Addicted to Scraps!
Posted by Liz Aneloski on Jul 8th 2016
What Bonnie Hunter wrote as the Foreword to her new book, Addicted to Scraps, will touch the hearts of most of us quilters. You can't help but feel the love in this quilt that was shared with her family.
“I am completely and utterly Addicted to Scraps!
And I know I am not the only one. Do you feel the way I do about scrap quilts?
The first patchwork quilt in my life, as far back as I can remember, was a battered and tattered scrap quilt—a Triple Irish Chain made by some unknown quilter, though it had been passed down through my father’s side of the family. Was it a great-aunt? No one seems to remember. Too much time passed without that information being handed down.
I have fond, vivid memories of family vacations at the beach in Santa Cruz, California. My two brothers and I played in the water along the shore of the cold Pacific Ocean until, with teeth chattering and lips blue, we ran back up to the warmth of the sun-soaked sand and flung ourselves on top of this quilt to dry off.
Nose pressed to the tiny squares, I inspected each piece, every print, and every stitch.
Many years later, when I was in my twenties, I rescued that quilt from the trunk of my dad’s car. By that time I was a budding novice quilter, interested in quilt history, and appalled that we had treated this quilt thusly.
But you know what? That quilt has had a lifetime of love and memories. Even in its shredded state, just like the Velveteen Rabbit from the beloved children’s story, it knew it was loved due to spots wearing thin, binding coming undone, and fabrics giving way to disintegration after generations of covering family members while they slept and dreamed deeply.
This simple quilt was the start of my exciting journey with scrap quilting.”
Make one of the twelve quilt projects in this book to be a part of your family’s story.
Carolina Fancy
I love the positive/negative aspect of this traditional block, and any quilt that has chains running through it is a definite favorite in my book.
Moth in the Window
This quilt is a combination of my best-loved recycled fabrics mixed with solid black and a few other stash yardage favorites.
Pinwheel Fancy
Things that twirl, things that spin! Quilt blocks with motion provide endless possibilities for quilt designs from simple shapes and units. Throw in a secondary block, turn the whole thing on point, and you create vertical columns where pinwheels can happily spin away.
