You Can Make a Quilt Out of Triangles Created from Strips of Fabric
"A day patched with quilting seldom unravels."
Greetings Quilter - As I write this letter, the Quick Star Quilts project is not quite finished, but will be shortly. This has been a very fun project, and much easier than making a Broken Star quilt with all of its thousands of small diamonds. While some could argue about my fabric selection, as with many quilts, this was an overall experiment in using striped fabric.
As I cut the fabric for the center star, I realized that there was a little red strip running through the fabric, so I made sure to line that up as an added circle around the center. Originally I had planned to use a light blue fabric in the squares outside the star, thinking that the star would stand out from the light background. As I played with the various light blue fabrics on my flannel wall, I discovered that everything turned to “mush” with the light blue fabric. On a total whim I placed the dark purple fabric up on the wall, and decided it was the right choice. Then when it came time for the diamonds around the squares, I wanted to try something really different and move the placement of the template around the stripes in the fabric, thus creating different patterns in those diamonds. I liked it before I sewed it together, but now that it is at this point, I’m not so sure it might have been better to stick with one stripe through the center of the diamonds which might have created a kind of circle around the star. Who knows, I may decide to rip it out. Likely not. I may just make another one! m. mouse 15th birthday quilt
Next up is a quilt for m. mouse’s 15th birthday. You will read about several activities for his birthday between now and September. So far, I have the fabric and a tentative plan. I discovered the cat batik in my stash and have decided to use that as the central fabric. A quick trip to a local quilt shop netted the fabrics shown in the picture. Quite a variety, which should add some sparkle and interest to this quilt. He should look beautiful curled up on this quilt – all of the jewel colors a beautiful kitty deserves to have in his life.
I’m thinking about using a Cats and Mice quilt block that allows for some strip piecing, but haven’t committed to that as a final plan. I will be doing some drawing and experimenting with the fabrics to see what strikes me. A few weeks ago, I asked if there was any interest in doing some relatively live online classes. The response was fantastic, and many of you made suggestions that will make these even better than I had originally planned! As it is looking now, I will be offering a class each month (gasp!) on a different quilt. These quilts will be easy to make, and possibly could be made in one weekend. I will be posting all of the information and resources – including pattern, fabric requirements, instructions and any video – in TheQuiltingCoach.com. Most everything will be posted on a Friday evening and will remain accessible until the following Sunday evening – 10 days later. During that time, I will schedule times for live discussion – probably through our web seminar service, which is online and free. It is live but will not be audio. The questions and answers will be typed. In addition, I will be in a Discussion Forum in TheQuiltingCoach.com at various points during the week as well. This will be at all times of day and night, so everyone around the world will have access at a time that might be convenient for them – not every time will be a 3am! In the meantime, Happy Happy! And now for the rest of the news - - Happy Quilting!
How to Bind a Quilt Club and DVD This month’s Binding DVD will show you how to bind a quilt using striped binding. This takes a very traditional method of binding a quilt, and adds a little spice to it. The corners are mitered and generally this is a single fold binding. You will learn how to sew the strips together, cut the binding and sew it on for a perfect finish to your quilt. Active Square Patch and above members of TheQuiltingCoach.com and active members of the Official How to Bind a Quilt Club will receive this DVD for free as a benefit of their membership. Non members can order this DVD individually, or you can join the Club. Remember, the DVD showing how to bind a quilt using striped fabric will be available only until the end of May. Then it, too, disappears. You may have questions about the Binding Club, and here are the answers:
Eavesdrop on a Telephone Conversation - Lea Ingram
Lea Ingram is a quilter from Hawaii who makes some amazing quilts. Many of her quilts are created from fabric she dyes or paints.
Lea joins us on May 26 for our Eavesdrop on a Telephone Conversation. Mark your calendar - more information will be coming.
A Quilt Idea – Quilts from Strips Sewing quilt blocks from strips is a fairly common technique. So, it wasn’t too surprising when I found a book showing how to make triangles from strips. The method is really simple. You take two strips of fabric and sew them together. The width of each depends on your design choices. In the quilt on the left below, I sewed strips that were the same width. One strip was muslin and the other was a pink, or blue fabric. This was a kind of scrap quilts, so I used several different fabrics but all in the same color families of blue and pink. Once the strips were sewn, I pressed the seam allowances toward the darker fabric. Using a triangle template, I cut triangles from the strips. By turning the triangle template over, every piece you cut from the strip will be a triangle. This quilt was a gift for a retiring Librarian at my kids’ elementary school, so I wanted to have the stars (since we all thought she was a Star), and large spaces where parents and teachers could sign their greetings. Because of the design, I used only the triangles with the dark points. But, then I had a stack of triangles with just muslin points, and what to do with those? After some thought and playing on my flannel wall, I created this quilt. By sewing the triangles with the points together, it created simple squares, and by carefully arranging the dark strips, I could create a quilt with some dimension and some interesting sub-designs. You may notice the center X, and then the surrounding pink X with the darker X beyond that. There are a couple of other design features that showed up as well. I could have gone on with this quilt – or the other one for that matter. But I stopped when I ran out of triangle pieces.
Postcard Quilts for the Troops July 4th Roundup Next - Deadline MAY 20!
Penny's Postcard Posse has sent more than 15,000 fabric postcards to our troops in Iraq, Afghanistan and the hospital in Germany. As quilters, we know what those postcards mean to the men and women who recieve them. Some who get them receive no other mail from home. And for all of them, it's a reminder of the wonderful freedoms they are fighting for and the comforts they will enjoy when they return home. The 4th of July Roundup is in full swing - the deadline is May 20! It's not too early to start making patriotic cards for our 4th of July Roundup. This will mark our 4th Year! Check out the postcard patterns on www.QuiltBlockLibrary.com I will continue to add designs, and patterns for the fabric postcards are always free. Remember the Birthday Roundup - Diane had a great idea to send over a package of Birthday postcards that can be handed to soldiers the day of their birthday! What a great idea. So, we've set up a deadline of August 10, and there is plenty of time to get some postcards made by then. She will send over a big box and the soldier "in charge" can hand them out as birthdays arrive. I will be adding birthday-themed postcard designs to www.QuiltBlockLibrary.com, so keep on checkin' To make the 4th of July deadline, get your cards to Diane by May 20. Please send your cards to:
Diane is doing a fabulous job keeping the pictures updated, and if you have sent cards in, let your friends and family know that they can see pictures of them here: www.Fabric-Postcards.com Remember you can get FREE postcard patterns at: www.QuiltBlockLibrary.com Special Note - we are in the process of changing the Picture Gallery on the Fabric-Postcards.com site. It may take a few days, so bear with us. Not to worry - We have all of the pictures and will get everything squared away soon.
Featured Block in Video - Pineapple Quilt Block
Download the Pineapple Quilt Block
May Quilt Block Patterns The May selection of free quilt block patterns includes a variety of 4 patch quilt blocks, ranging from the easy to make to some that are a little more complex. Click here to download your May FREE quilt block patterns
Click here to download your May FREE quilt block patterns |
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