Showing posts with label isosceles triangle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label isosceles triangle. Show all posts

Friday, 28 August 2015

Creating Curves - part two






Hi, Trudi here from Quilting Prolifically. So last month I made a great start on my curves, not curves quilt.


18 of these Shoo Fly blocks done, and I was well on my way to getting the other 18 alternate blocks done too!


This second block is made up of nine patch of 4 1/2" squares.  Plain squares in the corners, and squares made with the Isosceles Triangle die, and 2 1/2" Half Square Triangles to make the center square in square block.


another set of 18 blocks are done.

Alternate the blocks in the lay out and hey presto  ... its starting to take shape!


I barely had enough space on my living room floor to lay this out, So to piece it, I gathered up the rows, stacking the blocks in order and taking them out to my sewing machine in my studio in the garden.  

(one sure way to get your daily step quota up!)

As I pieced the rows, I laid them over the long arm, then pieced the rows together.


I've added a plain border, and this is now ready to quilt.  

The curves are already visible in the pattern, and not one curve has been sewn.  
I'm hoping that a little (ok, maybe a lot) of custom quilting in those areas will really enhance the curved effect.  

Remember, this whole quilt, that is now 82" square, is made from scraps.  I did cut some yardage for the outer border and some of the white areas, but it is all a mish mash of white on whites and very low volume fabrics. 

So if you have a large pile of scraps, and fancy making your own version of this quilt, these are the dies I used along with my Big Shot Plus


659838 Bigz Square 4 1/2"
659832 Bigz Half Square Triangle 4 1/2" pieced
659853 Bigz L Isosceles & Right 4 1/2" H 
 657611 Bigz Half Square Triangle 2 1/2" pieced

So, I'll be back next month with the full reveal of how the quilting can really make a difference to enhance those curves.  If your have a go at making thee blocks for your own Curves, Not Curves quilt, please tag me on social media, I'd love to see!




Friday, 31 July 2015

Creative Curves - Part one




Hi, Trudi here from Quilting Prolifically.  I've been working on curved piecing, having started on a whole series of Double Wedding ring inspired quilts.  Ambitious I know, but I have one under my belt already, and a second started.  But sometimes all those curves can be a little intimidating, so I wondered if I could create the illusion of curves without the curved piecing.

Yes you can!



so armed with my Sizzix Bigshot Plus and the following dies

659838 Bigz Square 4 1/2"
659832 Bigz Half Square Triangle 4 1/2" pieced
659853 Bigz L Isosceles & Right 4 1/2" H 
 657611 Bigz Half Square Triangle 2 1/2" pieced


and my recently overflowing scrap bin   ....


I set to making a whole bunch of Half Square Traingles,  


Because when it comes to quilts, I sort of love a big bed size quilt, I pieced and pressed these in sets of 10's so I could keep track I had the right amount made.  and if I lost count, it was easy to recount at a glance!



mix in a few squares, and the Shoo Fly blocks are done 


all 18 of them!

next up was piecing the other block, but, with Festival of Quilts looming fast, my progress has been put on hold, while I finish my entries for delivery next week


so I'll be back next month to show you these blocks, how I pieced them, and how when you put both the blocks together you create the illusion of curves without a curve in sight. 

Of course, add in a little quilting and the whole thing should come together nicely! 

See you soon!  Trudi







Saturday, 30 May 2015

My Summer Book Bag




Hi everyone!Thinking in my next summer holidays I have designed a new  project with Sizzix dies.
Usually I take some books with me and I enjoy reading and thinking something to sew when I come back home. I´m sure I´m not the only one !
Last package from Sizzix, brought  a die I was wishing to try : Triangles Isosceles & Right.
This die has a lot of possibilities and  diamond is the block I´m sewing before, one of my favorites and never done before !






You get a good   12" size block, so  you can match different  blocks and take a new opportunity to get a quilt , table runner , or whatever you want.
I have  used two more dies   and Big Shot Plus 



I chose a mother of pearl button to close.





