Sarah's Sewing Circle - Charm Quilts

Hello Pieceful Quilters,

I haven't done a Sarah Club update in awhile, so I thought it was time! First, a little Show n' Tell from last week's meeting:

Mary Zenger with her beautiful Sarah's Broken Dishes Quilt - all in blues!

Julia Thomson with her Sarah's Birds in the Pines Quilt, made from our kit.

Donna Stupple with her Sarah's Star Doll Quilt - Made from our kit (with additions?)

Carol Henn with her version of Sarah's Birds in the Pines

Carol's Antique Find - this block has several names including Devil's Claws and Crowfoot. Isn't it a great graphic piece in the red and white?

Carol was busy - she also completed Sarah's Broken Plate in these great 30's style fabrics. Doesn't it feel like a birthday party?

At this meeting we did our charm square exchange, and talked a little about Charm Quilts. So, what is a "Charm Quilt?" Traditionally, a charm quilt would be one where no fabric was repeated. This style of quilt was first observed in Victorian times, and was thought to have been borrowed from button collectors, who would have strings of different buttons which were called, "charm strings."
Various patterns have been used since then, including, Tumbler, Apple Core, Hexagons and 1000 Pyramids. The quilts below can be found on the International Quilt Study Center website, along with many more!

1930's Hexagon Charm Quilt

1800's 1000 Pyramids Quilt

If you have never checked out the IQSC site, it is a wealth of information and great quilt pix!

So - anyway, we had our exchange and I gave out suggestions for how to proceed. The challenge is to make a quilt, any size, without repeating a fabric. We decided it would be ok to repeat within a block - such as a 4-patch using 2 fabrics. I have already started on my own version of the 1000 Pyramid Quilt. Since I am not a big fan of templates, I wanted to use one of my (many) rulers. I figured out that the Tri of the Tri-Recs Set would just fit on my 5" squares (hanging over a tiny bit on each side). So I set out cutting triangles and sewing them together. Here is what I have so far:

And, here are few more charm squares and cut triangles:

I think I am heading towards a King Size - what do you think? I just can't stop! In the process of cutting my own Charm Squares, I have been busy cutting packets to sell at the shop. This is pretty labor intensive work, so I think our price of $10.99 for 50 (hopefully) different squares is a bargain! What an easy way to get started on your own Charming Quilt!

Join Sarah Club now. The first meetings for the Fall Session are September 28th at 7:30, or September 29th, at 10:30. Katie & I have big plans for this session!

Happy Quilting,

Carrie