I dont like Charms...but......

[coffeebreak]

I started this discussion.....What's wrong with me? I can't believe I am saying this..... out or frustration and and got lots of suggestions. I was hanging around my sewing room....oh, excuse me...sewing studio (maybe if I change the name it will be more intriguing to me to be in there!) and i closing the drawer where i keep a few pack of charms...I noticed 3 packs I bought about 3 years ago... I think from M*...they were like $3.50 a pack and at the time I didn't know how to use them, but bought them anyway. Well, I knew one reason I dont' like charms is because they are just one charm of each of the fabrics in a line...meaning nothing matches and everything is different! I am to organized a person to have to deal with such....disorganization!
Well, anyway, they have sat there all this time and now today, I saw them and it hit me....someone said do something different in the other discussion...so I thought I'd try it! The charms are called "Lovely" by Debbie Beaves. What I thought was purple pansies when I bought them...turned out to be so much more....

I realized the other reason I don't like charms. TOO MANY prints/colors and nothing matches and many are a waste!
In this first picture...42 charms...some have one of each print/color, others have 2 of each print/color and 5 different prints and 5 different colors and even 2 more colors that didn't have anything that matched! my head was spinning! I just wanted some of the same! I get that a charm pak is a sampling of the full line, but still...make it one of each or cut down on how many colors and prints in a line...or just leave it as is and I wont' buy again!!!!

So I went through and put them all in order for print and color. Took out the green and yellows as neither color had that large pansies print that I was wanting. Took out the solids that didn't match the supposedly same color in the prints and took two each of those that had 2 and okay....totally confused now!

Anyway...I chose the third picture as what I was going to use. THe large pansy prints and couldn't figure how to fit the small flower print with them, so those are now in the waste pile and I took solids from my stash to match to each pansy print. I ended up with purple, blue and black colors, but the purple and blue are the flowers in them, but 2 have a beige background and one has a black background. See what I mean by to many colors and prints and so much going on!!! I started with a 42 pieces and ended up with 12 usable ones and had to add from my stash. Thankfully I have 3 packs and can take out the same from all three and maybe be able to use the other 6 smaller flower prints in this same way and make another quilt, but...still a pile of non usable charms. To me that is a waste of money. Not that charm packs are that expensive, but still...money is money and I have no used for what is about 1/2 of a charm pack. Oh well... at least they were not that expensive in the first place!

So I guess this is where it ends....now... for my question... what pattern/block suggestions do you have to use with 5" charms? I know I can make HST's but I was hoping for something bigger than that so you can see the panseys very good, so I don't think I want to cut the charms. I want more than just squares sewn together. The solids can be cut into 5" charms and also sashings...but I am not good at figuring pattern designs! Thanks for suggestions! And something else I am going to try that I have never done....I am a avid pre washer...but since charms shrink when pre washed... and since I want to use these and want 5" squares... I AM NOT PRE WASHING THE CHARMS!!!!!LOL!!!!! The solids are pre washed so whatever shrinking happens will happen only on the charm side, but still... I will be able to see how much shrinkage is and what it looks like as far as the crinkling effect goes. Should be interesting!

just can't come up with anything! What ideas do you all have?

[Doloris]

warm wishes

[Snip Snip]

I used a charm pack to cut into tumblers, just cutting so they were 3" on the small end, and 5" on the opposite end. Not much wasted that way.

[bec]

Cheri, what about something like this: ?Doubly charming? charm pack quilt tutorial | Sewn Up by TeresaDownUnder

I'll keep looking and add anything I find to this post.
If you get on Pinterest this page has some nice charm quilts. http://www.pinterest.com/sallie789/charm-pack-quilts/ The floating squares one would be nice. I know it's squares, but the shadowing makes it more interesting.


Just a thought...I know you are picky about the fabrics in the packs and I am too, but sometimes once you've incorporated the "not so pretty" ones into the quilt, they look fine. I made my mom this quilt below out of a jellyroll and there were a lot of fabrics that I wasn't crazy about...some I just didn't like, but it came out pretty anyway.

[JCY]

Square-in-a-Square. I'm working on that now using a combo of Fusions fabrics. I see you have the Lovely fabric. I still have my charm pack, too, as well as some matching yardage & FQs. There are so many tuts using charms. I'm sure you'll come up with something. JCY

[Sylvia H]

Oh dear! I hope I understand you dilemma. I too, find the grouping of a fabric line often hard to comprehend. But not as difficult as it is for you. I will just say that buying items like charm squares, jelly rolls and layer cakes are not for you.

For your charm squares, there is a pattern called "Falling Charms". That might be something you would like to do. You will need the charm squares, and a neutral jelly roll. Hopefully, someone else can link you to the tutorial.

Since you really don't like a total collection, maybe you can use you charm packs to make some charity quilts, and then go on to do what you do like.

[mpattylou]

falling charms M*QC tutorial

[Midge]

Sad realization with a silver lining, maybe? You don't like working with precuts and want more control over which items in a collection you will use in a quilt. Buying 3 charms @$3.50 is a fairly inexpensive lesson compared to some of the things we hear on this board, so I would guess you are lucky you have found this out now. Besides, there is no need to obsess over prewashing charms or other precuts. Just don't do it. If you really can't stand working with these charms, maybe someone here needs them and would trade you for something else. Why not check it out? I realized when I started working on this &*()$ quilt I am currently piecing that I only thought I liked the collection. In fact, I really don't like it at all. There is not enough of the right kind of variety in the prints. They are all florals. Blah. Not a geometric in sight. If this had been planned to be for me, I fear it would never be taken out of it's bin again. Fortunately I planned this for a gift. Sure hope she likes it more than I do. Feeling your pain of disappointment, for sure. Somehow it feels different to me when a precut dissapoints as opposed to a few cuts of yardage. You feel that too?

[vchale]

Here's what I decided to do with my "lovely" charms recently. Not original, somebody did something similar for iron quilter

[Angelia]

I did a "Lovely" Falling Charms: http://forum.missouriquiltco.com/mem...e-batting.html