Nickel Quilts: Great Designs from 5 Inch Scraps [Paperback]

Patricia Speth (Author), Pat Speth (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 2002

Discover scrap quiltmaking at its best with an all-new system for making traditional quilts that sparkle! Start by cutting 5" squares from stash fabrics. Once you have a stack of squares, half the work--the cutting--is done.

· Choose from 20 big, beautiful patterns that each include directions for three different sizes

· Use just eight units to make every quilt in the book; then mix and match them into dozens of other creative settings

· Alternate unit sizes are provided for 4"and 6" squares for even more options

Transform stash fabrics into dazzling scrap quilts with this timesaving technique!

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Hometown: Davenport, Iowa

First-time authors Patricia K. Speth and Charlene Thode have been teaching workshops and organizing quilt retreats since they met in 1993. They have spent the last four years designing original patterns and collecting more than 240 block patterns that can be used with their "nickel" technique.

Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Martingale and Company (February 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1564774163
• ISBN-13: 978-1564774163
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #407,043 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Pat started working with 5 inch squares as a basis for her quiltmaking in 1993 after attending her first retreat. She was asked to do a program for her guild in 1997 using the 5" squares, which gave her the push to explore new uses and techniques for working with the squares. Her first book, Nickel Quilts, was published in 2001.

Pat is currently working on her line of individual patterns, a Block of the Month Quilt, and her fourth book which will feature pieced borders. Her most recent book, Amazing Nickel Quilts, was released on October 1, 2008.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

72 of 72 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book for fabric pack-rats, March 14, 2002

By 

sarahbellum (MA, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nickel Quilts: Great Designs from 5 Inch Scraps (Paperback)

If you are like me, you have fabric pieces of all sizes, from tiny scraps to major yardage, stashed on shelves and in boxes and drawers all over your house. This book is perfect for people like us. The quilts are beautiful and surprisingly simple to construct, for the most part. The authors devote the first part of the book to a series of techniques for converting 5" squares into checkerboard blocks, half-square triangle blocks, quarter-square triangle blocks, and "picket fences" as efficiently as possible. These directions are very complete and well explained. They also suggest buying a little extra fabric each time you shop, and ctting off a five-inch strip right away. Plus they give great instructions on how to hold a 5-inch square swap, including how to keep track of everybody's contributions.

Then, in the second part, they give directions for a series of quilts from very easy to a little more complicated (though none of them are actually difficult). Even the easiest quilts are surprisingly complex-looking, and all of them are designed to be made in three sizes. The color scheme of most of the quilts shown is medium-to-dark traditional prints on cream, but there is no reason not to choose a completely different scheme. (I am thinking about oversize splashy prints on a black-and-white background for one of the simpler quilts, for example, or bright plaids on batik.) Now all I have to do is start cutting...

63 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must have.., March 3, 2003

By 

Ana Muhandis - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Nickel Quilts: Great Designs from 5 Inch Scraps (Paperback)

This is a wonderful book. I bought it because I had previously bought a stash of 5" squares and thought this would give me some ideas for using them. The ideas in this book go well beyond that, though. By simply cutting your scraps into 5" squares, or cutting a couple of 5" squares when you use fabric for another purpose, you can develop a stash that can be easily used for these beautiful, easy quilts. I recently made a wall quilt from one of the patterns, and could not believe how easy it was. Not only that, but the technique for creating four-patch units produced perfectly matched seams, something I've had trouble with as a new quilter. As some of the other reviewers have mentioned, changing the color schemes used in the book gives an entirely different look for the quilts. The other thing I loved is the opportunity for easy creativity. By rotating some of the blocks, use of color, and designing my own border using their patchwork units, I made my quilt look entirely different from the example in the book (which was beautiful in itself). I can't wait to play around more with the ideas...I'm going to try making miniature quilts using these techniques...and using EQ5 (quilt design software) to play around with the different looks you can create by rotating the blocks. This book will keep me occupied for a long time...
12/5/2003: It's now over a year later and I am still making quilts from this book (along with others). Just completed one that I'm very happy with...it looks almost nothing like the example in the book that prompted the idea. My least favorite part of quilting is cutting out the pieces, and this book's techniques take a lot of the tedium out of that, leaving more time to play around with the design. I have other more beautiful books but have made more quilts out of this one than any other.

25 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Techniques!, April 4, 2002

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Nickel Quilts: Great Designs from 5 Inch Scraps (Paperback)

I love the techniques taught in this book. Simple for beginners and great for experienced quilter's alike. Have recommended it to several friends who are teacher's.