Sharing SCRAP QUILT SECRETS....

I thought it might be fun to share some of the SECRETS in my new book SCRAP QUILT SECRETS.Obviously, I can't give them all away, because I want you to have a reason to still buy the book! But I do want to share some of the quilts and the secrets. 

After  years of teaching quilt workshops and giving quilt presentations, I found that I was hearing the same questions over and over. Quilters wanted to know about my 'process'. I talk about how I'm usually inspired by vintage quilts in many ways. Sometimes a color combination or a block setting will inspire me. Sometimes everything about a two color quilt is wonderful but in my mind it needs to be made using scraps. So started writing down what questions I ask myself when designing a scrap quilt. I listed to choices I often make and the elements I choose to utilize. 

As it turns out, the steps in my process could form the acronym S.C.R.A.P. Being a former homeschool mom and teacher by trade, I love using acronyms or any other fun method for remembering or explaining more complex ideas. This is how it breaks down...

S is for Style
C is for Contrast
R is for Repetition
A is for Accent
P is for Palette

And I had to throw an extra quilt in made from selvages, just because I love selvages so much and they ARE scraps after all! So let's start with the selvage quilt shall we?

This quilt is called GIFT BASKETS. I love making traditional blocks from selvages. Many selvage quilts just use the typical string style blocks or are more modern settings. Don't get me wrong...I love them ALL! But I do think it's fun to look at traditional blocks and see if selvages will work.

Basket blocks are often strip pieced or string pieced, some are made from triangles or other more complex piecing. There really is no limit to the options of a great basket block. I felt like selvages would make a pretty and fun basket block. I used a simple tiny dot background and black triangles for the basket bases. Rick rack handles allowed me to avoid making bias strips and they added another playful element. I used the same selvage method for making the border blocks. 

This quilt looks so much more complex than it really is. It's just fun, and reading the selvages remind me of so many projects that I enjoyed making in years past. I teach this quilt using all three options of making it with strip, strings or selvages. Lots of quilters worry that they don't have enough selvages, but this is a great quilt to make over time. Make a block every now and then when you have collected enough selvages, and trust me, you'll be finished before you know it! 

If you've never pieced with selvages before, don't worry, the book has step by step photos and diagrams to make sure you have success on your very first try! You'll be amazed (and addicted) before you know it! Also, this quilt and pattern appears in the current issue of Today's Quilter (issue eight) so you can pick it up an any quilt shop or news stand that carries this wonderful magazine!

I hope you are considering selvages now if you haven't before. On Friday, I'll be hosting a blog hop on a book about selvage quilting that you won't want to miss!

Diane