by Kathleen Barkley
Just One Charm Pack Quilts
BUST Your Precut Stash
with 18 Projects in 2 Colorways
Author: Cheryl Brickey
Publisher: Amy Barrett-Daffin
Stash Books, an imprint of
C&T Publishing Inc.
Lafayette, California
To quote author, Cheryl Brickley, "Think of this book as the Hamburger Helper of charm packs". Each of the patterns in her book use just one charm pack, along with an additional fabric and background fabric to make a small lap quilt for an adult, a baby quilt, wall-hanging or table topper. I was familiar with the name, charm pack, however, Brickley states they are also known by different manufacturers as 5" Stackers, Maple Squares, Charm Rolls or Bali Snaps. Most charm packs contain 42 squares of 5 x 5 fabric, but the quantity included in charm packs varies. Brickley suggests quilters compare the number of fabric pieces in the charm pack you intend to use with the quilt pattern instructions.
The author also suggests before starting to work, check out that the charm squares are actually 5" x 5" squares. Some manufacturers measure the 5" between the tips of the pinked edges, while other manufacturers measure the 5" between the valleys of the pinked edges. Page 8 of the book has an illustration showing the difference in measurement. It is recommended, prior to piecing, that you measure the charm squares to know which measurement is 5" before you begin cutting and piecing the blocks together. Most of the patterns in this book require between 28-38 charm squares. All the project quilts are also made in an alternate color way. You do not need a premade charm pack to make the quilts illustrated in this book, you can create your own charm pack.
Just One Charm Pack Quilts packs a lot of information into all 123 pages and the 18 projects featured list the charm pack used for each project. Cheryl Brickey has won numerous awards for her quilts and designs. She has been featured on the Mona Bake Shop blog; in Modern Quilts Unlimited, Quiltmaker, Modern Patchwork, Quilty magazines and in QuiltCon and other international quilt shows. She has taught modern quilt design, sewing and quilting techniques, and computer-aided quilt design across the country to guilds and national quilt shows.
Visit Cheryl at:
Website - meadow-mist-designs.com
