Twisting Triangles

Yes yes yes...I should be unpacking...I should be reorganizing...I should be cleaning, I should be, should be...  What is that saying?  The Inbox is never empty?  Well, exactly.

I have had this idea in my head for the whole summer and I know if I don't try to work it out in fabric then it will disappear poof!  Of course, you know what happened right?  I started working on my idea and instead of resolving my creative itch...it only launched a whole new set of creative questions: do I change the colors around, should I place the pieces in this formation, should there be sashing, how big should this be...  Hahahahaa!  Perhaps you can help me with some answers feel free to comment and let me know what you think!

Begonia Escargot

My idea started with wanting a swirl design.  I saw a plant that had a swirly leaf and thought how cool would that be in a quilt block?  I am sure I could have just found a traditional block that is a swirl...but that would be logical and of course I didn't go that route.  Instead I started making some sketches.

As you can see in this (pathetic) sketch my original idea was to make the center the focal point.  Kind of like a twisty star.  I think this could be really amazing with a solid center.

Then the more sketching I did I kind of liked the idea of making the little corners where the blocks would come together be the focal point.  See this sketch above?  I thought if the edged fabric really stood out then it would create these cool stars where the blocks meet as opposed to the centers of the blocks.

I had this fabric my friend bought me as a gift during a weekend away with her husband.  Isn't that nice? She goes away with her husband for a weekend...and comes back with fabric for me!  I know I am truly lucky to have such friends who feed my addiction!

Anyway the fabrics (above) include some classic fabric patterns all with red accents.  I have the most of the yellow and red...so I thought I would start with a square where the edge of the triangles are yellow thinking that the yellow would stand out and create these stars when placed together...  Well that isn't exactly what happened...

First Triangle with Yellow Corner Edge

Paper Template

After creating the first triangle I realized I didn't really have a template to make the subsequent triangles.  I traced my first triangle and used it as a base for the subsequent triangles.  This is not to be confused with Paper Piecing, which I am dying to try but wasn't about to start that late last night!  [Interested in paper piecing?  Go check out this paper piecing tutorial from Fresh Lemons Quilts.]

Guidelines for Strip Seams

I decided I wanted to have the seems of the fabric going in the same general direction even though they are all different widths.  I made some general guidelines using my first triangle to get the same "twist" on the direction of the seams for the subsequent the triangles.

Pardon my fuzziness!

This is me trying to get creative with the strips of fabric I had.  I really only have a tiny bit of some of these fabrics, I think a fat eight in certain cases, so I was using everything I possibly could for my "test piece."

Twisting Triangle Square Version 1

center detail

And here it is!  My first block of Twisting Triangles.  The idea was for the yellow to pop...hahahaha but it doesn't does it?!?  Instead my eye is immediately drawn to the large blocks of red and white fabrics.  That isn't to say I don't like the result...it just wasn't my intention.

Twisting Triangles Block Version 2

Then I switched around the triangles to create a different version of the square.  I love how some of the fabrics line up to make a spiral which was does, after all, trace back to my inspiration for this.

This last photo is me completely fooling around with the triangles.  I actually loved this but am not sure how it would look with more squares.  These happen to line up almost perfectly!  When I make more triangles I am going to see how they line up...this seems like a coincidence in this case.

To decide whether I liked the overall result I made up a doc in Pages to see what additional blocks would do for the pattern.  Granted I was only working with copies of two Block Versions...but still I think that there could be some possible tweaking.  The yellow really doesn't pop...instead it outlines the bold red, brown, white twisted spirals.

Thoughts:

I'm thinking that if I want that pop result then I am going to have to switch up these fabrics.  It would be best with the white at the bottom edge because it shows up the most...unfortunately it is one of the fabrics I do not have in excess.  Instead, I may go back to my first idea of the center being the focal and keep the white fabrics to the center.  

Maybe my fabrics are too varied for this idea...but I still like the concept.  My next attempt with this will utilize solids and a more monochromatic scheme.  For now though, I want to continue in this vein using these fabrics because I believe the small prints lend themselves to a complicated design such as this one.

Lastly - it is August.  Why do I insist on working in dark colors?  I need to get back to  the Spinning Stars Quilt!  Envision me knocking forehead with heel of palm.

