​Sujata Shah’s Cultural Fusion Quilts

What I like best about Sujata Shah’s new book, Cultural Fusion Quilts is the no pins, no “quilt police” approach. Actually, I guess what I like best are the finished quilts but the easy, breezy construction style of free-form blocks is definitely calling my name.

Here’s an excerpt from her introduction to free-form blocks:

“We know each quilt reflects the personality of its maker. With each stack of free-form blocks, the personality of the quilt blocks changes. Template-free cutting and a free piecing, no pins method create a perfect balance. They lend the organic and fluid nature of antique hand-pieced folk art quilts a modern twist. They create white space and background. They also make shapes float and connect at surprising places. The results are always unpredictable.”

Unpredictable and fabulous. Here’s a sampling of two of her finished quilts: unique and achievable by even a beginning quilter.

Crazy Quilt, machine pieced by Sujata Shah, machine quilted by Barbara Jackson, Redmond, Washington, 2013.

Hourglass Twist, machine pieced by Sujata Shah, machine quilted by Barbara Jackson, Redmond, Washington, 2013.