Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Pinwheels!


Picnic and Fairgrounds by Denyse Schmidt

The rotary cutter and sewing machine have had a tough few days!  My fabric bundle Picnic and Fairgrounds by Denyse Schmidt was transformed into pinwheel blocks too numerous to stack neatly without collapsing (not for lack of trying though).


I totally underestimated how much work it was going to be to make enough pinwheel blocks for a relatively large quilt, and for a while there this quilt looked like it might be another baby quilt.  However I persevered.  88 pinwheel blocks.  350+ half square triangles, all neat and trimmed.


Right from the start the plan was to sew the pinwheels together by adding a strip of sashing fabric between each of the blocks, the only difficulty was choosing a fabric to suit the mix of colors/patterns.


I was keen to break away from a solid white sashing  and instead wanted to use a red polka dot printed on a white background, but I was just a little concerned how it would interact with the pinwheel blocks. 


Trust me, many other potential sashing fabrics were auditioned to convince me to go ahead with my initial choice, and I am glad I did. (The red polka dot print is from the Delilah collection by Tanya Whelan - it also turned out to be a good choice as dots were printed on grain which certainly makes cutting  and sewing with such narrow strips a whole lot easier).


Next up?  Preparing the quilt back.

Thank you for stopping by,
Rita

98 comments:

  1. Beautiful...love pinwheels but never thought of sashing them.... the red dot fabric is perfect!

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  2. i love the polka dot sashing, and the picnic gingham trim. excellent choices!

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  3. That is amazing!! I rarely do pinwheels they are SO hard for me!! And look at you all those pinwheels!! I really love the border too!!

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  4. Yum, Rita! This is such a happy-looking quilt.

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  5. Absolutely loving the dots on the sashing!!!

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  6. i luv it! the sashing is great!

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  7. It looks so wonderful! I've got the blue paid looking one to make myself a picnic inspired skirt :)

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  8. I think your choice for sashing is great. What a wonderful looking quilt. I can't imagine me making all those pinwheels.

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  9. That polka-dot sashing was a brave choice...I never would have thought of that. But it works perfectly!

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  10. Rita, that is awesome!! I absolutely love the polka dot sashing....

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  11. Fantastic! the polka dot sashing is perfect! You have such a great eye.

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  12. The red polka-dot sashing lets the pinwheels breathe and seems to give movement. Great fun choice.

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  13. oh how I love a pinwheel quilt. And the red dots are so perfect for it. I LOVE THIS QUILT!

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  14. FANTASTIC!!! This is a wonderfully happy, fun quilt! LOVE it!

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  15. beautiful! Your comment about the dots being printed on grain - I have been trying to be more observant and notice lots of prints are off-grain :( How often should I expect to find this? And - how do you deal with it - cut on the grain or on the pattern? Thanks!

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  16. Perfect application for this collection! I love it. But I hav to admit, when I saw the first photo of the top, I crossed my fingers and hoped you were laying it out on point. Oh well, maybe I'll have to make that one!

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  17. Well I think it looks terrific! Love how the dots bring it all together. You have shown diligence and perseverance to sew all those pinwheels.

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  18. I love it, can't wait to see it finished.

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  19. Words can't even express how beautiful this quilt is!

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  20. Love this! You've done it again!

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  21. Hi Rita
    that is beautiful lovely colours and great dots!

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  22. LIKE LIKE LIKE LIKE LIKE LIKE LIKE LIKE LIKE LIKE

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  23. Hi Rita,

    Gorgeous, bright and happy quilt! How do you achieve such precision in your quilts? Do you "square up" the blocks after sewing together the 4 HSTs? Any other tips? I admire your creativity in choosing and putting together the fabric and patterns, and your skill in sewing the pieces together. Inspirational!!! Lovely !!!

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  24. That is super cute. Thanks so much for sharing. I never would have thought of a polka dot as sashing. Terrific idea.
    - Jen

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  25. Just love this. Pinwheels and spots are my favourites

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  26. Gorgeous quilt....the sashing looks great.

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  27. the sashing looks great with these pinwheels.
    Karen
    http://karensquilting.com/blog/

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  28. this is great! and yep, stick with your instinct it's usually right!

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  29. Rita, this looks fantastic! I am in awe of how perfect each pinwheel block is. Absolutely beautiful.

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  30. i like the dots alot! good job!

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  31. Rita, I love the way your brain works!! Fantastic!

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  32. A veritable, heart palpitating TRIUMPH.

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  33. A very pretty quilt..... as always! Love it!

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  34. Love pinwheels and the red dot sashing worked so beautifully!

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  35. Great choice with the stashing!

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  36. Rita, you amaze me. The sashing looks great! I probably would have done a solid red or something and then it would have dominated the whole quilt. You choice of the white background with red polka dots is perfect. I see you also added some other dots, and stripes to the quilt, as well as some Katie Jump ribbons.
    Lovely,
    Lindsay

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  37. I can only echo what others have said- perfectly amazing and a fantastic triumph!

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  38. I. LOVE. IT. LOVE the sashing.

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  39. Oh man! I was going to do pinwheels with my DS Picnic and Fairgrounds. Now at least I know it will look smashing if I get around to it. Your quilts are awesome as always!

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  40. I feel your pain, those pinwheels are time consuming! Just did 48 of various sizes for a twin quilt. Then snowballed them. Then appliqued circles on the center to make them look like umbrella tops. Then sashed and sewed them. Phew! A long process.