Funky Aboriginal Windows [2 - Cutting the Top Fabric]

Alright...last time I wrote about the Funky Aboriginal Window Quilt ("FAW") I explained that Shirley and I had decided on the size for our squares.  To briefly recap we decided on sixteen 14" squares, each with a 2" Frame, and a 10"x10" Center, and a 3" border around all sixteen squares.  Feel free to visit Part 1 with my digital diagram here.

Before I go any further - yes - I know that there are some of you (mmm...like probably my mother) who are wondering "whatever happened to that Spinning Stars Quilt and the Squishes' Bedroom?"  Never fear, I have not forgotten.  But, let's be honest, I am a project whore.  Yup, I cheat on my projects.  Shrug, there I said it!  It just keeps me motivated to keep going if I have ten things going at the same time.  I have always been ashamed of this until I read about another quilter and her own struggles with "project monogamy." I was immediately relieved to know I am not the only one!  Thank you Marianne from The Quilting Edge!  So yes, I do have updates on those projects as well as a few others I have started but this is the one I am writing about now...I promise to report back on the others later.  

Focusing on the task at hand...Cutting top fabric for FAW.  I am going to break it down into what you Need to complete this pattern and what I Did.

Top Fabric: At Least 8 but No More than 13 Aboriginal Fabrics

I say at least 8 because that is enough to make 16 Squares and move things around and provide variety so long as you don't mind that every fabric will be used as both a Center Square and a Frame Twice.   Why no more than 13?  Well, as I hope you will see from my photos below, this fabric does amazing things when paired with its various friends.  It is an exercise in complementary colors and reminds me of an optical illusion as Fabric A with Fabric B looks X, meanwhile Fabric A with Fabric C looks Y.  Therefore, it is a positive to have duplicates to create this dichotomy.  What is even greater is that the same fabric can be in your layout multiple times but it is not obvious as it adapts itself different depending on its frame.  

Shirley and I started with 12 different top fabrics (excluding the total border which would create 13).  This is what gives us the freedom to be picky about the composition of our Centers as well as the overall quilt layout because we have extra fabrics to move around and pair with each other.  Some fabrics we chose only to use as Frames while others we opted to use as Center Squares twice.  One thing to keep in mind is that this fabric is heavily patterned and having MORE allows you to be picky about what part of the pattern of each fabric you'd like to use as a Center.  The patterns change so quickly within one Fat Quarter or 1/2 Yard that there are multiple options as to where to orient your Center.  Having additional fabric allows you to choose without worrying about whether you will have enough left over for Frames.

If you are careful about your cutting, and are not particular about where the orientation of your Center Square is, then you can happily cut 2 Centers and 1 Frame from only a Fat Quarter of fabric.  See Diagram Below.   [NOTE: This method only renders 1 Frame per FQ.   Keep that in mind when preparing your math and mental layouts in head.  You will need more than FQs cut in this method to achieve enough Frames and Centers, but cutting in this method will allow you to utilize almost all the FQ and create more than one Center per FQ if that is necessary in your particular design.]  

Tangent (i.e. feel free to skip over)

For you experienced quilters and fabric devotees out there - yes - cutting this way is cutting selvage to selvage.  There is an ongoing debate amongst quilters as to whether to cut perpendicular/parallel to selvage.  As someone who had "no cutting against the grain" beat into her from an early point in her textile career I still cringe a bit when I do this.  But, the experienced quilter in me knows when it is okay and when it is not.  Cutting selvage to selvage (as opposed to along the selvage) may create strips of fabric that are stretchy depending on your fabric.  They appear innocent enough cut, but regret comes later when you begin to sew.  It has to do with the way fabric is woven, cutting with the selvage is cutting along the warp as opposed to the weft - blah blahdety blah - you have to be a weaver to care.  Anyway, my point: in certain patterns I would tsk tsk this method, but this aboriginal fabric is sturdy cotton and the stretch is minimal so don't worry about it.  Rules are created to be broken after all.

Online Aboriginal Fabric Resources

Canton Village Quilt Works

Fabric Indulgence and Art Supply
Sarah's Fabric

What To Cut

Total Yardage --> 3 yards
This can be made up in a number of ways [12 FQs or 9FQs and 3 Half Yards or 8 FQs and 2 Half Yards, and so on...] depending on what number of fabrics you choose for your pattern.  

