars
I had heard great things about "The Magic of Three Yard Quilts," but unfortunately, it did not meet my expectations. The patterns featured in the book were incredibly simplistic and basic, lacking the intricate details and complexity I was hoping for. The instructions provided were also unclear and difficult to follow, making it challenging to complete the quilts accurately. Overall, I found this book to be unimpressive and would not recommend it to experienced quilters looking for more advanced techniques and designs.
5. Emily - 1 star
I found "The Magic of Three Yard Quilts" to be extremely underwhelming. The patterns featured in the book were dull and lacked creativity, making them unappealing to me as a quilter. Additionally, the instructions provided were vague and confusing, leaving me feeling frustrated and unable to successfully complete any of the quilts. I would not recommend this book to anyone looking for innovative and inspiring quilting projects.