I made 5 charm quilts over the weekend. The colors are so much fun to play with. It really pushes one to try different colors together It got me to thinking...what is a charm quilt?
A charm quilt according to the site,
http://www.qnm.com/articles/feature15/index.html is as follows:
Charm, Beggar, Odd Feller, or Friendship--these are some of the names given to this unique category of quilts. Most quilts derive their name from the design of a block, or from the technique used in construction. But the Charm Quilt is defined by its one-patch construction, every piece being cut from a different fabric...Some were called Beggar's Quilts because the maker had to beg scraps from friends and relatives. Other names were Memory or Friendship because the collection of fabrics represented friends and family and the memories attached to them. And still another name was No-Two-Alike, chosen for obvious reasons...The focus of the latest fashion for Charm Quilts is fun--the fun of collecting fabric, the fun of making connections with other quilters, and thefun of creating a quilt that is completely
unique to its maker. This quilt "
Just Conversation," uses 24 different fabrics. Some are vintage fabrics which are over 20 years old; others are reproduction 30's fabrics.
I bought a great charm pack from Moda called Butterfly Fling. I separated them into cool and warm colors. The first is
"
Blue Butterfly Fling." I embroidered three pink butterflies on the adorable quilt. This would make a great doll quilt or security blanket.
The warm colors became "
Pink Butterfly Fling." Since there were more square, this is a great crib or napping quilt. The two butterfly quilts are not true charm quilts, I added some extra fabric.
The next two quilts are still waiting to be quilted and will be featured in a later blog.
As always, these can be purchased from my shop, quiltingcafe.etsy.com.
Quilting Cafe, where something is always brewing
I thought a small zippered case in which she could put other mementos might do the trick. I used both the yellow flowered gauze and underlining together and quilted it. The lining is made of a material called "Si Bonne" and i used it for the case's lining as well. I added the lace to the outside with a yo yo and button to add some interest.
