Retro Half Square Triangle Quilt II - Work in Progress

And a Gallery of Photos ...

I am revisiting an old favorite this week. I don't often  re-make quilts, with the exception of Checkerboard Quilts (!) which I have made many, and will probably make many more - and even less often do I follow the instructions from one of my own patterns to make a quilt.

This particular quilt is made following the instructions of my Retro Half Square Triangle Quilt Pattern. I first made this particular quilt layout in 2013. It is a traditional nine-patch style layout of Half Square Triangle units and each unit features a dark fabric and a light/contrast fabric. My fabric selection for this quilt is not unlike that of the HST Galore Quilt that I made in September this year, editing the selection to include more recently arrived prints into the mix.

I love half square triangle units and enjoy the whole process; from selecting fabrics for each of the blocks, to methodically cutting, piecing, and trimming each HST unit. For this quilt I worked in blocks, piecing one block at a time ... and by following the pattern instructions the seams of the individual blocks nest, as well as that of the whole quilt top. It's the little things that make me happy!

QUILT DETAILS

Retro Half Square Triangle Quilt

Quilt top measures inches 53 inches x 63.5 inches. 

30 HST nine-patch blocks.

270 Half Square Triangle Units,

each unit over-sized and trimmed for accuracy.

60 different fabrics including Liberty of London

Tana Lawn, designer quilting cottons, and many stash basics.
Pattern available here: Retro HST Quilt Pattern (pdf file)
Fabric requirements and instructions are included for four different quilt sizes.

RELEVANT LINKS

Retro Half Square Triangle Quilt Pattern (pdf file) available from:

Red Pepper Quilts Etsy Store

Red Pepper Quilts Pattern Store 

More RPQ Half Square Triangle Quilts:

Half Square Triangles Galore - September 2017

Retro Half Square Triangle Quilt and Quilt Pattern (pdf file) - July 2013

Half Square Triangle Variation Quilt - May 2016

Carkai Half Square Triangle Quilt - December 2015

Ready for basting and quilting!

More soon,

Rita

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COPYRIGHT: Do not copy or use any content or photos from my blog without my written permission. This is original content from www.redpepperquilts.com.

English Paper Piecing - Liberty Stars Quilt - Part 2

It has been two months since I last shared with you the details of my current English Paper Piecing project - Liberty Stars Quilt - and I have since then made steady progress. I am happy to say that the quilt top is now complete. All Star Units have been joined with the (hexagon) background fabric, and even the quilt edges have been filled with part units for a straight edge finish. The papers are out!

Click on any image for a larger view.

I have loved working with this combination of Liberty Tana Lawn fabric and Oakshott Cotton. These two luxury fabric bases are a perfect match for this classic quilt design and were a pleasure to sit and sew with late into the evening. The needle and thread glided through the fabric layers with ease, and the fabric withstood the glue basting and paper removal process much better than I could have anticipated.

QUILT DETAILS

Liberty Stars Quilt

Quilt top measures 58 inches x 72 inches

127 Liberty Star Units + 10 Liberty Half Star Units.

Papers used:

792 Diamonds (Six Pointed Star) with 1 3/4 inch sides.
270 Hexagons with 1 3/4 inch sides.

Notions/Tools Used for English Paper Piecing:

Acrylic templates with a 3/8" seam allowance for cutting fabrics.

Water Soluble Basting Glue - Sewline.

Straw Needles - Size 11.

The Bottom Line 60wt thread by Superior Threads.

Fabrics Used for Star Units:
Liberty of London Tana Lawn and
Liberty of London Tana Lawn - Plain/Solid
Background Fabric:
Oakshott Cotton :: Scandinavia in Stockholm

The quilt top was sewn together in vertical rows - there are eleven vertical rows of stars. I first laid out all of the Star Units and arranged and rearranged the units until I was happy with the layout. I then picked up the Star units in rows and in order, placed each row in a zip lock bag, and simply started by joining the units of row 1 together with hexagons. And repeat for row 2 and onwards. 

