Scrap-Basket Beauties: Quilting with Scraps, Strips, and Jelly Rolls

Scrap-Basket Beauties: Quilting with Scraps, Strips and Jelly Rolls
Gifted By: Martingale/That Patchwork Place
By Kim Brackett
www.shopmartingale.com
Reviewed by Mollyhall Seeley, Editor for FaveQuilts

If there's one thing that every quilter can agree on, it's that there's no such thing as too many scrap quilt patterns. In Scrap-Basket Beauties: Quilting with Scraps, Strips and Jelly Rolls Kim Brackett has assembled 18 clever and beautiful scrap patterns to whittle away at your stash. The third in Brackett's "Scrap-Basket" series, this book uses 2 1/2" strips to play with a whole range of designs. Whether you're working with pre-cuts or cutting your own fabric, Brackett gives precise quantities and measurements to be sure that you've got plenty of material. From pinwheels to star quilts to floral motifs, there's a design in this book for quilters of any skill level.

The patterns in Scrap-Basket Beauties run the gamut from simple and elegant to energetic and complex. "Six Degrees South of the Equator" utilizes the always stunning spinning stars design to create a wonderful sense of movement and light. Best of all, "Six Degrees" almost entirely avoids using triangles, so you don't have to deal with tricky cutting. On the other end of the spectrum, the "Sea Glass" quilt pattern mixes blues and green squares for a soothing, soft tones that make any night feel like you're camping out on the beach.  Brackett also offers suggestions for variation on many of the quilts, so that the patterns never get old or tired.

Like any good quilt pattern book worth its salt, Scrap-Basket Beauties includes a whole chapter on the techniques and processes involved in making the quilt patterns contained in the book. These tips and explanations are wonderful references to keep handy, even if you're working on a new design. Scrap-Basket Beauties is the type of book that you'll return to again and again and find yourself with a unique quilt every time.