AROUND HOME : Notes on Southwest Dishes, Wood Turning and Cesca Chairs : Jinny Beyer Video Workshop II (EPM Publications)

NOT ONLY IS Jinny Beyer a prize-winning quilter and entrepreneur (she designs fabrics and has written five books on quilting), she is also a teacher, conducting an annual quilting seminar at Hilton Head, S.C., in addition to regular classes near Washington.

She gets right to the point and takes the novice quilter through the first steps in making a quilt, from drafting a template to marking and cutting. But she doesn’t stop there; some of the best information is in the fabric selection and design segments, which are of value to the experienced quilters, too.

The video comes with a tape-counter index, so that a viewer may fast-forward to the segment desires. Unlike so many how-to tapes, this one can and should be used repeatedly over and over; it would be almost impossible to absorb all two hours of instruction during just one run-through.

Another reason to take this tape in short doses: Beyer’s soft voice induces sleep; $39.95.