    These look great, and I think your sashing fabric choice is perfect.

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  41. That is such a pretty quilt. I love the polka dots you chose for the sashing.

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  42. Rita, I guess you know Pinwheels are my very favourite - yes, a lot of work to have them looking beautiful - you have made a lovely quilt!
    Hugs - Lurline♥

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  43. This quilt is inspiring for my DS fabric too. Plus I bought some solids. I'm looking forward to your quilting. I recently made a pinwheel quilt and did a stitch in a ditch so I'm anxious to see what you come up with. Wonderful. Nice points.

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  44. I would never have thought of that sashing, but I love it! What a fun quilt!

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  45. Wow! That red spot looks great!

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  46. Gorgeous! I invested in quite a lot of the same polka dot fabric for a quilt I have in mind and its lovely to see it in an already made real life quilt, beautiful work as always :-)

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  47. This fabric really works great for the pinwheels! I absolutely love the red dots for sashing -- brilliant!

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  48. What a lovely quilt. Looks like a whole bunch of fun sewed together. Jacinta

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  49. Beautiful!! And the sashing just makes the colors all pop together...wonderful job!! Can't wait to see it all finished :o)
    Shanna

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  50. Ah, it’s soothing and yet energetic at the same time !~! Your choices of sashing and borders are fantabuloso, just perfect.

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  51. You are my quilting inspiration!!
    Such perfect points.
    Such beautiful fabric combinations.
    Sigh!!

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  52. This is a beautiful quilt. The combination is gorgeous.

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  53. I love your choices of fabric and putting them together. The shashing is just great! congrats.

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  54. That is one cheerful quilt top! And a heck of a lot of HSTs. Can't wait to see the finished quilt.

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  55. Love the meander of yellow and orange pinwheels down the quilt - they really catch my eye! Red polka dots - so right!

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  56. NOW I want to make a pinwheel .. the sashing is inspired ... and as usual your quilt top is just divine inspiration.

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  57. I think this one should be (affectionately) called the "Hypno Quilt". :P

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  58. Stunning! I love pinwheels & the sashing is perfect. Jxo

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  59. Stunning work Rita - what an incredible amount of sewing! Love the dot for the sashing.

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  60. What a gorgeous quilt top! And a lot of work. Kudos to you!!! I love the dots as sashing, too!

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  61. It turned out beautiful! Now I need to get to work with mine!

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  62. What a fun quilt! Great choice on the sashing.

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  63. Just a lovely combination of all those bright colors and the polka dots!! I also really like the border you selected! Can't wait to see what you do for the backing :)

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  64. Love it! The sashing was a great choice and those pinwheels are pristine!

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  65. This is absolutely gorgeous! It so fun and happy.

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  66. you do such beautiful work, I love this quilt!

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  67. Putting sashing around the blocks is so much easier. Making the sashing polkas- sheer genius!!

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  68. You are so talented!! This quilt is awesome!
    Lauren

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  69. I love that red polka dot sashing--just added this one to my inspiration file!

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  70. simply fabulous! perfect for summer, too. you do beautiful work.

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  71. It's a wonderfully fresh combination! The red polka dot fabric is gorgeous.

    I just love making pinwheels. And ever since I started using the easy option explained here:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekYpJzHoW6E
    it just goes so fast!!

    Enjoy your quilt!!!

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  72. What an awesome quilt! So bright, cheery, and fun. Great work, well done.

    Have a super great sewing and stitching day.

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  73. You scored again! with your delicious polka-dot sashing. I can count on you to come up with a fresh and interesting look every time. Thanks so much for sharing.

    Elizabeth

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  74. Stunning quilt. Love the polka dots was a great choice. The whole quilt moves around just as I am sure you planned. Great job

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  75. The red polka dots really make the white background pop!

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  76. On Saturday I finished my April Pinwheels quilt, finished size 87"x87"...12x12 5" pinwheels, with 2" sashing...And I made 150 pinwheels instead only (ha!) 144, so I think there will be a matching pillow soon!

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  77. I am glad you told us that Denyse Schmidt fabric was at Joanns. I went right out and got some. I thought pinwheels as soon as I saw it. So it made me happy to see that you had the same thought. I love how you have some Katie Jump Rope in there and I really love the idea of sashing the blocks. I didn't think of doing that. Thanks so much for sharing you creations with us all the time. I get alot of inspiration from you.

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  78. The red polka dot sashing is perfect! I love it.

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  79. Pinwheels and polka dot sashing could not go better together. Your quilt is beautiful.

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  80. Looks great!! I really like your sashing and border choices.

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  81. Love the sashing and the border...they look perfect together and set of the blocks to perfection!

    Toni
    www.lifeinapinkbunnysuit.com

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  82. Well done, I think it looks awesome! Reminds me of a sunny summer day!

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  83. You inspire me! Now, I just need more time!!! Happy day!

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  84. I LOVE IT ! The polka dot sashing really looks wonderful , and it was a great idea !!!

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  85. Wow! I love That!!! Good job on the sashing, it deffinitly complements instead of taking away from the pinwheels

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  86. the red polka dot sashing is genius!

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  87. I am in love with this quilt! I adore pinwheels and the fabric you chose is fabulous!

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  88. Love that quilt - great colours and LOVE the red and white spot!

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  89. Cute, cute, cute! I just love polka dot fabric. I think this is a "Happy Quilt."

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  90. Oh I love pinwheels and these are just adorable between the dots!!

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