Book Review: Successful Scrap Quilts

Quilting was something that I vehemently resisted as a youngster, teen and young adult. Being far more interested in sewing fashions for my own wardrobe (and later fashions for other people), I just couldn't get into the idea of piecework or quilting... even though some of my favorite vintage fabrics appeared on random old crazy quilts around my parents' house. 

My quilting epiphany didn't come until many, many years later during my second year working at Stonemountain & Daughter Fabrics in Berkeley, California.  Word got around among the staff that my graphic design background gave me an edge with color and composition, and I frequently found myself helping quilters solve a multitude of design problems with their projects.  Shift after shift of helping others got me thinking that I should at least throw together a couple of quilt tops for the sake of my own expertise.  Not wanting to go the traditional route, I chose the book Successful Scrap Quilts from Simple Rectangles by Judy Turner and Margaret Rolfe as a place to begin. By now it's a few years old (2002) but I still find myself pulling it off of my bookshelf time and again.

Successful Scrap Quilts is a great book for any beginner for several reasons.  Not only are all 15 of the quilt patterns executed with easy-to-cut rectangles (which is a plus), but the first several chapters cover many fundamental quilting concepts.  From color and composition to block assembly and general quilt construction, you almost don't need another book to complete your quilt top!  This book does not, however, adequately cover finishing the quilt; those are topics best covered in detail by other reference volumes or classes from your local quilt shop.

My first quilt top from this book was a Bento Box (page 84), a small 30" x 36" lap quilt.  Instead of using the suggested traditional Japanese indigo fabrics to frame the colorful central blocks, I pulled several black-and-white Japanese themed prints out of my stash to frame selections of my brighter Asian conversational prints.

A few years later I made a more traditionally colored Bento Box with Japanese indigos and other muted Asian prints.  Here are the blocks laid out to test the composition.  My father-in-law was the lucky recipient of this quilt.  I did make a small modification to the pattern in this version; instead of piecing the center of each block, I carefully cut single square vignettes from Japanese conversational cottons.  The indigo and neutral tones make nice frames, no?

As I love working with themes, I couldn't resist piecing this brightly-colored starry quilt top based on 1-2-3 What Can You See? (page 81).  I reduced the size and number of blocks to make a 32" x 45" child's lap quilt, as this quilt was made for a little girl.  It was fun and a real challenge to find star-themed and celestial fabrics in purple, turquoise, and yellow!  The psychedelic border brought the disparate colors together in a fun, slightly girly way.

Given that a previous non-quilter like myself was inspired enough by the cute examples in this book to make three quilt tops, I'll give this book a rating of excellent, especially as a book for first quilting projects.  The patterns are easy if you want to make them just like the samples, and they're easily customizable if you're just looking for a place to start your own creative project.  It would also be a great book to have around for you experienced quilters who need simple projects for gift quilt making.  As advertised, the patterns are good for scraps and collections of fabrics from your stash.

Plus, what higher rating can I give a quilting book than to say "It turned me into a quilter?"  I can think of no higher compliment or endorsement.