Indigo tessellating star

 

I had a lovely weekend and hope you did too.  Darling daughter came home, she wanted to go to our local kitchen shop, they didn't have what she was looking for but I found a couple little things.  Shop Local!! what fun to get out and do something.  We got burgers at the local burger joint, they were delicious. Then we came home and watched Hamilton.  There are so many words in that musical you have to watch or listen to it a few dozen times.

Another ta da da done. I quilted the white pinwheels with white thread and the indigo pinwheels with navy thread because I wanted to show off the piecing and the indigo fabrics.   The center fabrics are schweschwe prints from South Africa and the border is a Dutch wax print from the Netherlands.  I kept the border  simple because the quilting would be lost in the prints of the border. 

Appreciating the little things--Ann--

Tessellating stars in indigo

Quilt top together!  I kept everything in order as I sewed, every triangle and every square is where it belongs.  I'm rather enjoying these long stretches of creative time and working from my stash of fabrics.  Happy stitching  --Ann--

Puzzle parts

If I would knock all these pieces on the floor and try to put it back together it would rival any puzzle I have seen on the internet. All these pieces are the same size, some are interchangeable but most only fit in one spot then to make things more confusing a couple stars have 2 different prints. —Ann—

More indigo

I finished cutting these prints, the Schweschwe, indigo from South Africa are the lighter colored prints. Thanks to Ramona at Doodlebugs and Rosebuds for schooling me on the Schweschwe fabrics. To square up the quilt to a nice baby or small wall quilt I added what was left of the Asian indigos and a full round of a Dutch wax print.  I wish my design wall had a grid so stars could be more orderly.   Next to cut the white but first do some math to be sure I have enough.  --Ann--

Just thinking

Just thinking about which white to use for the background.  Off white, white white, not quite white. The hexagon print is going to be used for the border, it’s a Dutch wax print and the white in it is very white.  Use the white white. I just cannot cut that print apart and piece it back together I can cut it crosswise and have a trapezoid border.

I cut my South African indigo prints today, there is no turning back.  Ann

Blogger's Quilt Fest

I do love puzzles, word puzzles, number puzzles and tessellating star puzzles, I call this quilt Dragonfly Dance.  The stars are cut from two bales of Merryvale fabrics. (click for and explanation of Merryvale) The entire quilt was arranged on my design wall before any parts were sewn together then kept in order. (click for sewing tutorial or click on tessellating star in the label section)  The yellow and lavender swirl through the center of the quilt like a well choreographed dance to direct the viewers eye. There are only a couple blocks that could be switched in the quilt and not change the stars. I free motion quilted it on my Bernina with loops, dragonflies and echo quilting. I practiced the dragonflies on paper with pen then on the machine with paper and no thread until  my eyes, hands and brain memorized how to sew a dragonfly then practiced on scraps before working on the quilt. I hand dyed the back of the quilt. Enjoy all the beautiful quilts at Amy's Creativeside Bloggers quilt Festival. Be inspired!  Ann

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Design Wall Monday

The pieces and blocks are sewn together and no one sneezed and blew everything off the wall! Now to decide how to quilt it. Do I want to swing an arc through each triangle to accentuate the pin wheels or do something artsy to accentuate the movement of the colors?
The song Morning has Broken was running through my head as I arranged the triangles. The dark triangles in the borders are the blackbirds in the song. The fabric is actually a very dark purple. The first chapter of Genesis was also running through my brain. God brought forth light from the void then separated the light from the darkness then separated the waters of the sky from the waters of the land, then gathered dry land and brought forth vegetation.
The finished blocks are 4 1/4 inches square. Quilt top measures 43 1/2 x 52 inches. I have enough deep blue for the binding and that is it.
Decisions decisions...........Ann 

link to Judy at patchworktimes
http://www.patchworktimes.com/2012/04/09/design-wall-monday-april-9-2012/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:%20PatchworkTimes%20%28Patchwork%20Times%20by%20Judy%20Laquidara%29

Morning has Broken

lyrics by Eleanor Farjeon

Morning has broken, like the first morning
Blackbird has spoken, like the first bird
Praise for the singing, praise for the morning
Praise for the springing fresh from the word

Sweet the rain's new fall, sunlit from heaven
Like the first dewfall, on the first grass
Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden
Sprung in completeness where his feet pass

Mine is the sunlight, mine is the morning
Born of the one light, Eden saw play
Praise with elation, praise every morning
God's recreation of the new day

Tessellating Star Tutorial

 Sewing these is not difficult they just need to be kept in order.  I start by flipping the center square over the left triangle and sew from the ends to the center of the square and stop. Then sew the triangles to the square clockwise matching the base of the triangle to the edge of the square. Finger press the seams to the outside.

 top triangle

 right triangle

 bottom triangle

 sew rest of first seam

 press and trim dog ears
All bias edges on outside

To chain sew I start at the top on the left side and flip the center square to the left and pick up all the center and left pieces in one pile. Start at the top each time and pick up the top triangles, then the right triangles then the bottom.
I sew all the partial seams first then sew all the top triangles, all the right and all the bottom and then the final partial seam.
Press each one and trim dog ears and return to the design wall in order.

Happy stitching,
Ann

Design Wall Monday

I played with blocks and fabric all weekend

I may still do some rearranging

This is the block and every piece needs to be kept in order, chances are only a couple border blocks will be interchangeable. 

I flip the center square over the left triangle and sew a partial seam then sew the top triangle, then the right triangle, then the bottom triangle, then I finish my first seam. The center square is 2 1/2 inches the same as the base of the triangle.

There will be no open windows or fans in my sewing room until this is finished.

Linked up to Judy at Patchwork Times so much fun you do this Judy
 http://www.patchworktimes.com/2012/03/19/design-wall-monday-march-19-2012/

 never too old to play with blocks,   ann

Design Wall Monday

Tessellating Star

I love arranging tessellating stars. Everything has to be placed before any sewing is done.

I still need to cut more blue and green squares for stars and decide what I want to use for the background fabric, either a pale yellow or a white with a light blue print.

I cut 5 inch squares then cut in half 2 1/2 inches wide then cut the rectangles in half diagonally. All fabrics must be right sides up and always cut  the same angle otherwise you star will twist the other direction.

Planning color arrangement on graph paper.

Happy planning,
Ann

Tessellating Stars

This little quilt was made from a 5 inch charm pack of fabric. It included some extra red and cream for borders for a table runner but no pattern. I chose to make a tessellating star so there would be no wasted fabric.  I cut stacks of squares all right sides up in half then cut the rectangles in half corner to corner always at the same angle then arranged the triangles into stars. The collection of fabrics had dark  and light fabrics but not a lot of mediums.

KansasTroubles Butterfly Garden collection of fabrics
quilt measures 29" x 38"

detail with quilting to accentuate the stars

Happy Stitching,
Ann