Jane Brocket - The Gentle Art of Quilt-Making: 15 Projects Inspired by Everyday Beauty

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Dedication

For my favourite quilt users and consultants: Simon, Tom, Alice and Phoebe

This is a book about quilt inspiration: where to find it and how to use it. It is for anyone who has ever wanted to make stunning, imaginative quilts with the minimum of fuss, no matter how basic your sewing skills or how limited you are by time and space. Far more important are enthusiasm, beautiful fabrics and a good measure of inspiration which, as I make clear, is all around us.

My aim is to inspire trust in simplicity of design and technique, and to instil the confidence to create meaningful, personal quilts. The sixteen simple, yet effective, quilt designs here show you how to create big effects with little effort, using plenty of wonderful fabrics. Whether you are a seasoned quilter or a complete beginner, I hope that The Gentle Art of Quilt-Making will encourage you to make simple, vibrant quilts and to dispense with concerns about complexity, perfection, rigid designs and knowledge of special techniques.

I was inspired to make quilts long before I actually made one. I saw, admired and envied many quilts in galleries, exhibitions, books and friends houses, but did not think that I was capable of making one of my own in a way that pleased me and gave me the results I wanted. My fear of doing things wrong or in the incorrect way held me back for years until I had a perception-altering conversation with my friend Lucy.

It was a cold winters day and we were having a cup of tea by the wood-burning fire in Lucys cosy parlour, and I was telling her how much I loved quilts and how much I wanted to make one, but that I was convinced it was all rules and regulations and that I thought it would be too difficult. Oh, for goodness sake, Jane, she said in exasperation, all you have to do is cut up some fabric and sew it together!

Although she didnt realize it at the time, her throwaway wise words would stay with me Im especially reminded of them when I find myself on the brink of over-complicating the quilting process and the more I thought about it, the more I knew Lucy was right. She had finally made me see that I, with my imagined difficulties, was turning something that has been done in a matter-of-fact way by people over the years into something mysteriously complicated that could only be done by a few gifted individuals. Instead, I began to adopt a can-do, simplified approach to patchwork and quilting, and as soon as I let go of the ideas of perfection and right and wrong ways of doing things, quilts were no longer a dream, but a real possibility.

The first step was to go on a weekend course at which I learned the absolute basics of cutting out fabric and sewing it back together. I learned how to use a rotary cutter, quilting rulers and a self-healing mat, how to handle fabric, how to machine-piece, bind and finish a quilt. And, crucially, I came away with a new-found confidence about the quilting process and the many, many quilting possibilities.

My first three or four quilts were experiments with my newly acquired techniques following simple designs in very clear how-to books. However, I soon found myself deliberately moving away from what I call the jigsaw approach (in which pieces of fabric are slotted into a frame rather like the pieces of a puzzle) to a much more colourful and personal approach that expresses the inspiration I find all around me, and uses beautiful fabrics rather than complicated designs to create impact.

This has been my approach ever since, and I still have not run out of inspiration or ideas, and nor am I likely ever to do so. As a result, my quilts are most definitely not heirloom quilts, but are instead practical quilts that I have enjoyed making and truly like, quilts that are warm, useful, visually pleasing and packed with thoughts and associations. This is private, personal quilt-making as an absorbing creative pastime with lovely results, rather than quilt-making for show or competition.

This book encapsulates my quilting philosophy of seeking inspiration and using it to make colourful, meaningful quilts. It is for anyone whos ever hesitated on the threshold of a fabric shop, or swooned over fabrics but not known what to do with them, and for anyone who wants quilting to be a simple, worry- and stress-free process with a significant element of enjoyment and playfulness. My aim is simplification, not complication, and I spell out in the text that accompanies each quilt how to interpret and express inspiration. In doing so, I hope to encourage anyone who so wishes to ignore the tyranny of perfection and to have a go.

I hope to reassure tentative quilters (always remembering that I once was one) that quilting is easy and incredibly enjoyable, that anyone can do it in an ordinary home environment and without a dedicated room or table or design board, and that you dont need hundreds of expensive fabrics. And I would like to convince you that, with a few fabrics and a small number of specialist tools you can create gorgeous quilts that reflect something of their makers personality and individuality, quilts that give pleasure both in the making and the finished article. I would also be pleased to know I have inspired someone to take a few risks with colour and pattern, and to experience the excitement and pleasure of creating a simple but beautiful quilt by making individual decisions and not simply by following step-by-step instructions.

So come with me and venture into a world of colour and pattern, memories and associations, warmth and comfort and, above all, inspiration. You may find that this is a book of surprises; that every quilt tells a story, that you can do it, that basic patterns can be supremely clever (which is why they have been around for so long), that making lovely quilts is not difficult, and that the results will be something of which you can be justifiably proud.

I hope this book will inspire you to quilt just as I have been inspired to quilt by so many wonderful colours, fabrics, places, patterns, gardens, exhibitions, quilters and quilts.

Jane Brocket
June 2009