The papers were removed as progress was made, leaving only the papers along the outer edges in until the gaps were filled along the edges of the quilt with part units. (Some of the photos shown were taken while quilt top assembly was still in progress and papers - mainly along the outer edges - were still in).

This quilt top will be quilted by Karen Terrens from Quilts on Bastings - a professional long arm quilter and also my sister - and I am looking forward to seeing how she works her magic on this quilt; I imagine the quilting detail on the background fabric (hexagons) will add much interest to this quilt!

Thank you for stopping by,
Rita

RELEVANT LINKS:
Liberty Stars Quilt - Part 1
Liberty Stars Quilt - Part 3 The Finished Quilt

Liberty Tana Lawn available from:

Alice Caroline - plain/solid Tana Lawn also available.

Duckadilly - plain/solid Tana Lawn also available.

Bobbie Lou's Fabric Factory

Jones & Vandermeer 

Pink Castle Fabrics 

More RPQ English Paper Pieced Quilts:

Floral Hexagon Quilt 

Liberty Stars Pillow Cover

The Daisy Chain Quilt

Sewing School Hexagon Quilt

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COPYRIGHT: Do not copy or use any content or photos from my blog without my written permission. This is original content from www.redpepperquilts.com.

Wasabi Irish Chain Quilt - Work in Progress

Last week I made a commitment to use some of the many 2" squares that I have been cutting for most of the year. Rather than adding fabric scraps to my already overflowing scrap bins I have instead cut the scraps left over from projects into 2" squares. Similarly, I have salvaged some of the fabrics that have been in my scrap bin for a long time and cut those into squares. 

All fabrics were cut by hand (rotary cutter) although I am all in favor of using a fabric cutting machine, and would have done so if I had been cutting multiple squares of the same fabric. Many of the fabrics were carefully fussy cut, which also doesn't work well with a fabric cutting machine. You may recognize some of these fabrics from previous projects ...

Irish Chain Quilts are a traditional quilt design with many variations in layout and one of my go-to designs for a scrap happy quilt. This design is also a perfect match for my collection of 2" squares. I planned out the design in EQ8 (quilt design software) and worked in small blocks which I felt gave me control over the accurate piecing and pressing of these small squares, as well as nesting all seams to ensure that the quilt top would come together without any problems.

For the background fabric I have used one of my favorite colors from the Kona Cotton range by Robert Kaufman. This gorgeous color is Wasabi! It is such a great color and when I checked my stash of solid fabric to ensure that I had enough of it on hand to complete the project I discovered that I not only had a fat quarter and a half yard on hand, but also yardage. I must really love this color!

QUILT DETAILS

Wasabi Irish Chain Quilt

Quilt top measures 56 inches x 56 inches.

1369 patchwork squares.

37 rows each of 37 squares.

Each finished square measures 1.5" x 1.5"

Irish Chain contrast fabric:

Robert Kaufman Kona Cotton - Wasabi

Wasabi Irish Chain Quilt

Click on any image for a larger view.

This quilt project has brought me so much joy - endless hours of sewing and as a bonus I was able to use up many fabric scraps. Surprisingly, there are still many more 2" squares left in my box. Enough for at least one more quilt!

As always, thank you for stopping by,
Rita

Robert Kaufman Kona Cotton - WASABI is available from:

The Fat Quarter Shop

Stash Fabrics

I Love Fabric

RELEVANT LINKS:
The finished Wasabi Irish Chain Quilt and Quilt Pattern 

More RPQ Irish Chain Quilts:
Red and White Irish Chain Quilt - January 2017
Red and White Double Irish Chain Quilt - February 2017
Irish Chain Scrap Buster Quilt - March 2017
Irish Chain Scrap Buster Quilt - July 2015
Irish Chain Scrap Buster Quilt - October 2015

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COPYRIGHT: Do not copy or use any content or photos from my blog without my written permission. This is original content from www.redpepperquilts.com.

