JayeL – Page 176 – Artquiltmaker Blog

Bias Rectangles (HRTs) Resources

I have an idea to spice up the latest batch of 16 patch blocks I made for the BAMQG charity project using HRTs.

HRTs are half rectangle triangles, which are similar to half square triangles. This shape/block is also called a Bias Rectangle. I wanted to make them using a method similar to the Triangle Technique. Wouldn’t that be great? DH and SIL worked on the math, but they could only get one rectangle and a kite shape out of a similar method.

Sigh.

I went looking for tutorials.

Adrianne of ilovefabric.com and Little Bluebell blog uses one part of the Tri-Recs ruler. She shows a top in the post that she made and details how the ruler works. If you are doing Bonnie Hunter’s 2016 mystery quilt, you need this ruler set anyway. You can buy it for the mystery quilt and have it for HRTs.

It might be easier to cut these shapes if you had a cutting mat turntable. Martelli has one that includes an ironing surface.

The Modern Quilt Guild posted a tutorial on bias rectangles. The tutorial shows how to make 4.5 x 6.5 inch final block size, but notes that the tutorial works for any size as long as you use the same sized rectangles. The tutorial includes directions for “squaring” up the blocks (a rectangle made up of two triangles).

Wayne Kollinger also posted 3 (yes, THREE) different tutorials for making HRTs. First, he talks about just cutting fabric. No tools or special rulers. Wayne’s second method also uses the Tri Recs ruler. The third tutorial uses freezer paper. One thing Wayne says is “the rectangles are twice as long as they are wide. This means that for a 6″x6″ block the rectangles would have a finished size of 2″x 4″. For a 9″x9″ block the rectangles would have a finished size of 3″x6″.”, which is very helpful information moving forward.

Heidi at Buttons and Butterflies posted a tutorial includes what not to do, which is a great illustration of what I found out from DH’s mathematical adventures. From the tutorial you can see what happens without having to do it yourself. 😉 There are a few different techniques included in this post including an Accuquilt technique. The Accuquilt die has the tips cut off for easier matching of patches. She finishes up with a tutorial similar to the Modern Quilt Guild tutorial. Heidi also talks about the differences in HRTs, which I was glad about since I didn’t realize some of the things she discusses.

Kristi of the Schnitzel and Boo Blog uses a similar technique to Heidi, but sews on each side of the center line to make her HRTs in her post. The post includes a quilt tutorial/pattern as well.

Marjorie Rhine from Quilt Woman has a PDF discussthe topic, including three options for making the blocks. One is to use a template, similar to my tutorial on using templates. I supposed the Tri Recs ruler discussed above would also work. Also mentioned are the Marti Michell’s Template Set D or Margaret Miller’s AnglePlay Template. The latter is a companion to a couple of books. She includes paper piecing and using templates as techniques. The PDF includes a lot of useful information.

These can also be made using foundation piecing. Printing a template from EQ7 or drawing the paper template is also possible.

Finally, I have a ruler called a BiRangle ruler. It is by Martingale (I bought it when the company was called That Patchwork Place).

Sew Mama Sew has a tablerunner pattern. She talks about why the Triangle Technique does not work for HRTs.

November 2016 To Do List

I am pleased to report I have used about 145 yards of fabric this year. Isn’t that crazy? I can hardly believe it. I still have to work on using more and I am sure I can use at least another few by the end of the year.
November To Do

Wash fabric AKA The Great Unwashed-some progress
Cut out 3 notepad covers for gifts
Finish cutting out Day in the Park backpack variation
Cut out Art supplies pincushion
Sew Art supplies pincushion
Sew purple pincushion
~~Quilt Thanksgiving tablerunner #2~~
~~Quilt Thanksgiving tablerunner #3~~
Quilt Thanksgiving table mat
Make Chubby Charmer for SIL
*~~Bind Thanksgiving Tablerunner #2~~
*~~Bind Thanksgiving Tablerunner #3~~
*~~ATCs for December 2016 CQFA meeting~~

*New since last post

Finished since December 2015 post

Pull fabrics for QuiltCon class
Quilt Thanksgiving tablerunner #1
Cut out Anna Maria Horner Multi-tasker tote
Cut out Art supplies Sew Together Bag
Finish cutting out 3rd Petrillo bag
Cut out Thanksgiving tablerunner #1
Cut out Thanksgiving tablerunner #2
Cut out Thanksgiving tablerunner #3
Cut out Thanksgiving table mat
ATCs for CQFA December meeting
Finish sewing Anna Maria Horner Multi-tasker tote -this was a gift I intended to give during Holiday 2013- sigh. Missed 2014 Holiday deadline as well. I made it for birthday 2016 and it was a successful gift.
Sew Art supplies Sew Together Bag
Cut out Purple Sew Together Bag
Sew Purple Sew Together Bag
Bind Thanksgiving tablerunner #1
Make binding for Flowerburst
Quilt Christmas table runner
Sew Bon Appetit apron
Sew 3rd Petrillo Bag
Create Partial Seam tutorial

