I was spurred this week to pull out an old work in progress by Ashley at Wasn’t Quilt in A Day. Her Mum told her that she could not start a new quilt until she had finished one of the ones she had already started. I took this sound advice and dusted off these blocks from the beginning of the year….
This quilt has been sitting in the cupboard because I am a little scared of triangles. This is only the second time I have worked with triangle-shaped blocks and I must admit I am not enjoying the process. You really need to be precise with your points and I have done soooo much unpicking. To help with the precision i am using a paper piecing pattern.
Emboldened by the challenge to finish this top, I pulled all the blocks I had made out and pinned them up on my design wall, using some solid fabric pink and olive triangles to break up the pattern a little.
There was then a flurry of activity to make the extra blocks I needed to make the quilt a usable size (14 blocks wide by 8 rows long).
My sewing machine was awash with strings of pink and olive fabric.
By mid afternoon I was happy with how things were looking and started sewing some of the rows of blocks together. I find this is the point where you really start to see how the finished quilt is going to look.
Last night there was a lot of unpicking….I am trying to be as precise as my patience will let me. Row by row I am going to get this sucker done.
This morning I sewed two of the rows together to check my alignment and to see how the colours and pattern are working. They are a little off in places but with this pattern it you have to look really hard to notice.
I am determined to have this top pieced by the end of today… if only so I can start something new. That is Ashley’s mum’s rule and I am going to try to quilt by it. One finished before another started. I can do this… I think!
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Cath your trianges are coming out beautifully ! Don’t give up…. I understand how hard it is — I made a memory quilt for my two horses that have passed called “Diamonds in the Rough” and boy oh boy those Diamonds were hard to piece. Just know that it will be beautiful when you’re done! Cheers, Karen
Thanks Karen. I am persevering but will not be rushing to make another triangle quilt for awhile.
Yeah, I read Ashley’s mom’s rule, too…even though it’s sound advice, I might be rebelling. I think your triangles look fantastic!! I’ve always had trepidation with triangles as well, but it’s one of my New Year’s resolutions (for next year) to make a triangle quilt. You can do it!!
that’s a great rule — your quilt looks great and hopefully you aren’t done with triangles after this experiance
I appreciate you saying these were tough to do. They looked so easy on finished quilts. It won’t stop me from trying them, but at least now I’ll go in with my eyes wide open. 🙂
Definitely give them a go. I know some people find them really easy and fun…so it could just be me. I think the end results might be worth the hassle though. As more of the quilt comes together the more I am liking triangles!!!!
I am trying to follow that rule too! I have 4 quilts to finish before I am cutting a new one. But I have my next 5 flowing in my head. I love the pink and green on here too! This will look great finished!
You can DO IT!!! It is very pretty!!
That is good rule. Your quilt is looking very interesting. Good luck with your goal.
My favourite colour combination! Despite all the unpicking and trepidation, it’s going to be a happy quilt, and I want to see how it turns out.
That looks really great! I like the olive with the pink – would never have thought of that color combo.
It’s gorgeous! I try to have the same rule, and not start new things (no matter how tempting) until I finish the items I’m working on. My mom had 30-years’ worth of UFOs in her basement, and I just don’t have a basement to store a lot of UFOs (hence the rule). 🙂
I love your triangles! Such beautiful colors and the piecing looks amazing! So worth all of the hard work!
This is so pretty. I’ve been waiting for this finish, and I’ve even started my own. But that will be an UFO right now, until I get more pink fabrics.
Looks great …love the colours. I’m afraid to say the buzz is in the new projects ………I have lots of WIPs and I need to get stuck in to them. Thanks for the inspiration!.
This is so cool! You so have to finish it. Love the colors and the triangles are a favorite of mine:)
Good for you! I avoid triangles lots – I never quite seem to get those points hanging off the edge right. 🙂
I love your gorgeous colours, you do always pick the most beautiful combinations. This will look stunning when it’s done, it’s even a little Christmassy 🙂
I LOVE this. So pretty. I can’t wait to see it all together! May I ask where you found your paper piecing template? I love the look of bordered triangles, but I’m not sure I’d want to do that. But paper pieced? Yes, please!
Audrey the pattern is from a book – Modern Block: 99 blocks from your favorite designers. I used just one part of the block to make this quilt.
Your title made me laugh – I’m sure I’d feel the same way! Keep up the good work!
I really like your triangles. I only sew 60′ triangles, I dread HST’s mainly because I dislike squaring them up.
I love the triangles. I should also follow Ashley’s mums rule. I have so many wips and not enough finishes.
Beautiful!!!! Wow – it really is worth finishing. Good for you. It’s not easy to get back to UFO’s when you’ve lost enthusiasm…..
I think the occasional solid triangle was a good addition, a place for the eye to rest a bit. Like you, I start to get excited about a quilt when I start to put rows together.
I read Ashley’s mum’s rule and put it where I put all of “mum’s” rules–far away. Too restrictive.
Oh, I am right there with you knitnkwilt- especially when working on a large project. I get fatigued and it becomes work. I have to break away and work on something else for a bit! What good is quilting if it isn’t enjoyable?
You are so right about enjoying the process. I also need to walk away from some projects and give them a break when they become a chore. My problem is that I have so many wips…they need wrangling and I need a kick in the you know what to get them finished.
Well you have doing an awesome job of it! Love the colors, this quilt is so fun and fresh!
Very pretty! I am a little afraid of triangles myself.
I love your color choices, and this is a fun block- I like that it is relatively simple (you can let the fabric do the work), but it has great impact and depth. I also love that you broke up some of the PP triangles with plain triangles. It makes you stop and look a little longer at the pattern. Thanks for sharing- love it!
How three dimensional isn’t that? Great choice of colors and neat stitching too. Just love it 🙂
you are a better woman than I!!! The finish one first is not an easy rule to quilt by! But you will be so happy with the results!
This is gorgeous! I love how you put in a few plain triangles with the bordered triangles. Remember that you will notice a mistake way before anyone else would – and probably think it is a bigger deal than someone else looking at the quilt.
I look forward to seeing how this finishes up!
This is coming together nicely! I would never have thought of this co!our combo myself. It’s also nice to see a modern quilt that doesn’t use white, or gray. I am applying that rule, temporarily, until I get a few projects finished.
It’s such a great rule! I have so many WIPs that really need to get finished but I get lured away by the shine of a new idea 🙂
I hear you. I have just started another project, even though I have eight unquilted tops. I just can not help myself.
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