Scrap QuiltsQuilts made from fabric scraps are big in my book because not only are they very traditional, they are green because you are using existing fabric instead of buying new stuff. Here are some of my favorite scrap quilts that I’ve made. Snowball 100 Good Wishes Quilt
This is my first daughter’s “100 Good Wishes Quilt”. While waiting for my future daughter to come home from China, I asked friends and family members to contribute scraps of fabric for a quilt for her. This is a simple pattern (snow ball) arranged from light to dark across one diagonal and from reds to blues across the other diagonal. The results is a quilt that hangs together beautifully with a lot of movement – even though it is made from a crazy variety of fabrics.
Zig Zag 100 Good Wishes QuiltI made my second daughter’s 100 Good Wishes Quilt using a very simple zigzag pattern by Debbie Mumm. Again, even though there are a huge variety of fabrics that don’t necessarily all go together, the right design can result in a beautiful quilt made entirely from leftover material. This pattern used to be available online for free, but it is no longer online.
Alphabet Soup
This is one of my favorite scrap quilts. All of the colored fabrics are from my stash. The unifying background was new fabric. It is a pattern called "Sunny Lanes" from Pat Speth and Charlene Thode’s book Nickel Quilts. Two Great Pattern Books for ScrapsThe Alphabet Soup quilt pictured above was made using techniques and a pattern from Nickel Quilts: Great Designs from 5-inch Scraps. Pat Speth teaches about 5 basic techniques that can be used in blocks to make 20 different quilts. They vary in the level of difficulty and each can be made in several different sizes. I really like the way she has you organize your scraps by separating them into light and dark squares. Then she tells how many of each color of square you'll need to make the quilt. For most of the quilts you can use a single fabric for the background(like I used above) or scraps of the same color intensity. Her instructions are very clear and the photos are beautiful.Quick and Easy Scrap Quilts compiled and edited by Patricia Wilens is another really great scrap quilt pattern book. There is a really nice variety of patterns from stars to houses to appliqued tulips. This book has some easy quilts and some more challenging one, both with clear concise directions. My Favorite Websites for Scrap QuiltsMy absolute favorite website for scrap quilts is Bonnie Hunter's Quiltville . Bonnie is a professional quilter who generously off free patterns and ideas on her website. She has a great system for processing scraps to get them ready for quiltling. Scroll down to and look for the links under "Tips & Techniques" you'll find the links to her scrap system on the left. Scroll down a bit farther and you will find links to her "Free Scrap Quilt Patterns" on the left. Two of my favorites are Scrappy Mountain Majesties and My Blue Heaven.The other website that I refer to regularly is
The Quilterscache
by Marcia Hohn. Marcia puts up new blocs every week. You can find anything from the most basic block to the most complicated block along. This is a great resource when you are looking for ideas for using your fabric stash. For example, you can find the block pattern for the snowball quilt, pictured above, on Marcia's site at
http://www.quilterscache.com/S/SnowballBlock.html.
Return from Scrap Quilts to Forever Green Quilts
|