City Sampler Blocks

I am out of cut white squares for charity blocks, so I used pieces for the City Sampler blocks as leaders and enders while I was sewing the Peacock together this past weekend.

I was able to finish a total of 6 blocks, which still makes me under 50 done, but progress is progress. I am still on the triangle blocks and my machine really likes eating the corners when I use the method Tula Pink suggests. I was grumpy making these blocks and ordered more Northcott charm packs to use for the donation blocks.

I added a few new fabrics from the group I recently washed to spice things up. They are all in the blue-green range, so they will go. I know I said before that I had too many, but clearly now I don’t care.

I don’t have a lot of fabrics in my group that are good for fussy cutting, so I did the best I could. I am pleased with the way the ice cream block came out.

Of the above blocks, I really only like the one in the upper right hand corner. I like of the fabrics in all of the blocks, but don’t much like the block designs and not just because my machine ate the corners. I particularly dislike the one in the upper left hand corner. It looks like baby blocks and I don’t think it came out well. The piecing is really wobbly due to the above referenced machine hunger and because of the many small pieces. I may redo as suggested by some on Instagram, but it will probably just blend in by the time I get all of the other blocks made.

I do like the two I made yesterday and think that simple is better for the small size of these blocks. I am really looking at the one on the left and thinking about making it super big – bed sized, in fact for one of the nephews. I have to figure out how big that would actually be. I can see the block as a quilt in, from the top down, Kona Ash, scarlett and black. I would probably do a test block first to check the color choices, then see if American Made Brands or Art Gallery has a similar solid color to Kona Ash.

Finished: FOTY 2015

Someone asked me why I finished FOTY 2014 in 2015 instead of in 2014. This was before my trip, so the comment annoyed me. Now that I am much calmer and have had time to think about it, I realized that some people may not understand the concept. Don’t worry I am not going to rehash it here, but you can see a detailed explanation of the concept on the Works in a Series page about the Fabric of the Year quilts.

I finished FOTY 2015 last week (or perhaps the week before). I was still sewing on the sleeve when I took it to BAMQG last weekend for show and tell.I needed DH to help me photograph it and that didn’t happen until last night.

I am pleased with how it came out. I really like the layout using rectangles and squares. The two different shapes add interest, I think.

I used large pieces for the back, which should come as no surprise. I have been trying to minimize the fiddly little piecing I can get into for backs. I like large print fabrics and the ultimate goal is to get backs done. I need more of that yellow fabric as I used the last bit for the EPP Stars and was short one leg of the EPP stars.

I have started cutting for FOTY 2016.

ColorPlay: Soup Tureen

My recent trip to Austria was a complete feast for the eyes. Everywhere I looked I wanted to capture the images – the layering, the lines and especially the color.

It is hard to choose a favorite museum, but right now I am in love with the Silberkammer in Vienna. It is the museum of the Kitchens and Dining of the Hapsburgs. There are dishes, serveware and set tables everywhere. Above shows one of the rooms of the pantries that remain. There were several, but some are now used for other purposes. Ever since I saw the butler’s pantry at my friend Kathy’s childhood home in Upstate New York, I have wanted a pantry. Of course, the one shown above would take up half of the main floor of my house (kitchen, dining room and part of the living). To have somewhere to keep china, crystal and silver would be fantastic.

One of the sets of china includes a soup tureen decorated with a lovely jade color. I am using it as our color play today.

The color scheme the Palette Builder tool originated was all neutrals. That lovely green color was not included. I didn’t even save that palette. I moved all the circles around to come up with something better

It is interesting that the green is considered Kona Bluegrass. I’ll have to go and look up what color Kona Jade is, if there is such a color.

Again the tool had problems with the pinks/fuschias. I moved the little bubble around quite a bit and the Kona Crimson was the only red I could get. I think the angle of the photo had something to do with the results as well.

I would definitely change out some of the colors if I made a quilt with this color palette.

Let me know your thoughts or if you make something from this color palette.

