My weekly quilt group is filled with talent and their work is inspirational. A new member is Tammy L. Porath who we discovered published a book,
Beyond Charm Quilts, along with Catherine L. McIntee. I found a copy for sale online.
Tammy explained that she and Catherine decided to make quilts using every fabric in a 100 count 5" charm pack from Jinny Beyer's fabric line. They had so much fun they continued to use the same 5" charm pack to make more quilts. As the project grew and the leftover charm fabrics became smaller. Every scrap was used!
The result was 36 quilts and a book contract from That Patchwork Place!
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| Tammy with her quilt Cut Your Losses, 10 1/2 x 26 inches. |
Tammy brought in her quilts to share with our group. The quilts varied in size and pattern, many drafted by Tammy to accommodate her 100 scraps. Each is immaculate in construction and design.
The first quilt Tammy made she gave to Catherine, who then made this spools quilt to give to Tammy.
The quilt measures at 20 1/2 x 24 inches and uses a folded technique to create the spool top and bottom, a technique explained in their book.
Tammy's second quilt in the series was Fanatic, 22 1/2 x 38 inches.
Tammy's Grandmother's Choice is a traditional quilt pattern.
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| Tammy with her Grandmother's Choice, 23 1/2 x 27 inches. |
Tammy stenciled the tree for her quilt The Tree of 100 Blossoms, below. She turned rectangle scraps into yo-yos and appliqued and beaded them to this 27 x 26 1/2 inch quilt.
Tammy's quilt Snapdragons, 27 x 37 1/2", used the charms in the flowers and in the border with it's folded buds.
Starlet, below, is a 14 1/2 " diameter round quilt, drafted by Tammy to accommodate all the 100 charms.
To the right of Starlet is Fusion, 10 x 11 1/2 inches. The fused charm pieces were stabilized with an organza overlay, lending a misty look.
Tammy's personal favorite is Facets, 13 1/2 x 13 1/2 inches. She used the 100 leftover half-square triangle pieces left from making another quilt. The border is remarkable--eight hand-dyed gradated gray fabrics meticulously pieced!
Southpaw, below left, 15 x 17 1/2 inches, has fifty blocks with two charm pieces each. Time for Everything, below right, 12 3/4 x 14 inches, sets the charms in hand-dyed pastels and has a fabulous madras plaid border.
The Chinese Coins, 10 1/4 x 15 1/2 inches, was made with the tiniest scraps!
Diamonds are Forever, 23 x 44 inches, includes tiny fused scarps.
The snake below uses tiny scraps but as it was not a quilt (three layers sewn together) it is included in the 'mistakes' page of the book.
Everyone loves Tammy's Cuckoo Clock, 26 1/2 x 34 inches, with its paper pieced birds. Tammy printed out the clock face and used Pigma pens to trace the design onto her fabric. The carved detail on the clock was created by fussy cutting a fabric.
The quilts will be given to her family members. Tammy says its time they came out from under the bed!
