Seems Like Scrappy Preview: Shimmer

If there is one style that I gravitate towards when I'm designing quilts, it's probably star quilts. There are so many little adjustments you can make to change the personality of the block. With that kind of versatility, I find star quilts work great for anyone and any style. They're not gender, age or style specific so star quilts cater to a much broader audience. The quilt I'm about to show you fits into this category wonderfully!

Photo used with permission from Martingale. Photography by Brent Kane. All rights reserved.

Meet Shimmer! I love this quilt. It's a star quilt, there's no doubt about that, but it's interesting... I love the fact that every person I have shown this quilt to sees something different. Some people notice a lattice type effect, some pick out the secondary stars in the design, and some just gawk with their jaw on the floor (and that's perfectly fine with me, just don't drool on the quilt).

Shimmer is created with the Tonga Treats 6-Pack. The 6-Pack is a fairly new bundle that includes 20 strips that are each 6" wide x WOF. Some packs have 20 different fabrics and some have less fabrics (some duplicates may be in the pack), but this new bundle is a great way to still have a coordinated fabric group and still have a nice bit of fabric to play with.

Sometimes when I'm playing with a new design and I find a new fabric I like, I'll grab a charm pack... Then once I get into the project I fall in love even more with the fabric and wish I had more of it to play with... Sometimes I'd like a little more heft to satisfy my fabric craving. You can get that with the Tonga Treats 6-packs. Unlike a fat quarter bundle, the strips are still the width of fabric so it feels like yardage and it tricks your brain into thinking there is more fabric in there.

One of my favorite aspects of making scrappy quilts is when I can take a simple design and add extra pieces into it. It's part of my "the more the merrier" mentality. For instance, some of the triangles are whole, and some are pieced in this quilt. Part of the reasoning for that was to make it easier to sew the blocks together, and part of the reason was simply because I could. :)

The bundle I created this quilt with obviously had a simple fall-like color palette to it and I love how it turned out. However, don't forget that this whole new book is full of tips and tricks if you'd like to use your stash too! This would be amazing with a smattering of whatever fills your scrap bins thrown together. With a more eclectic color palette, parts of this design may stand out mare giving your quilt a totally new look from the original!

Shimmer and all of the other quilts I've shared each Monday are patterns in my new book, Seems Like Scrappy, due out this June. Come back each Monday to see a new quilt from the book and I'll keep you posted on when you too can get a copy! I know June is still a bit away, but I have that feeling that if I blink, it'll be here in an instant! I can't wait to share the book with all of you!