In this book, Laurie talks about the history of batiks and about how they are made today. She also talks about how to buy Batiks, and how to tell the real Batiks apart from the look-alikes. I also see instructions on caring and protecting your Batik fabric. However, not as much about this as I expected.
This book also has a lot of basic quiltmaking instructions. If this was the only book I owned, I would be able to finish a quilt right down to the binding. There's not too much on quilting patterns because she feels the batiks speak for themselves so the quilts don't need too much quilting.
I am not a person who likes the Batik fabrics, but I love the patterns in this book just using my fabrics. Most of the patterns are simple rotary cutting quilts using squares, rectangles and triangles. I did see a few quilts that use applique or a template.
The directions are simple to follow and well illustrated. Laurie has also rated each pattern by skill level. I'm a beginner, but with these directions, I feel I could successfully and easily complete every one.