I love Amy Sinibaldi style and her book came home the other day. This will be one in my summer book bag, yippie!




My bag uses the same block  both sides.

And now  here you can see how I have done the Book Bag. This is my first video for Sizzix , so I hope you like it!







Have a nice weekend and see  you in two weeks
Love
Mercedes


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¡Hola a todo el mundo! Pensando en mis próximas vacaciones de verano , he diseñado un nuevo proyecto para Sizzix usando sus troqueles.
Normalmente suelo llevarme algunos libros conmigo y disfruto leyéndolos  y pensando algún proyecto para hacer a la vuelta.Seguro que no soy la única ¿ verdad ?
El último paquete que llegó de Sizzix    trajo un troquel que estaba deseando probar por primera vez. Se trata del Triángulo Isósceles al que veo muchas posibilidades.

Con este troquel he cosido un bloque con un buen tamaño      . Puedes montar varios y hacer una colcha, un mantel o cualquier cosa que te parezca.
He usado ese troquel y dos más, un cuadrado y triángulos :





En la foto podéis ver libro de Amy  Sinibaldi, su primero. Me encanta su estilo  y me vendrá genial para verlo tranquilamente en vacaciones. En mi blog Las Labores de Mercedes ya te he hablado un poco de él.

Mi bolsa  tiene el  mismo bloque por delante y por detrás.
Me he estrado con mi primer vídeo para Sizzix , espero que te guste . En él tienes  los pasos para hacerla.
Que pases un buen fin de semana y te espero  dentro de un par de ellas.
Cariños
Mercedes


Monday, 11 May 2015

Finished Triangles Cushion









Die used: Triangles, Isosceles & Right 4 1/2in H Assembled

The cushion I began last week using isosceles and right triangles is now finished. I love this die so much and plan to make a table runner and a quilt with it at some point.


The plan was to add some bright binding to give it a bit more life and whilst the scraps box was to hand, piecing some from scraps seemed like a good idea.


I'm pretty pleased with the results and I think the binding gives it just the lift it needs.

The back is made from some black and white geometric fabric that I've used before and there's a loop and button fastening on the closing to make more of a feature of it.


It's now brightening up the battered tub chair (along with the cushion from a couple of weeks ago) in the corner of my newly-moved-into sewing room. My boys have taken to sitting there with a book to keep me company whilst I sew!


Have a lovely week and happy sewing!

Monday, 4 May 2015

Another Triangles Cushion!









Die used: Triangles, Isosceles & Right 4 1/2in H Assembled

Having set myself an ongoing homework assignment a week or two back to practice different quilting styles and experiment with colour and print combining, I began another cushion practice-piece using my (new and still very exciting!) Big Shot Plus. It's great to be able to flip through some dies and choose one without too much planning and get straight on with it safe in the knowledge that everything will fit together perfectly!

This time the plan was to experiment with and gain a better understanding of low volume fabrics and not always play safe with white and cream/beige. I wanted a row of focal print isosceles triangles running across the centre and so with that as the starting point I used the isosceles and right die to cut 4 triangles from different prints. Next was a dig through my stash and scrap box for some low volume fabrics to cut 8 half isosceles to sew on either side.


Once they were joined in a row I cut the rest of the half isosceles, stitched them together in pairs to give rectangles and played about with a few layouts. I almost went for this one


but settled on this arrangement instead.


Once it was all together it became clear that not all of the low volume fabric was low enough and some of the focal fabrics not strong enough, resulting in the full isosceles triangles blending in more than I'd hoped. It's been a good lesson to learn though and I love the piecing design - it would look really great as a table runner. I've tried bringing the full isosceles triangles out more with the quilting and hopefully adding some bright pieced binding will bring it to life more.


We'll see in next week!

Monday, 27 April 2015

Triangles Cushion









Die used: Triangles, Isosceles & Right 4 1/2in H Assembled.

