Wednesday, April 7, 2010

I Know You Can Do It . . . . .

It's Easter Wednesday....just kidding, I put my Easter decorations back in their box yesterday. But I wanted to share the cute Easter card my daughter sent me this year,


bunny and chicks . . . in cupcake papers....how perfect is that!! She's good about finding just the right card for me. I have several of them setting out in my sewing room, I can't bear to throw them away. I packed this card up with the Easter decorations so I can enjoy it all over again next year.


Are you ready for a challenge?

At least 4 years ago I signed up for a reversible/quilt as you go class. Do you remember that quilt pattern....


you sew these triangles and strips onto a 10 inch piece of quilt batting to make a block. The block on the left is the front side and the block on the right is the back side.

Once you finish the blocks there are unlimited possibilities on how to place the blocks to create different designs,


like this....


and this.

When you've finished piecing the blocks, you connect the blocks by adding sashing, and the quilt is all done, pieced and quilted at the same time.
A very clever idea!

I enjoyed the class, my classmates were a fun group and the teacher was great.....the method, not me. I love this poppy fabric by Pamela Mostek for Clothworks and decided it deserved to be in a better pattern. So I threw away all my 10 inch blocks of batting and put the fabric in a project box, waiting for the perfect pattern. ( I know you're cringing at the thought of me tossing those batting blocks...I'm sorry, I'm just not a keeper!) I have since learned not to cut ALL the fabric for a project until you know if you're going to like that project!!

So here's the challenge......

Can you think of a pattern that will use


these triangles,


and these triangles,

these 2 inch wide strips,

this companion fabric,


AND this large poppy fabric?

Note: the triangles, when pieced together, make a 10 inch square.

I am so hoping there is someone out there that looks at these pieces and says, "Yes, I know just the thing". I've been looking for at least 4 years and have not come up with anything. I toyed around with a Lady of the Lakes block with the light poppies on top and the dark poppies on the bottom of the large center hst, but I'm hoping for something better than that.

I'm open minded about cutting the triangles or any of the fabric, so don't think we have to stay within the parameter of the piece's current shape and or size, or use all the companion fabric, I mainly want to do something with the poppy fabric.

If I make a quilt using a pattern that you suggest, I'll reward you with a surprise. What, I don't know, I guess it depends on what I think you'll like, but you could be a winner AND make me a very very happy happy quilter.

As Gomer Pyle used to say, "Thank You, Thank You, Thank You"


14 comments:

  1. You could always make the friendship quilt block which is the block in the quilt on the header of my blog. Poppies and I just love them would look perfect in the centre and the triangles on the outside :-)
    Cheers
    Lynne

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  2. The strips would fit in with the pattern too. Will hunt out the book that the pattern is in. It is in the Around the block book I think. Stay tune :-)
    Cheers
    Lynne

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  3. I love those colours, Thelma. I'll put my thinking cap on. How big are those triangles?

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  4. Love the poppies~ they made me think of pinwheels, I love pinwheels. :-) Use the coordinates for the other half of the pinwheel... I'm sure whatever you come up with will be beautiful!! Have fun!

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  5. You could make the quilt blocks that you were making for the reversible quilt--just don't make them quilt-as-you go. Just make blocks. Sew them together, with or without sashing, then quilt. I love the fabric.

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  7. Ok. Collect some tone on tone whites (or whites with a touch of black) & cut them into 2 inch strips. Construct log cabin blocks using the whites and the blacks, with the red being the center square on each log cabin. Combine the log cabin blocks in any sort of layout that appeals to you. Apply a narrow black contatinment border. Use the poppy fabric for your border. Oh, and toss the triangles.

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  8. Thelma, I just love that bunny cupcake card your daughter sent you!!! Way too cute and very perfect! Sorry, can't help on the challenge. My brain still hasn't recovered from spring break. Good luck though as those are gorgeous fabrics.

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  9. What about the poppies and a light colour for an hourglass block; and use the 2" strips to make 9 patches or 16 patches, whichever size would be better... and you end up with a quilt something like this one:
    http://kathysquilts.blogspot.com/2009/10/trick-or-treat.html

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  10. I can't help but think those little cup cakes would make a great applique on a quilt

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  11. No ideas from me - I'm more of a copier than an originator. But you always come up with great quilts - just look at these gorgeous fabrics! Thelma, you take the cake (or maybe the cupcake). Always love seeing your blog and what you are are up to.

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  12. I have two UFO's of that same exact quilt project. The blocks are all done, but I never sashed them all together. It was too similar to binding. And you know how I feel about binding.

    Your fabrics are very striking. I like the previous poster's idea of making the original blocks, but not on batting for the quilt-as-you-go method. Another idea would eb to use your coordinates to make some fun blocks, set them on point, and use the triangles for setting triangles. Or sew four together to make an hourglass block to go between a different 10" pieced block. This makes your other blocks look as if it's a larger square in a square block. The options are endless. Just don't waste that beautiful fabric! :)

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  13. ok, I posted a comment and now I can't find it. Where did it go? Who stole my comment? :)

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  14. hmmm ... maybe stars ... I have seen the ones I mean called a few different things - the ones like on here - http://www.quilt-lovers-guide.com/sawtooth-star-quilt-block.html (using 8 of the poppy triangles as the points of each of the stars) ... with log cabin blocks instead of plain squares for the middles - to use up the strips (and if you need more strips than you have, in order to use up the triangles then cut some more strips from the other fabric) ... for the other fabric on the outside of the stars the plain black and yellow and maybe some of the other plain (or plain ish) coordinating fabrics would look good ... I think ...
    of course it might not work, or something else could work better - I kind of work out what I am doing with what fabric by fiddling with the actual fabric and laying it out on the table/floor/wherever and the fabric tells me what to do with it - LOL

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