Category: Sunday sketch
Quilt pattern: Whirlwind
I’m still submitting quilt patterns to magazines, because a deadline seems to be the only way to motivate me to sew! My latest pattern is out now in Quilt Now, a UK-based quilt magazine. Meet Whirlwind!
Whirlwind started life as Sunday sketch #119, which I posted on Instagram on 7 October 2018. I had sketched out an idea of interlocking curved arrows on paper, then figured out the actual construction in Electric Quilt 8.
It’s actually a lot easier to make than it might look*: some rectangles and squares, a few curves, and a few quarter-square triangles. My Instagram feed from around that time shows a few other variations you could easily make – for example, by replacing the arrowheads with rectangles (#120) or going monochromatic (#121).
I used all Art Gallery Fabrics – Pure Solids in Canary, Burnt Orange, London Red, Raspberry Rose and Snow for the front, and Squared Elements in Citrine for the back. I’d used Art Gallery Fabrics before, for Loophole, so I knew they’d have a lovely look and feel. And the range of colours in the Pure Solids collection meant that I had no problems picking the right shades of yellow, orange, red and pink (still one of my favourite combinations!).
And I decided I’m not going to stress over machine quilting anymore! I am thrilled to have found a fantastic edge-to-edge longarmer, Sharni Crossett from Lyrebird and Lamb Quilt Works, to quilt my quilts for me. I used to agonise over the cost, but I’ve finally realised that it’s more than worth it: sending my quilts out saves me not only lots of time, but also lots of stress, panic, anxiety, and more stress. I think edge-to-edge quilting patterns look much nicer and more professional than my go-to grid quilting, too.
If you make Whirlwind, I’d love to see it! Tag me on Instagram or send me an email.
Issue 63 of Quilt Now is on sale from Thursday 16 May. You can find it in newsagents or online.
* I’m pretty sure I always say that! But it’s true 🙂
Sunday sketch #150
Can you believe it?! I’ve managed to post a new Sunday sketch every week for 150 weeks in a row! I should’ve probably organised something special for this week, but I’m just posting my latest sketch.
This design repeats the same shape – made mostly by half-square triangles – four times in a single block, then repeats the block in a 4×4 formation.
I love that happy colour palette!
Adding a twisted square in the centre of the block helps to create new shapes – four little hearts, pointing in four different directions – and provides new options for colouring. This version of the design kinda reminded me of petals around the centre of a flower, so I coloured it in my go-to palette of white and warm yellow.
And, of course, now I can’t decide which one I like more.
This pattern could be made using half-square triangles and rectangles. In the second version, the centre might need to be paper-pieced for precision. In both cases, you’d need to sew a partial seam (just one) to piece the four shapes around the central square.
Sunday sketch #149
I bought a double drunkard’s template from Jenny Haynes (Papper, Sax, Sten) awhile back, and I really loved using it to create ‘Blue Wave‘. I keep thinking that I need to design more quilts with that curved motif. And of course, I’m always trying to find new ways to use half-square triangles.
I designed a 2 x 2 block in EQ8: two curves diagonally across from each other, and the other two squares comprising a rectangle and two half-square triangles. There are a million ways you can arrange and colour these blocks, but I settled on a 4 x 4 layout in which the blocks are rotated and feature only 3 colours.
But I also like the look of fewer blocks, all facing the same way.
I’m tempted to tweak this design slightly to remove the bottom-right corner (in hot pink), so that a quilt made from this design would have two square corners and two rounded corners. That’s not something I’ve seen very often (or at all?), but I think it would look pretty cool.
These designs could be made using Jenny Haynes’ double drunkard’s templates (or your own version), rectangles and half-square triangles.