Peacock Details

The Peacock "border" details — The Peacock “border” details

As I mentioned the other day, I was able to piece in some of the small blocks.

It isn’t a very linear or straightforward process and there is a lot of fiddling that goes on.

One issue I am having is with measurements. I know each row is 3.5″ wide, so I have cut solids + seam allowance to make up that size with the small blocks. I still run short and have to add other pieces of fabric. I do like the texture the added seams give the piece. However, it is still annoying. I can’t figure out what I am doing wrong.

The Peacock "border" detail — The Peacock “border” detail

I didn’t put a small block on the end of the bottom (first) row and am kind of regretting that. I have a lot of small blocks I want to use and may need to go back and add one. However, the top right hand corner background area is pretty blank and may need some mall blocks there to lighten it up.

You can see the not all of the row ends are sewn on the right side. I am leaving the design open to add more small blocks. I didn’t do that on the left and may need to add some additional yardage to the ends. We’ll see. It may be that I concentrate the small blocks on the top and right.

I am adding different colored solids that kind of match the colors of the print fabrics on the edges and to fill in the background. I bought some solids from the line of fabric, but I have others that go with the fabrics as well. the shiny green solid you see above is one of the first fabrics I bought when I made my first quilt. I have been keeping it all this time and I think it is the right color for this piece.

I bought a lot of black with the intention of using black for the entire background. While I need to drape a piece of black up on the right-top, I decided that it will probably make the quilt too depressing. I am also thinking of using a variety of solids.

The dark blues at the top are ok, but the lavender might be too light.

The Peacock - in process, October 2016 — The Peacock – in process, October 2016

PIQF 2016 Review

Last Sunday, I took some time to visit PIQF, the Pacific International Quilt Show put on by the Mancuso family. It was, again held at the Santa Clara Convention Center. I was pleased that there was no 49ers game (the stadium is across the street) as I had no interest in fighting THAT traffic.

It was the last day of the quilt show and I could tell all of the vendors were tired. I wasn’t able to find any Aurifil #2600 50wt and found that many of the vendors were out of the most popular items.

In general, I thought that the show showed a slight improvement this year. In terms of quilts shown, I found them brighter and more cheerful.

detail of Ophelia by Marilyn Farquhar, Heidelberg, Ontario, Canada

The machine work was still excellent and quiltmakers seem to continue to push the boundaries. The Best of Show was someone new this year, which also pleased me. There were new vendors and some vendors had been moved around.

The modern exhibit was really excellent and number of BAMers had quilts in that exhibit.

I saw many more Southern California and out of state quiltmakers showing than Northern California quiltmakers. I wonder about that: first, is my impression correct; second: why are more So-Cal and out of state people entering and are we Northern Californians not entering as much? I know I did not enter a quilt this year.

I drove with my SIL down to the show. She spent most of the show talking to longarm vendors. I got her take on the machines during lunch and the drives. I was really glad the show provided her the opportunity to talk to multiple vendors in one place. While she was doing that, I walked up and down nearby aisles and was able to look at most of the vendors and quilts while she got the information she needed from various longarm vendors.

Untitled by Linda Evans of Murrieta, Calif.

I have always wanted to make a season quilt. I don’t know why, but I like the imagery of the seasons indicating the passage of time.

I am not sure I need to make a seasons quilt now as this one is really great. I love the curviness of the shapes and imagery. Of course, there were things I would do differently, so, perhaps, I do need to make one. 😉

I was pleased to see one Tula Pink City Sampler quilt, Teal in the City by Elaine Lindsay, Cupertino Calif. Seeing this quilt inspired me to continue working on mine. I like the way Ms. Lindsay used a cohesive color palette. The blocks really fit together. I also like the different sashing colors for her blocks. That is a good idea. Seeing a done City Sampler in person also gives me an idea of the size. It is large but not crazy large. It would probably fit on our bed, if we needed another bed quilt. 😉

Cactus Fish, a collaboration between Freddy Moran and Alethea Ballard, Walnut Creek, Calif.

You might remember that I talked about Freddy Moran’s new ‘appliquilt’ style of work. I was pleased to see one of her quilts, Cactus Fish, a collaboration with Alethea Ballard, in this style at the show. It was one of the quilts she showed in July. I just can’t remember if it was finished at the time or if it was still in progress.

One day isn’t really enough. I walked down a couple of rows twice, once by myself and once with SIL. I found myself not remembering the quilts I had already seen. I consider myself someone with a good visual memory. I may need to rethink that. There is a lot of visual stimulation at a quilt show and even I couldn’t take it all in in one day.

