Lynne Edwards - Stash Buster Quilts: 14 Time-saving Designs to Use Up Fabric Scraps

STASH-BUSTER QUILTS

Lynne Edwards

Time-saving designs for fabric leftovers

A DAVID & CHARLES BOOK

Copyright David & Charles Limited 2006

David & Charles is an F+W Publications Inc. company

4700 East Galbraith Road

Cincinnati, OH 45236

First published in the UK in 2006

Text and illustrations copyright Lynne Edwards 2006

Lynne Edwards has asserted her right to be identified as author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, by photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.

The designs in this book are copyright and must not be made for resale.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN-13: 978-0-7153-2194-2 hardback

ISBN-10: 0-7153-2194-3 hardback

ISBN-13: 978-0-7153-2463-9 paperback (USA only)

ISBN-10: 0-7153-2463-2 paperback (USA only)

Printed in the United States of America by CJK

for David & Charles

Brunel House Newton Abbot Devon

Executive Editor Cheryl Brown

Editor Ame Verso

Assistant Editor Louise Clark

Head of Design Prudence Rogers

Project Editor Lin Clements

Production Controller Ros Napper

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To the memory of my dear old dad, God bless him, who was the one who suggested that Making Scrap Quilts to Use It Up needed a sequel.

Also to the memory of Pam Kearney, a much-missed Thursday Girl, and to Hazel Hurst and Phyll Howes-Bassett, dear friends who supported and encouraged me in everything I did. These two were my fairy godmothers and I miss them hugely.

To all my family, especially my brother and his wife, who were towers of strength when I needed them.

And finally, of course, to the quilters in Chelsworth, with whom there is never a dull moment. Still no respect but I can dream

Contents

The Art of Stash-Busting

F or more than four years I have been focused on finding, creating and developing quilt designs that will make some inroads into the piles of fabric that have accumulated relentlessly over the years fabric on shelves, in drawers, in boxes and in piles on the floor. But I don't need to tell you about all that. If you have been a quilter for more than a year you know exactly what I am describing. To the uninitiated eye this represents the mindless accumulation of useless stuff (we won't even touch on the capital outlay involved). But what they need to understand is that when we buy fabric we are building and maintaining a collection. Collecting is just as much a creative activity as painting, writing novels or making quilts.

Everyone's collection is different. I don't feel a compulsion to buy autumn shades or really bright fabric. Soft shades and subtle tones of blues/greys/mauves/pinks are my areas of addiction. Our fabric choices are personal and probably colour co-ordinated and it is that element of a collection that appeals. Nevertheless, what we have to realize is that the longer a piece of fabric stays in a stash, the more it loses its power and attraction. It needs to be taken out, shaken, grouped with others that give it new life, as it gives new life to them. In other words we have to use some of our collection or it cannot grow and continue to give pleasure.

Don't be afraid to use the stuff: it justifies your collecting habit and after all, that's what it was made for. Reviewing my fabrics both for this book and my previous one, Making Scrap Quilts to Use It Up, proved to be an unexpected pleasure, like going to a family wedding or college reunion and meeting up again with people you had almost forgotten. Not only had I renewed my relationship with some lovely pieces of fabric but in using them in a quilt I have introduced them to other people who now also get a chance to enjoy seeing them.

The more I worked on quilt designs with a view to using lots of fabrics in whatever amounts I happened to have, the more ideas seemed to appear. My students, too, were hungry for more and by the time Making Scrap Quilts to Use It Up had been published there were enough additional quilt designs already underway for this book. This time I have focused on techniques that are high on efficiency and time-saving features to move the design along. Not exactly quilt in a day but certainly aiming at keeping the ideas bubbling and the quilt growing speedily so that the fabric stashes don't get too dusty.

I have to confess that after a long spell of controlled abstinence I have weakened several times in the past three months and bought new fabric, the designs and colours of which I couldn't resist. I've no plans to use them yet, but they are arranged artfully in a shallow basket in my workroom and I see them every day as I move about the room. All quilters will understand the pleasure that gives me. So, do not stop buying fabric it is a part of the collecting process. Don't put your new acquisitions away or hide them from a disapproving family. You bought them to enjoy, so do just that, even if that means just stroking them occasionally. After a while, move them along and mix them with your established collections. Start cooking a new quilt project by auditioning new groupings of fabrics from your stash. A static collection grows stale: it needs to be constantly reassessed, used and replenished.

In this latest book you will find 20 projects, both large and small, to use with all that fabric. Some of the quilts have been made by me, others by my students, and the range of fabrics varied to suit the taste of each maker. We all have a little less in our stashes now but not for long, I'm sure. The important thing is that we have enjoyed ourselves. Reading through this introduction I see I have used the word pleasure three times plus enjoy and delight. Isn't that what we all feel about this craft and about all that lovely fabric waiting to be used?