26 January, 2009

Moving Forward

My Project Improv has begun!  I could tell you all about our house re-ordering, bedroom moving, infant separation anxiety, new laptop(!), sick kid, and date night adventures, but that all seems so ordinary compared to my latest quilt project.

Can I make a confession?  While I like the look of wonky log cabin blocks, I don't love them.  There are some gorgeous examples out there, but I've made a few myself and now I'm done. When it came to my own Project Improv I wanted a different challenge.  I turned to my latest obsession: triangles. 

These blocks are made with the same technique as you would a wonky log cabin.  You start with a center shape and sew strips on one side.  Open, press, rotate and sew on another strip.  So on and so on.  To get the triangle shape I started with a small triangle.  And because I wanted distinct triangle shapes I went white - colour - white.  To ensure I got to the desired size I created a template that I used as a guide.  It let me know if I needed a thicker or thinner strip when it came time to sewing on the outside white triangle.  I then used the template to trim the blocks to size.

The entire thing is a scrap/stash quilt.  Each coloured portion of the triangle is different, with colours from nearly every bin in my stash.  I really liked the white with multi-colour effect of Amanda Jean's Snippets quilt.  In my first fabric pull I grabbed about 30 fabrics.  After laying out the first group of finished blocks I've decided that I need to make some more blocks, and I might vary the size of the triangles.

Now it's time for my second confession.  I don't like making wonky log cabin type blocks.  I find it tedious.  Yes, you can get a lot of blocks done, but the construction part is boring.  Well, it is for me.  But I am committed to this and I am liking the way it is turning out.  We'll just have to see where it goes.  In the true spirit of Improv I don't have much of a plan right now.

9 comments:

* elizabeth * said...

ooh. I love em!

jacquie said...

i can't believe i have missed so much. i'm so curious about how this is going to come together.

Anonymous said...

I really like how these are turning out. Love 'em!

Unknown said...

I cant wait to see these come together. Ive never seen quilt blocks like these before! :)

Cynthia said...

Love it! I am making (starting) triangle quilts for two of my neices. This might be a fun variation to make the quilts more exciting! Thanks for sharing.

linda said...

I love the triangle thing.

patty a. said...

Great minds think alike! I saw the snippets last week and thought "Maybe I could do that with the triangle leftovers that I cannot part with, from the quilt I made for Jon and Dorthea Boni Jovi?" And here you were thinking of triangles too! I can't wait to see how your quilt develops. My scraps are pretty small, but I still want to do something with them. P.S. I sent in an orange and pink improv block and can't wait to see how it get incorporated into a quilt.

Jackie Russell said...

I like the triangles.

Amanda Jean said...

this is going to be one fabulous quilt! i love that you are using triangles.