16 Center Squares --> 10" x 10" Center Squares (duplicates encouraged)

16 Sets of Frames --> (2) 2.5" x 10.5" strips, (2) 2.5" x 14.5" strips each fabric (duplicates encouraged)

For Reference these are our fabric choices and how I cut it:

Whew, once you have all of your 16 Centers and 16 Frames cut it is time to lay those babies out and arrange things how you want your quilt top to look.  Let me tell you, this can be tough!  The fabric is so diverse and there are so many awesome (as in "extremely impressive or daunting" and not "yeah dude, cool) combinations.  Be prepared to stand in awe as your layout develops...this fabric is so mesmerizing!

I am going to reserve our final layout for the Top Fabric in my next post.  I intended to do it all together...but this post is longer than I expected.   No, I do not regret making my geeky diagrams, ahem!  My delay has more to do with the fact that after playing with our layout Shirley and I saw one glaring issue in our fabric choices...  Do you see it?  

Even a quick layout on the dining room table reveals that your eye is drawn to the BLACK FRAMES!

Those black frames stand out so much that we regrouped and ordered another fabric to see if we could balance things out a little more.  I'll introduce you to our new fabric and our layout in Part 3...

- rebecca lynne

Funky Aboriginal Windows

Carlene Westberg's Funky Windows Quilt

Ever since I saw this Funky Windows Quilt designed by Carlene Westberg I have been trying to find the right fabric to make it!  I bought the pattern from Carly almost a year ago and still it sits lonely in my pile of Quilts to Create gathering dust.

Then it hit me...a few months ago my friend, and mother-in-law, Shirley introduced me to aboriginal fabric produced by M&S Textiles.  We fell in love with the crazy colors and unique patterns that we immediately began collecting various fat quarters and half yards to create a quilt.  At first I suggested we create a Brick Path Quilt a la Amy Butler's Lotus Brick Path Quilt.  The Brick Path quilt design is great for modern large patterned fabric and is very simple to create using strips of large rectangles.  It is one of my favorite patterns and I've had great success using it with Anna Maria Horner's Good Folks Collection (adore this collection - it is hard to find today but I've had luck finding it on www.Etsy.com)

Amy Butler's Brick Path Quilt Design in Lotus

When I recently saw the aboriginal fabric again in person I noticed that the fabrics are so varied with slight overlaps in common coloring and small circle designs that I immediately thought of the Funky Windows Quilt.  What better way to literally frame the unique aboriginal designs while celebrating their contrast with each other?  After bouncing the idea off Shirley I decided to hop on the computer to try to make a draft image of what the squares could look like using our fabric collection...

After playing around with this image we laid out the fabric and tried it in person on Shirley's dining room table.  I wasn't able to snap a photo (my camera was being held hostage in my daughter's room...while she slept) so you'll just have to take my word for it that it looked amazing!

Now came the quilting math that each quilter either Loves or Hates.  Personally, I am a hater of Quilt Math but a lover of coming up with my own spontaneous patterns.  As a result I am notorious for compensating by buying too much fabric in my efforts to sidestep worrying about whether I will end up with enough.  Inevitably this leads to a grumbling husband about extra bits of this and that fabric everywhere...but it leaves me with a mean patchwork quilt or diaper clutch every so often!  (In other words, worth the grumbling.)  Anyway, I digress, in this instance we had already purchased the fabric and had to modify the original Funky Windows pattern (which calls for 32 Fat Quarters) to our own fabric stash.

My Math Sheet to Figure Out Squares

We ultimately decided on a pattern of sixteen 14" squares.  Although the original Funky Windows pattern calls for rectangles of varying sizes we are going to create all the same shaped square.  Given that the aboriginal fabric is so varied we believe the quilt will be busy enough using one consistent shape.  Each square will have a 10"x10" center and a 2" border.   To set off and frame the overall quilt we are also including a 3" border around the entire sixteen squares to create a 62" quilt.  Stay tuned to get the complete pattern and photos of the design layout in a future post!

- rebecca lynne