Tagged: squares
Sunday sketch #119
Last weekend, I went on a quilt retreat with a bunch of sewing friends – basically just a long weekend away, in a lovely location, doing more sewing that I’ve managed in ages. I got loads done, including sewing curves for the first time (yay!). They were much easier than I’d expected – so much so that I cut and sewed an entire quilt top in around 2 days (the first top I’ve finished in quite a while!).
Anyway, that’s all just to explain why I’ve been playing with curves more in EQ8 this week. Now that I know I can tackle them in real life, I’m more inclined to use them in my designs. Here’s one of a series that I’ll share in the coming weeks….
I started playing with curves, and then the curves just cried out for arrow heads and long tails, which I knew would work well in groups of 4, like a pinwheel. Then I nested the pinwheels so that the arrow heads were facing one another. I love the movement in this design, not to mention the colours! It uses 3 different blocks, with squares, rectangles, flying geese (or half-square triangles, or even quarter-square triangles) and curves (drunkard’s path).
Quilt pattern: Festive Flocks
I’m always excited when I see one of my quilts in a magazine for the first time. I tend to be a little unsure about my work when I send it off… does it look OK? Will the editor be happy with it? Festive Flocks – out now in the latest issue of Love Patchwork & Quilting magazine – is no exception. I’ve never made a quilt that’s so white before (hello, bleached batting!), and I just wasn’t sure how well it would photograph. But as usual, the team at LPQ have done an incredible styling job!
You can see two-thirds of the quilt on the wall (it has 9 big circular blocks in total), plus a snippet of a mini in the reverse colourway on the bed (white arrows on a red background).
Do you recognise the pattern? Festive Flocks is based on Sunday sketch #80, which I posted back in early January.
It’s mostly squares and half-square triangles, so the quilt top comes together really quickly. I used a mix of bright red fabrics from the Basics and Smitten collections by Bonnie & Camille for Moda Fabrics. They mix and match so easily, and look so sharp and vibrant!
This issue of LPQ has a Christmassy theme, mixed with some Scandinavian style. Check out the mittens on the cover!!!
Issue 66 of Love Patchwork & Quilting is on sale from Thursday 4 October, in print and digital formats.
Sunday sketch #118
I haven’t had much time or inclination to hand-sketch lately, so I’ve been dipping into EQ8 to create quick designs that I can play around with. I’ve been trying to use more curves in my EQ8 designs, because they’re one of the things I can’t easily hand-draw.
I’ve been playing around with one block in particular, which combines some straight lines and a double curve. You might be able to tell from the design below where each block starts and finishes.
I’ve created a completely different design with this same block, which I’m not quite ready to reveal yet. I’m actually going to try making this mystery design using Papper Sax Sten’s 7″ double drunkard’s path template, which I bought awhile back but have been too scared to use 🙂 . In the meantime though, I’ve had fun rotating and flipping the block on EQ8 to see what else I can come up with.
This design could be made into a quilt pattern using double drunkard’s path curves (best made using templates), squares and rectangles.
(I’m not really scared to use Jenny’s template, but I have high hopes for these curves, so I’m procrastinating trying them for the first time. Wish me luck!)
