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Sunday sketch #4
This week, playing with a mix of half-square triangles and half-rectangle triangles (in 2:1 and 3:1 sizes) created lines that make me think of lightning or static electricity.
The meandering lines with occasional abrupt kinks also remind me of the shape of the newer building of the Jewish Museum in Berlin. It’s a minimalist building designed by Daniel Libeskind (who was involved in the original design of the new World Trade Center in NYC) to commemorate two thousand years of Jewish history, but its focus is on the Holocaust and its effects. I visited more than 10 years ago, and I can still remember the feeling of disorientation and displacement that the building evokes through its twisted zig-zag shape (among other features). A very powerful design.
Sunday sketch #3
My quilt design sketches are predominantly geometric, relying mostly on triangles, squares and rectangles. I tend to avoid curves, partial seams and free-form designs. This is partly because I just prefer straight lines, but also because my sewing skills are still at the ‘beginner’ level. I don’t sketch designs that I can’t figure out how to sew myself.
In her book The Creative Habit, choreographer Twyla Tharp writes that “the more skill you have, the more sophisticated and accomplished your ideas can be.” This series of blog posts will be a good record of how my designs change as my sewing skills improve.
This week’s sketch is all about diamonds and stripes. I can see this being constructed in 18 columns, each of which is made from angled strips of fabric interspersed with wide, flat triangles.
In her book, Tharp argues that “the best creativity is the result of good work habits”. Most creative individuals aren’t natural geniuses with God-given gifts; rather, they use preparation, routine and hard graft to produce their work. The skills underpinning creativity are “developed through exercise, through repetition, through a blend of learning and reflection that’s both painstaking and rewarding.”
I’m a big fan of routine and order, so I found a lot to like in The Creative Habit. I actually started my weekly ‘Sunday sketch’ series before I read the book, but Tharp’s insights are extra encouragement to keep my new habit going.
Started! My second quilt….
It’s been almost a month since I wrote about finishing my first quilt. I’d love to say I’ve been too busy quilting since then to write anything, but… that’s not quite true. I have made a start on Quilt #2 though!
I decided to make another basic quilt using half-square triangles (HST) instead of simple squares. I wanted to make it bright and cheerful, so I bought some beautiful peppered cottons and shot cottons. Check out these colours!
I bought 30 cm of each colour, and cut them into 14 squares each.
Such beautiful fabric!
I have 11 different colours and 14 squares each… that’s a lot of squares. After laying them all out, I paired them up in every permutation possible and ended up with a very attractive stack of 77 pairs.
The next step was to make the half-square triangles. I used a chalk wheel to mark the diagonal across each pair of squares, then sewed quarter-inch seams down each side.
Then cut down the middle and voila! Two half-square triangles.
Now, this is where I admit that I used the wrong measurements…. To make half-square triangles, you need to cut squares that are 7/8 inch bigger than the finished size of the HST. I want the finished half-square triangles to measure 4 inches, which means I should’ve cut 4 7/8 inch squares. In the week or so between investigating this online and finally getting my rotary cutter out, however, I managed to get it into my head that my squares should be 5 7/8 inches. Oops.
So now my HSTs are about an inch too big. I’ve decided I’ll cut them down to size (using my Bloc-Loc ruler!), stick to the original measurements I wanted, and do something interesting with the scraps. That’s the plan for this weekend. Watch this space!