Some themes I noticed:

several Peacock quilts
Ophelia by Marilyn Farquhar, Heidelberg, Ontario, Canada

secondarily, a number of interesting animal quilts – not in a photorealism style, which I appreciated
fewer dark landscape quilts
less photorealism
fewer art quilts, though the ones I did see were interesting.
I noticed a number of brighter, more whimsical quilts
There was a lot more negative space, even in quilts not in the Modern exhibit

Some improvements the Mancusos could still make:

white drapes instead of black would lighten up the whole show.
continue to vett vendors and replace out of date/boring vendors
more modern vendors
require vendors to have new fabrics, not just old stuff they keep in their traveling kit
limit non-quilt supplies vendors

Of course, I am not a quilt show organizer (though I am happy to consult!) and I am glad to have such a large show so close to me. It is easy for me to say what I think should be changed, but it is not always easy to make the changes. Incremental changes are easier to make and less of a risk. I wish they would publish year over year attendance records, so I could see how the changes they made this year affected attendance, though they might not see an increase until next year.

I bought a few things, but not the items that were on my list. The fabric will be a quick quilt for the grandson of one of my Austrian friends. I want to finish (work on??) the Windmill quilt. Since I still have not been able to find the template I bought another. Silly, but necessary. I also am always on the hunt for sharp needles with big eyes. I bought another Tulip brand pack to try them on Under the Sea.

ColorPlay Mountains

Once again, I used the palette builder to…well… build some palettes for you.

The photo is a photo I took from the car window as my friends drove me around GroBes Walser Tal in Vorarlberg, Austria. I chose this picture deliberately because there were a lot of blues and I wanted to see if the Palette Builder could deal with them.

I am pretty pleased with the palette the tool built. I didn’t even move the circles around.

I like some of the colors in the second palette, but I am not as excited about it overall. Peacock and Glacier are two of my favorite Kona solid colors. The others are ok.

This is a fun tool, as I have said, and I could make 50 more palettes with this one photo. Go and make a quilt with this palette.

Stepping Stones Progress

I spent some time over the weekend working on the Stepping Stones. I am ready to just piece without thinking. It never seems to work out, though. I always have to do some deciding or planning or math.

This past weekend required all three. As you might remember from my last update, I had some HSTs to make and was putting it off. I finally made them when I needed some easy piecing. I made a bunch so I would have some choice when I made a few more blocks to complete the top. After I made the HSTs and completed the leftover partial block, the question of the border came to mind.

I sat down to look at the EQ plan I had and found that I hadn’t completed it. I wasn’t 100% happy with the border I designed for the original Stepping Stones quilt. It is in no way terrible, but I wanted to finish off the groups of squares (red 4 patches set in groups of four, above).

I played around with EQ and came up with a new design. I am not sure it is the final for a couple of reasons:

I don’t know that the groups of red 4 patches in the corners add anything
I am not sure about the blue/green HSTs in the very corner. They add a little something, like breaking up a series of squares, but they don’t have any reference anywhere else in the quilt.

I am absolutely sure that I am happy with the red points that go into the border to finish off the scrappy lines of red that are made of HSTs throughout the quilt.

I want to get the border settled so I can start putting the whole top together via chunking. For chunking, I need to start in one of the corners.

More Pulse Quilts

I have been collecting a random assortment of photos of Pulse quilts as I see them posted on Instagram. You can see many, many more by searching the hashtag #quiltsforpulse regularly.

Kathy Matthews posted hers. Kathy did a really nice design branching off from the original heart pattern. Kathy’s layout would be a great baby quilt or off-to-college design as well. I can imagine it in blacks and reds. My mind is spinning with the possibilities.

The Orlando Modern Quilt Guild updated their meeting minutes and included a detailed description of their Pulse Project progress. The scale of this project boggles my mind. I am amazed at what they have accomplished. It is especially moving when the numbers of quilts and what they did to blocks and pieces they received is taken into consideration. The outpouring of love is amazing.

The guild is on schedule and has begun to give out some of the quilts. Click on the hashtag above to see some photos of one of the ceremonies.

BAM sent off two quilts recently and Cheryl posted photos of them.

Good job, everyone!

Petrillo Bag #3

My third Petrillo bag has been on the To Do list for a long time. Before I went on my trip, I decided to sew it, as I mentioned when I enumerated the bag hacks. I also worked on it, because the Peacock was acting like a beast and I wasn’t feeling the quilt love, in general.

