You've just spent hours, days, weeks or months precisely following step-by-step instructions to create the perfect quilt only to get to the last step where you see that dreaded phrase, "Quilt as desired." Now what?

No worries! With Charlene Frable's Quilt as Desired, you'll learn to turn that dread into a welcome challenge. Charlene begins with a comprehensive quilting tutorial, detailing everything from sewing machine accessories and preparing your fabric to balancing your thread tension and what to do when the bobbin thread runs out. She then walks you through 24 quilting patterns and their variations, discussing the benefits and drawbacks to using each. When you've mastered the quilting patterns, you can test your skills with six featured projects.

Also included are:

• Easy-basting techniques designed to protect your knees and back as well as special tips for quilters suffering from arthritis or weakness
• Six free-motion "practice" quilting patterns
• Six featured projects including a pillow cover, a rag quilt, wall hangings, placemats, table toppers and a tissue-box cover

After reading Quilt as Desired, you'll never be intimidated by those three words again. Your only challenge will be deciding which of the designs you've learned you want to use!