Gerri Robinson - A cut above: turn charm squares, strips, and more into beautiful patchwork

Turn Charm Squares, Strips, and More into Beautiful Patchwork

GERRI ROBINSON

To my immediate and extended family: thank you for your support
and belief in my work. Your encouragement inspires me to keep going
and push myself and my creative boundaries daily.

A Cut Above: Turn Charm Squares, Strips, and More
into Beautiful Patchwork

2013 by Gerri Robinson

Martingale
19021 120th Ave. NE, Ste. 102
Bothell, WA 98011-9511 USA
ShopMartingale.com

eBook Edition: 2013

No part of this product may be reproduced in any form, unless otherwise stated, in which case reproduction is limited to the use of the purchaser. The written instructions, photographs, designs, projects, and patterns are intended for the personal, noncommercial use of the retail purchaser and are under federal copyright laws; they are not to be reproduced by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, including informational storage or retrieval systems, for commercial use. Permission is granted to photocopy patterns for the personal use of the retail purchaser. Attention teachers: Martingale encourages you to use this book for teaching, subject to the restrictions stated above.

The information in this book is presented in good faith, but no warranty is given nor results guaranteed. Since Martingale has no control over choice of materials or procedures, the company assumes no responsibility for the use of this information.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.

eISBN: 978-1-60468-358-5

Original Source ISBN: 978-1-60468-357-8

I never fully embraced the quilting industrys lineup of precut fabric collections until the spring of 2012. I know, I was a little late joining the party, but Im so glad I did.

Why did it take me so long? I really dont have a definitive answer, but Im sure its at least partly due to the fact that I had a limited understanding of the concept. My thought was why limit yourself to 2", 5", and 10" squares, or 2"-wide strips, or fat eighths (9" x 21" rectangles), or even fat quarters (18" x 21") when you can have an endless supply of fabric and a creative platform with continuous yardage? I was limiting myself by my own thinkingnever a good idea.

Did my thinking evolve after watching numerous seasons of Project Runway, where designers are faced weekly with some pretty incredible challenges and in turn create some pretty spectacular fashion collections? Or was the timing just right for me to step outside my comfort zone and challenge myself? I believe all things are a combination of many elements and events.

The designs found throughout the pages of A Cut Above chronicle the steps I took to overcome my own design obstacles about working in a precut environment. With all new things, its best to start small, so I began with 2" squares. I could feel my confidence building, so I moved on to my next challenge: 5" and 10" squares. Momentum built, and the next thing I knew, 2"-wide strips, fat eighths, and fat quarters were no longer an obstacle, but rather staples of my design thinking and creativity. Eventually, I even coined some new terms2" itty bits and 5" little bits of charm.

I used this same sequence to lay out the projects in this book: 2", 5", and 10" squares; 2"-wide strips; fat eighths; and fat quarters. Did you realize you can create a 90"-square queen-size bed quilt from 10" squares? Ill show you how in my Dancing among the Stars quilt on .

Grab some fat eighths and youre on your way to making a pretty amazing quilt. Summer Time on . Now, thats a cut abovetwo quilts from 9" x 21" pieces of fabric! Raise a glass to that... cheers!

To offer you variety and flexibility, Ill show you how a design can change before your eyes, either by controlling the exact placement of the fabrics in each block for a planned design or throwing caution to the wind and letting the fabrics fall where they may to create a fantastic scrappy look. Its amazing how changing fabric placement can affect the look and feel of a design. Check out Buttoned Up on to see what I mean.

As a special surprise to me, and an added bonus for you, Rugby Stars on .

If youre already fond of precuts, I hope the designs inspire you to keep using them. If youre new to the party like me, peruse the pages, but dont wait too longprecuts are waiting for you to enjoy!

Precuts are packaged bundles of fabric cut to specific sizes, such as 5" squares or 2"-wide strips. You can use manufactured precuts or make your own. How about both? The quilts in this book were designed primarily from Modas vast assortment of precuts, but I created Galaxy on from my fabric remnants.

I challenge you to look at your end-of-project remnants or fabric leftovers differently. Instead of folding the various sizes of your fabric pieces and putting them back into your fabric stash, begin to cut your remnants into various sizes and sort them by like colorsreds, greens, blues, browns; or theme categories such as backgrounds, bright colors, Civil War reproductions, and so forth. You might surprise yourself how quickly a color assortment or theme comes together.

A great debate? Not for me. I dont trim the pinked edges from any of the industry precuts. Simply line up the outer points of the pinked edges to the cutting line and cut your precut squares into the desired sizes. (When stitching, sew " from the outer points as well.)

All of the quilts in A Cut Above are made using basic quilting techniques. On the following pages, youll find my methods for making:

Flying-geese units

Half-square-triangle units

Quick-angled rectangles

Square-in-a-square units

Pieced sashing

Wool appliqu

There are numerous ways of doing these techniques. The use of special rulers and tools really expands your options, but for the sake of simplicity, my instructions are for old school techniquesno special rulers or papersjust the basics. All youll need is a self-healing cutting mat, an acrylic ruler, a rotary cutter, and fabric.