I really was almost done cutting it out. I felt kind of stupid the whole time I finished the cutting for letting it lie so long. It took me a few days to sew it, longer than it should have, because I had to rip a few seams and make a new main flap.

I have used it a few times and am linking it. I haven’t filled it to overflowing, so I don’t know if it will really work for a long conference where I can’t easily return to my hotel, but so far so good.

The hack I sewed to the stabilize pocket makes a huge difference when I carry things around. The zipper pocket doesn’t sag. I am mad at myself for not adding vinyl to the bottom. I have to worry a lot more about where I set it.

Last of the Flying Geese

I took a photo of the last few Flying Geese I made before I went on vacation.

This is a cheerful bunch and I am pleased with them.

My next step is to make a block, per my design, and see if it works. The Round and Round pattern is a genius way to use the Friendship Star and I really like the pattern. Combining it with the Flying Geese will be an interesting challenge.

ColorPlay Chocolate

Yes, I am going to torture you today. I am not really very sorry. It is helping me to remember my trip.

Milka is a brand of chocolate sold in Austria. Occasionally, I can buy it at World Market, but not regularly. It might be sold elsewhere, but it is not widely available here in the US. When I visit friends in Austria, I indulge.

Yes, chocolate snobs are sticking their noses up, because this bar is made from milk chocolate. I am also a dark chocolate fan, but this milk chocolate is no Hershey’s. It is so creamy and rich that it calms fretful children and makes grown men weep when they eat it.

Now that you are frantically rummaging through your desk drawers looking for chocolate crumbs, let’s get to the ColorPlay. 😉

I took the wrapper and ran it through the Palette Builder tool. If you still haven’t tried it, get some colorful photos and have some fun.

I didn’t crop this photo, but when I ran it through the tool, I moved the circles off the background and focused on the wrapper. Yes, I can control the colors to a certain degree, as you know, by moving the little circles around. The palette above is a little heavy with those particular shades of red and green. Thus, I decided to make a new palette and try to make it lighter.

Perhaps the Daffodil and Ruby, in the middle photo above, add to the palette in ways that I cannot imagine without sewing. My favorite, however, is the second palette. Yes, there is a lot of purply tones, but it feels lighter and fresher to me. What do you think?

The whole idea is to give you ideas for palettes for your quilts, so let me know if you create a project with either of these palettes.

The Peacock Progresses

During the past little while, I have been flinging curses at the Peacock as it sits on my design wall, taking up space and glaring smugly at me.

No more.

I made two cuts on Sunday and was off. With those two rotary cut strips, everything changed. Finishing the piecing actually became possible…. no probable. I only had time for a little work on it, but the piece progresses. I am snatching bits of time where I can and making some progress. It is amazing how something can change so quickly. I do think that, more importantly, my attitude about the project changed.

First, I had along rest with absolutely no sewing. The closest I came was visiting a craft shop that carried quilt fabrics and magazines.

Next, solving the problem of squaring up the piece began to rumble around in the back of my mind until I had a solution I wanted to try. Two cuts and I realized that what I wanted to do would work and it was actually a reasonable idea.

The idea was to cut 3.5″ strips (same width as half one of the blocks), cut a 60 degree angle on one side and sew it to the edge blocks. These short strips work. The black, with which I have started, blends nicely in with the very darkest blocks.

Third, I started to move the blocks around after taking some photos. Some of the blocks looked out of place in the photos. Moving them make the piece come together better.

In the photo, right, I have moved some of the solids around to try and blend the background a little better. I haven’t tried super hard yet and I know I won’t be able to blend as well as I do with the Fabric of the Year quilts, but I want to give the impression of a bit of blending going on. That I immediately started to blend the blocks into an Impressionist look tells me I have much more color blending in my future.

Most importantly, I have changed out the black on the bottom and used green (see arrows at the bottom). The black was too jarring near some blocks that had no black. The green isn’t a perfect match to those feather blocks, but it is the green I used in the other feather blocks.

I am also trying out some of the blues at the top, but I am thinking they may be too dark and I might try some light blue. I have a stack of solids I can try. I just haven’t tried very hard to find the right one yet.

I plan to have a sort of irregular line of blocks, as the quilt looks now, though the background will make the quilt square. There are still some unknowns. I don’t know what the quilt will look like exactly. I am not sure how I will make the small blocks float around the edges as you see them now. I will let it mull in the back of my mind and see what comes up.

S	M	T	W	T	F	S
	1	2	3	4	5	6
7	8	9	10	11	12	13
14	15	16	17	18	19	20
21	22	23	24	25	26	27
28	29	30