Bright Hopes Quilt - Work in Progress and Tutorial

This week I have been working with the leftover strips of fabric from my Herringbone Quilt. It is unusual for me to have left over fabric pieces from a quilt; I am more likely to have cut too few than too many patchwork pieces for a quilt (especially this many). And I really didn't want to see stack of pretty fabric strips disappear into the overflowing scrap bin, so these were set aside for a quilt I have been looking forward to making for a while ....

The Bright Hopes Quilt Block is a traditional patchwork block and a perfect introduction to sewing a block/quilt with a partial-sewn seam. ONE part-sewn seam :: no tricky y-seams involved!

BRIGHT HOPES BLOCK TUTORIAL:

FABRIC REQUIREMENTS ~ block measures 5 inches x 5 inches (includes seam allowances.
For each Bright Hopes block you need one center square and four rectangles:

STEP 1 
Take a center square and align edge along the edge of the rectangle (right sides together). Using a 1/4" seam sew partial - seam as pictured (see yellow stitching in diagram below). Back stitch to secure the seam. Press seam allowance away from the center square.

STEP 2

Click on any image for a larger view.

Continue by adding more rectangles along the center square in an anti-clockwise direction:
1. YELLOW SEAM - partial seam.
2.  RED SEAM - full seam.
3.  PURPLE SEAM - full seam.
4.  BLACK SEAM - full seam.
5.  WHITE SEAM - partial seam (see step 3 below).

Press all seams away from the center square.

STEP 3
Line up the long edge of the first sewn rectangle (dark blue) along the block and complete the seam (seam pictured below in white). Press seam away from the center square.

Finished Bright Hopes Quilt block measures 4 ½" x 4 ½" (does NOT include seam allowances).

Cutting instructions for alternative FINISHED block sizes:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
3" FINISHED BLOCK: cut 1 ½ inch square - cut 1 ½" x 2 ½" rectangles.
6" FINISHED BLOCK: cut 2 ½ inch square - cut 2 ½" x 4 ½" rectangles.
7 ½" FINISHED BLOCK: cut 3 inch square - cut 3" x 5 ½" rectangles.
9" FINISHED BLOCK: cut 3 ½ inch square - cut 3 ½" x 6 ½" rectangles.
12" FINISHED BLOCK: cut 4 ½ inch square - cut 4 ½" x 8 ½" rectangles.

For this quilt I have used may of my "low volume" fabrics; printed fabrics on a light/white background. Where do I purchase these fabrics? I have been collecting low volume fabrics for several years and many fabric collection now have one or two low volume prints - a design printed on a white/light background (not necessarily tone on tone). Brenda at Pink Castle Fabrics regularly collates FQ bundles of Low Volume Fabrics (and Text Fabric Bundles), and check out the Low Volume fabric category at Stash Fabrics for more!

QUILT DETAILS: 

Bright Hopes Low Volume Quilt 
Quilt top measures 52.5 inches x 63 inches.
154 Bright Hopes Blocks.
14 horizontal rows of 11 Bright Hopes blocks.
Each FINISHED block measures 4 ½ inches x 4 ½ inches.
180+ different fabrics were used to make this quilt top.
Fabrics Include:
Quilting Cotton, Liberty of London, and lots of novelty fabrics.

For many of the Bright Hopes blocks I have used a colorful center square, which were an addition to my leftover fabric strips. I have been cutting and collecting 2" squares for most of the year, so these came in handy for this quilt. There's a lot to see! This quilt is scattered with I-Spy elements from flowers to fruits, fish, birds, cats, faces, mermaids, ballerinas, fish, text, and more.

Thank you for stopping by and for scrolling through the many photos! If you have any question regarding the tutorial please feel free to email me or ask a question in the comments and I will reply/clarify there.

Rita

RELEVANT LINKS:
Bright Hopes Quilt - The Finished Quilt
Low Volume Herringbone Quilt 
More Red Pepper Quilts Tutorials
More RPQ Low Volume Quilts

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COPYRIGHT: Do not copy or use any content or photos from my blog without my written permission. This is original content from www.redpepperquilts.com.