Shugg Robert - Little bits quilting bee: 20 quilts using charm squares, jelly rolls, layer cakes, and fat quarters

Text copyright 2011 by Kathreen Ricketson.
Illustrations copyright 2011 by Robert Shugg.
Photographs copyright 2011 by John Paul Urizar.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher.

Color Catcher is a registered trademark of Glanmire Industries Ltd.
Jelly Roll and Layer Cake are registered trademarks of United Notions, Inc. Popsicle is a registered trademark of Unilever Supply Chain, Inc. Special thanks to the following companies: Susan St. John Interiors, Le Forge, and La Maison.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available.
ISBN: 978-0-8118-7730-5 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-4521-4386-6 (epub, mobi)

Designed by Sarah Pulver
Styling by Stephanie Powell

Chronicle Books LLC
680 Second Street
San Francisco, CA 94107
www.chroniclebooks.com

For me, crafting is a personal creative and artistic journey that luckily has a practical application. Whipping up a pair of pajamas for my kids on demand (I have a no-fail pattern in my head), making a new quilt for my growing son, or helping my daughter with her numerous creative experimentsall of this is in a days work for this crafty mama. Sure, spontaneous making and crafting for the family helps me be a good mom. But I also need to tap my clever, cool, artistic inner self, and that is where making my own quilts comes into play.

Designing and sewing the quilts in this book has been a rich and fruitful journeyone that began in 2001 with my first quilt and my discovery of the handcraft blogging community. Making that first quilt was agony, filled with unrealistic expectations of perfection. After I finished, although it was a proud moment, I didnt make another quilt for quite a while. I made that first quilt the hard way, with too little skill and without the right tools for the job (where was the basting spray, why didnt I know about the freestyle embroidery foot, and why oh why didnt I have a rotary cutter?).

Now here I am, many quilts later. Ive wended my way through the quilty world and found my confidence; discovered the buzz you get from making quilts. Ive obsessed over (and written a book on) mini quilts and learned new skills and methods. With each method found, Ive refined my quilt-making approach, and built up a stock of preferred techniques, tools, and products. Hopefully this book will provide a shortcut for you as you embark on your own quilting journey; I wish I had had it 10 years ago.

As a busy working mother, my quilting time is limited to my days off, evenings, and the odd rainy weekend in between shouts of Mum, how do I do this and Kath, where do I find the... I have to divide my time (as many of you do) between motherhood, work, house, garden, and my other hobbies. In order to finish my projects in a timely manner, Ive developed a quilting style that involves lots of shortcuts, which is why using pre-cut fabrics is right up my alley! When I was asked to write a book about using pre-cuts, I was excited, and realized it was the perfect opportunity to share my new quilting methods and shortcuts. The techniques, tools, and materials in this book are perfect for the crafter with limited time and space, who wants to experiment with fabrics and quilt-making but doesnt necessarily have weeks to do so; its also perfect for the experienced quilter who has done the hard yards with tricky piecing and hand-sewn seams and wants to have some fun playing with fabric.

The projects in Little Bits Quilting Bee are divided into four chapters, each using one of the most popular pre-cut fabric sizes for quilt making: 5-in/12-cm Charm Squares, 21/2-in/6-cm Jelly Roll Strips, 10-in/25-cm Layer Cakes, and 18--22-in/46--56-cm Fat Quarters. Each section includes patterns for five quilts and offers a variety of quilt styles and difficulty levels. If youve never quilted before, start with the easier quilts such as Aloft, a quilt for baby, or Crimson Cross, a full-size bed quilt, which use a very easy block design. These quilts will get you started on basic block sewing. As a beginner, please dont fret over wonky seams or matching cornerslittle imperfections not only add to the charm of a handmade quilt, but are essential to accept if youre going to enjoy the process. Seams will become neater and corners will match as your skills improve. Once youve mastered a few techniques, you can confidently tackle more difficult designs such as Step Lively and Dress Circle. These intermediate quilts will introduce you to simple appliqu and different layout designs. If you want more of a challenge, try Summer Sundae, Pop Wreath, or Garnets and Gold, all of which will get you sewing with triangles, curves, and hand-sewn appliqu. In the equipment section, youll find ideas to help you organize your work space and make your limited time more efficient and effective.

Inspiration hits me at random moments and in strange places. All of a sudden, I need to reach for my notebook in the supermarket line to sketch the skirt of the woman in front of me, or pull over to the side of the road while driving to jot down a sentence that popped into my head. I get in a flurry about all sorts of thingswords, pictures, sounds, feelings, and textures; keeping a journal helps. I also have an inspiration wall in my craft space where I pin up my collection of vintage postcards, art exhibition invitations, my favorite hand-sewn vintage quilt blocks, or a found hand-tatted doily. Mixed into all of this inspiration are photos of my children and their incredible drawings. Surrounding myself with so much color and vibrancy transports me briefly to another place and allows me to be inspired by the genius of others.

Some of the designs in this book were triggered by small sparks: 5 Flavors is inspired by candy packaging, Summer Sundae by the name of the fabric range Sweet, and Lollypop Tree by my dreams of growing lollypop trees! Others were inspired by Amish quilts, antique quilts in history books, even vintage postcards. When Im open to it, ideas follow me; the quilt designs in this book are a collaboration with my kids, my collections, and my crafty pals in blogland. This is a crafty adventure Im on, sometimes exciting and challenging, but mostly rewarding and energizing. Im excited to share it with you in this book!

This is a book about making quilts with shortcut methods and pre-cut fabrics, but its also about learning together, sharing ideas, and helping each otherin fact, thats what the craft community is all about.

The romanticized version of the quilting bee brings up lovely visions of quilting tea parties and ladies in the drawing room gossiping around the quilting frame, but this is only one version. Sometimes a bee is just a few women getting together at the local church hall on a regular basis, or a gathering of the top stitchers in the neighborhood working together to complete a special occasion quilt. The quilting bee, throughout history, has been an opportunity for women to get out of the home to exchange recipes, news, gossip about children, learn new skills and swap patterns and fabric, all while finishing quilts. In short, its a forum for women to help and support each other.