Simple Charm: 12 Scrappy Patchwork and Applique Quilt Patterns

Simple Charm: 12 Scrappy Patchwork and Applique Quilt Patterns
by Kim Diehl
ISBN: 978-1-60468-066-9
Gifted by Martingale
www.shopmartingale.com
Reviewed by Kathryn Wright, editor of FaveQuilts.com
 

There's a homemade charm that comes out in patchwork quilt patterns, especially when you're using your favorite scrappy quilt leftovers. You can bring out that charm with professional details using Simple Charm: 12 Scrappy Patchwork and Applique Quilt Patterns by Kim Diehl. This book isn't just about teaching you how to use your skills to the best of your abilities, but also about making outstanding quilts for any occasion using color schemes, applique details, and quilt block patterns that really wow.

This book is an accomplishment from the introduction, in which author Kim Diehl explains her love of all things scrappy when it comes to her quilting, and how this can be effectively used in any pattern. Matching colors and arranging shapes sound easy, but any quilter can benefit from paying closer attention to what goes into their patterns for beginning them.

Within Simple Charm, there are 12 individual patterns that each incorporate the elements introduced in the title in subtle, professional ways that give these quilters a rustic, vintage appeal. Each full pattern has a series of instructions for all of the major parts of the quilt process, as well as a list of required materials and measurements, and even templates that will make designing applique patterns and blocks much easier. While the full size quilts alone are stunning, the book also offers lovely home decor patterns for items such as pillows, table runners, and wall hangings so you can practice the skills used in this book on a range of styles, as well as sizes. You'll find many quilting classics like star quilt patterns, nine patches, snowball blocks, and plenty of strip quilting to bring variety to the patterns included.

Before Diehl concludes the book, she provides quilters with even more insight with "Kim's Quiltingmaking Basics" (pg. 95), a final section that covers topics including rotary cutting, applique, and binding. Not only does this section provide multiple methods for the techniques Diehl uses within the book, but also includes images to support the techniques. No quilter will finish Simple Charm without learning something new or finding a previously learned skill that needs refreshing.