Alissa Haight Carlton - Modern Minimal: 20 Bold & Graphic Quilts

There are so many people to thank! First, my husband, Gavin, for all of his help through the months spent working on this book. Hes always so supportive, and hes my first and last sounding board. I trust his taste and feedback completely, and would be a weaker quilter (and person!) without him. I can always rely on him for support and love. Thank you to Cate, my twin sister, who is the best friend I could have! Thank you to my parents for their constant encouragement. To all of my quilting friendsboth my friends at the Los Angeles Modern Quilt Guild and my online/blogging friends.

The sense of community youve all given me has been immeasurably wonderful, so thank you! Thanks to everyone who was so involved in making this book happen: To folks at C&T Publishingespecially Susanne, Liz, Mary, Diane, and Kristyfor supporting me so much as an author and quilter. Thank you to Janome for the wonderful Horizon Memory Craft 7700 sewing machine, Robert Kaufman Fabrics for providing the beautiful solid Kona cotton fabrics, and The Warm Company for its Warm and Natural batting. A special thank-you to Bethany Nauert for her beautiful, inspiring style photography (bethanynauert.com). Finally, a huge thank-you to Lori Lober, Terri Reyes, Harriet Zaretsky, Bill and Annie Macomber, and my lovely sister, Catherine Haight, for opening up their amazing homes for the style photography in this book. Their beautiful spaces made the quilts shine.

The patterns in this book are different from most quilt patterns you see.

These designs were conceived by imagining the quilt top as a whole and ignoring the traditional idea that a quilt top needs to be made up of a grid of assembled blocks. This means that with just a few yards of some affordable solid fabrics, the patterns sew up into beautiful, bold, graphic quilts. Some of these quilt tops can even be cut and sewn in one or two sittings, doing away with the idea that it takes ages to make a quilt. Also appealing to many new or beginning quilters is that basic -seam piecing with straight lines is the focus of these patterns. There is not one finicky triangle or circle to be found in any of these quilts. Because these quilts are minimal, there is a lot of open, negative space.

The quilting adds quite a lot to the design, texture, and finished look of each quilt. As a result, for each pattern, Ive offered two ideas of how to quilt the quilt. I hope youll mix and match the ideasor come up with entirely new quilting ideas of your own! My overall approach and philosophy to quilting is that it can be done in a relaxed and fun way. I dont agree with the idea that you have to be a perfectionist to be a great quilter. Although you need to pay close attention to craftsmanship, so that the quilt stays in good shape over the years, you dont need to be finicky and fussy. The patterns in this book all lend themselves to that ideaso dive in and make a quilt or two! Dont be scared of mistakes or have a goal of perfection.

Perfect is boring; theres much more interest and beauty in the small discrepancies of each handmade quilt. When making a quilt, most of us are not trying to win prize ribbons; were just trying to make an attractive, functional quilt that we, our family, or our friends will get to snuggle under. This goal is accomplished even if a quilt comes out an inch shorter than planned. So dont sweat the small stuff. The more quilts you make, the more youll really understand the ins and outs of each step and the better youll get at itso get sewing!

Since these quilts are not built block by block, I have some specific thoughts on making them that should help you. Because a lot of the measurements in this book are longer than 42 (the standard measurement used as the width of fabric, or WOF), you are often instructed to sew together pieces of the same fabric to create one larger piece for the quilt top.

This creates more seams in your quilt top, but it saves a lot of fabric and money and creates less waste. I also like the rustic and warm touch it gives these otherwise graphic designs. Another thing that saves yardage is not being concerned with always keeping the straight grain of the fabric going the same direction. While some quilters might disagree with this idea, it works for me. In all the quilts I have made, I have usually switched the direction of the grain of my fabric, and doing so has never caused a problem for me. The usual argument against this technique is that it changes the drape of the fabric, which is absolutely true for garment sewing.

But when quilts are finished they are densely quilted, and quilting affects the drape far more than the direction in which you cut the fabric. Therefore, when it saves fabric, I switch between cutting across the grain or with the grain. For these patterns, I always added a quarter-yard to the needed quantities of each fabric. The fabric amounts are based on 42-wide fabric, from selvage to selvage. Most quilting cottons are wider than that, but should prewashing shrink your fabrics, youll still have enough. Also, the extra quarter-yard allows for a little wiggle room if you make a cutting error.

Lastly, the quilts are made of almost entirely solid fabrics, which gives them a wonderfully open, clean, and sophisticated look. However, sewing solids presents one small issue: There is no right side or wrong side to the fabric. As a result, when putting together your quilt top, its sometimes easy to mistakenly sew to the wrong side of the piecing. Before sewing a seam, be sure to check the already completed seams to be certain that your seam allowances are all on the same side.

60 75 This simple, bold modern lap quilt will add a pop of color to any living room. Why not make it as a wedding gift for the next cool couple you know getting married?As with many of the projects in this book, cutting and piecing long strips is the focus here.

This quilt top comes together very quickly.Be careful when cutting the background fabric. Its probably the most challenging step. But if you follow the directions with care, you will have no problems!

Based on 42 fabric width.Fabric A (orange): yard Fabric B (blue): yard Fabric C (gray): yard Fabric D (ivory): 3 yards for background Backing: 4 yards Binding: yard Please be sure to read Notes on Making the Quilts in This Book (). Fabric A (orange) Cut 6 strips 2 WOF (width of fabric). From 4 of the strips, cut A2, A3, A5, and A6. Use the leftovers from cutting pieces A2 and A3. Piece each end to end to one of the 2 remaining whole strips.

Cut A1 and A4. A1: 2 53 A2: 2 21 A3: 2 15 A4: 2 45 A5: 2 24 A6: 2 28