Welcome! Our quilting world gets a little bit bigger every time a generous quilter shares her energy and ideas to inspire others. Lissa Alexander, author of Oh, Scrap! and Marketing Director for Moda Fabrics, is Martingale’s guest blogger today. And she is exactly that type of individual. She is a talented, creative, savvy businesswoman AND a thoughtful friend who does much good through the connections she makes in fabric and in life. Read along and learn more from this terrific designer as she shares charming stories of challenges and friendships within Sisterhood of Scraps. Prepare to be inspired!
Hello all,
I am thrilled to be on Martingale’s blog today to tell you about my new book, Sisterhood of Scraps, available TODAY!
First, Let’s talk about this cover. How cool are the chairs on the wall with quilts ever so neatly folded and draped over them? Six chairs, one for each of the designers in the Sisterhood, and a modern representation of the quilting groups of years past.
Where did the title of this book come from?
Sisterhood: An association, society, or community of women linked by a common interest, religion, or trade. A group creating countless memories with people who love and support each other by sharing their own unique arsenal of knowledge, skills, and talents.
I am lucky to be surrounded by so many people who share their talents.
Scraps: Small bits of fabric left over after you cut the main piece.
Sheryl Johnson’s scrap drawers
As a follow-up to my solo book, Oh, Scrap!, I invited some of my designer friends to create a scrap quilt, but there was one catch. Each designer was assigned a shape to base their quilt on, and I would also make a quilt using my interpretation of the same shape. And the resulting quilters were secret until the big reveal.
Laurie Simpson (@minicksimpson), a good friend and a Moda designer, was the first person I invited. I challenged her to create a quilt using any combination of four and nine patches. Laurie rifled through her scrap bins, used blues and creams, and added a stacked-brick border to create her quilt titled Forty-niner.
Forty-niner, by Laurie Simpson
Laurie creates a scrap-fabric bundle she calls the “99 Bundle,” which is a collection of 9″ squares of some oldies and lots of goodies. To find out more about 99 Bundles, visit Minick & Simpson.
The 99 Bundle
My version of four and nine patches is called Friendship Starter. I had used both of these elements in previous quilts, and the little four patches seemed to multiply like baby rabbits. So this was the perfect project to use them up.
Friendship Starter, by Lissa Alexander
Any four patches I had left over were used on my backing or shared with others.
Friendship Starter quilt back
Next up on the Sisterhood lineup is Susan Ache (@yardgrl60).
Susan is the most energetic and creative person I have ever met. I tell you this because when I contacted Susan about the book concept, she immediately said "Yes, and I have a quilt that would be perfect." So, in this case we worked backward. Susan created Scrap Diving, featuring a center LeMoyne Star surrounded by Log Cabin blocks. The pop of red behind the stars, finished with a red binding, is amazing.
Scrap Diving by Susan Ache
I used the Log Cabin concept and set my blocks on point to create This Little Light of Mine. The blocks are quilted with a floral pattern to highlight all the light sections and with straight lines through the darker sections, making those areas recede.
This Little Light of Mine, by Lissa Alexander
As I write this blog post it is the last month of this decade and if you are thinking your New Year’s resolution is going to be to use up your scraps or stash, some quilts in this book are perfect for that, such as Forever Friends by Sandy Klop (@sandyklop) of American Jane.
Forever Friends by Sandy Klop
If you want to expand your color theory and want to use a wide range of colors and fabrics, we have some great choices for that also. I am in love with Sheryl Johnson’s Half-Square Hashtags.
Half-Square Hashtags by Sheryl Johnson
Or if you want to learn some new words like "Raditional", there are plenty of tidbits throughout the book for you (thank you Barbara Brackman).
Barbara Brackman (right) and me at Quiltcon
Hope you have enjoyed the previews of some of the quilts. Look out for projects from additional designers such as Barbara Brackman (@barbarabrackman) and Kim Brackett (@kim_brackett).
A Sisterhood can be a secret club with only members knowing each other’s identities. That was the case as we worked on this book, but now it’s time to invite each of you to join the Sisterhood of Scraps club. There is a membership certificate at the back of the book. Feel free to cut it out and display it proudly or share it with us on social media using #sisterhoodofscraps hastag.
I can’t wait to see what you make.
Thank you for embracing the sisterhood, Lissa!
To celebrate the launch of Sisterhood of Scraps, we’ve got TWO prize packages to give away. Each package includes one print copy of Sisterhood of Scraps + a fat quarter bundle from Moda Fabrics.
Prize Package 1: One "Sisterhood of Scraps" book + one fat quarter bundle of Play All Day, by American Jane
Prize Package 2: One "Sisterhood of Scraps" book + one fat quarter bundle of Clover Hollow, by Shari and Chelsi
To enter your name in the drawing, tell us in the comments:
Which designer would you say is the closest "sister" when it comes to your quilting style?
We’ll choose two random winners on Monday, January 13th and let you know by email if you win. Good Luck!
Comments are closed for this post.
Thanks to all who entered the drawing! The winners are Carmen Montmarquet (wins Prize package #1) and Gwen Wehner (wins prize package #2).
We’ll email you both about your prizes, Carmen and Gwen—congratulations!
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