Review: Magical Fabric Art

Magical Fabric Art
by Sandra McCraw Scarpa

My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Magical Fabric Art / 1-56718-653-X

When Alice asked herself "What is the use of a book without pictures?", she was, I believe looking at this ridiculous excuse of a quilting book. I will never understand why pagan crafting books seem, more often than not, to be cheaply thrown together in an attempt to cash in on a perceived trend. Pagans are people too, and there is surely someone, somewhere, who is (A) pagan, (B) a quilter, and (C) competent to put together a decent quilting book. I suppose (D) (has time in which to accomplish this) is the limiting factor, because despite a world of wonderful, talented pagans, we keep getting this trash shoveled to us.

Why is this book so bad? This is a quilting book entirely without pictures. Oh, that's not entirely true - there are some center color plates showing off a six-piece log cabin wall quilt. That's it. Period. There are no blocks here. No applique. No quilting whatsoever.

The shtick of this book is that it will teach you how to create a magically empowered quilt. Question: Do you now, or have you ever owned, a 'Wicca 101' or an `introduction to paganism' book or anything written by Cunningham? If so, then you know everything this book has to offer already. You know what each color can represent. You know what each incense scent is associated with. You know which gods to invoke for your spells. You know what candle to use to symbolize your intent. (Obvious note: Quilting by candlelight is not something I recommend. Bright, non-flammable light is crucial to quilting. This book is going to cause someone to burn their house down by accident.) You know all this and you don't need it repackaged in a sugary cloying book pretending to be a quilter's guide while simultaneously thumbing its nose at quilters and telling them to bring their own blocks and patchwork because it isn't going to provide any new, creative blocks or patterns. You especially don't need a book which stupidly insists that a magical quilt can never, ever be washed or all the magic will be lost. The sheer stupidity of this shill burns my head.

This book is a complete joke and total highway robbery. I am infuriated at the publishing company that would churn out a quilting book with no quilt patterns and with magical 'advice' that was clearly cribbed from Cunningham's books. There is just no way that a genuine quilter would find this book to be helpful - there's almost no actual content, and what is here is second- and third-hand Wicca 101, with absolutely no quilting technique added at all.

What I would really, really like is a *real* quilting book for pagans. Something with, you know, unique blocks and actual techniques and piecing instructions. Something like every non-pagan themed quilt book I own, only for pagans. How novel. I guess I'll keep looking.

~ Ana Mardoll

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