Happy Monday!

Following on from my last post and the cushion front made with pieced isosceles and right triangles, the next step was to quilt it.


Being a newbie to free motion quilting this seemed like the ideal opportunity to get some more FMQ practice in and try quilting some loops. After unpicking the first few goes I soon found a good rhythm and it wasn't long before it was covered in loops. Next it was squared and trimmed, an envelope back was added and it was all done.



Cutting with a Big Shot saves so much time when cutting lots of pieces for a quilt but it's also really handy for smaller projects too. As well as practising FMQ whenever possible, I want to do some experimenting with colour and print to work on my understanding of how different fabrics work together to create depth and cushions are the perfect quick-make for this. Being able to choose a die, chop the fabric quickly and precisely and get straight to focussing on the aspects I want to work on is really helpful.

Monday, 20 April 2015

Trying Out My Big Shot Plus









Die used: Triangles, Isosceles & Right 4 1/2in H Assembled

Hello again! At last I finally got to try out my new Big Shot Plus last week and wanting to get straight into chopping fabric without planning anything too closely, I chose to cut some isosceles triangles and just enjoy some straightforward piecing amid the chaos of the school holidays.


I really loved using the Big Shot Plus, it's as easy to use as the Big Shot but the extra space gives greater versatility and makes cutting from larger pieces of fabric more comfortable. The grey and white design is simple and sleek and makes it look like the serious piece of kit that it is!

The extent of my plan was to make something bright that could potentially become a sofa cushion to replace a more 'wintery' one that has started to look out of place now that spring and a little sunshine has arrived. I cut 28 full isosceles triangles all from different fabrics and 8 right-angle half-isosceles triangles.


I arranged them in a square and then pieced them together in rows,


and then joined the rows to form a square.


It was all nice and straightforward and orderly, the perfect antidote to the school holidays!


Monday, 28 April 2014

Prairie from Dashwood





 Have you seen this new line of fabric from Dashwood Studios?



Prairie is by Rebecca Stoner and it's a gorgeous collection of colours and prints - designed by a British designer for a British company, which is always something to champion, isn't it?

You can find Prairie at many online retailers, including Fabric HQ

I think I'm going to make a triangle cushion using this die,I think it'll look fab, don't you?








Monday, 15 July 2013

triangles triangles everywhere!




Last week I mentioned I had recently got the new quilting dies and was hoping to have a play with the new chevron die this week. Well, as is quite usual for me, I got distracted by plans for a quilt using the chevron die and I've ordered fabrics to make that quilt so I haven't had a chance to play with it just yet as I'm waiting for the fabrics to arrive.

While I'm waiting I thought I'd pull out my Big Shot Pro (literally - it lives under my work table) and start playing with one of the other new dies, the isosceles triangle that finishes at 6 1/2" square (there is a smaller version that fits the big shot too - it ends up at 4 1/2" square)


I've never made a quilt using this block before, the thought of cutting out all of the triangles and then all of the background pieces using templates has put me off, but with the die it's fast and easy - and the 'dog ears' are already cut off so you can match up your points nice and easily too (which is a huge bonus!)

In no time at all I had cut and pieced 30 triangle blocks - literally in about an hour, so all I need to do now is have a think about layout and how big I want to go.  I think it's going to be a really pretty quilt and  so easy to piece together. I've had to set the blocks aside until I have finished some other bits and pieces, but I have the next batch cut and ready to piece next to my sewing machine so I can work on them in between other things. They'd make a really good scrap project too.

I cut from 2 fabrics at a time - one fabric for the triangle's sides (I cut 4 layers - folded so I would have the mirror images needed for the 2 sides of the triangle), and 2 layers of a second for the triangles to give me 2 identical blocks at a time. If you've ever been tempted by triangles like this but, like me, the templates idea put you off - then give this die a whirl. I bet you'd love it too!

finally cut into my Anna Maria Horner Bohemian