Creating Scrap Blocks with Character

With this pleasing collection of animal and seasonal designs, quilting teacher Lebedenko provides a convincing answer to a question all crafters face at some point: what to do with leftover material. To that end, Lebedenko challenged herself to put her overflowing piles of scrap fabrics to good use, and the results are 60 scrap block patterns, all 3.5-inch squares and relatively easy to make using basic patchwork sewing. Creating blocks from many small bits of fabric will require patience, and perhaps some eye-strain, but the projects are appealing, and for beginners, Lebedenko provides a brief but informative section on putting a patchwork block together from start to finish. Seasonal delights include an assortment of Santa-themed blocks, which can be combined into holiday quilts or framed as stand-alone decorative items, and, for Halloween, ghosts, witches, and goblins. Meanwhile, pet lovers and fitness enthusiasts will appreciate Lebedenko’s Cat Yoga patterns, involving a remarkably flexible feline. Sewing and quilting artists with baskets of scraps will find enough projects to keep them occupied year-round. (Oct.)