Scrappy Triangle Swap Blocks

Posted on June 20, 2021 by zippyquilts

I’ve belonged to a block swap group for a long time, but we have done extra during COVID. Here’s the latest, a scrappy triangle block. In case you want to know, it’s made with the tri-recs tool, available several places–just ask Ms. Google.

What we haven’t done is put any of these into a quilt! Here are some ideas on layout:

And in case you’ve never made improvised scrap blocks, here are directions. We’ve been using single-color scraps, but there’s no reason the color scheme can’t be scrappy.

Start by choosing 2 scraps you like and sew them together any way you care to. If one has a curved side, you can choose to sew the curve or cut it off straight.

Trim up an edge so you can add something else.

Keep adding pieces, checking occasionally to see if your template is going to fit on the scraps.

It’s fine to add BIG pieces too in order to move things along.

Press all the seams open. Too much bulk otherwise with all those seams.

Finally, cut around your template and assemble the block.

What templates do you like to use?

Eight Years

Posted on May 30, 2021 by zippyquilts

I’ve now been blogging weekly for 8 years. One of the best things about it is “meeting” people from all over the world and reading about what they are doing. Some of them have been at it even longer than I have, though many of the bloggers I’ve “met” have since quit writing.

Here are my current favorite quilts from each of the years I’ve been blogging.

Rising Star, made for the Quilt Alliance TWENTY contest in 2013

My Zippy Star Quilt and Pillow as shown in Modern Quilts Unlimited, Summer 2014

Happy Squares, designed and made by me, 2015

Cherrywood Toss, 2016.

Scrap quilt made with strips that finish 1″ wide, 2017

Equilateral Triangles, 2018

My “Little Green Man” quilt, June 2019

“Clamshells? Really?” 2020

I’m going to delete many of the older posts since I doubt they are serving any purpose at this time. I have had a book made for each year, as suggested by my friend Linda, so I can always look back at them if I want.

Design Floor/Exercise Tool

Posted on February 14, 2021 by zippyquilts

Sitting quietly,
doing nothing, spring comes
and the grass grows by itself.
–Basho

OK, it’s not exactly quilting, but this is one of my favorite haiku, and we certainly need spring. Enough said.

On to quilting…

We’re presently in transitional housing while our new home is being built, and I’m putting nothing on the walls. Here are a couple of improvised design wall alternatives as well as a report on the progress of a couple of quilts.

The Temperature Quilt

I love the idea of a temperature quilt and started this one early in 2020. Then we got going on the new house and my attention was elsewhere for several months. Finally I got back to the temperature quilt and hung the first 6 strips (January-June) on my improvised design wall. FYI, this beige flannel backing fabric (108″ wide) makes a great design wall when hung over the stair rail.

Unfortunately, I found it tedious and not every interesting to carefully transcribe temperatures to colors and arrange them in order. Therefore, this quilt has been abandoned. I have no idea what I’ll do with these strips, but the remaining yardage has been repurposed already 😀

The 9″ Swap Blocks

One of my quilt groups has been exchanging swap blocks each month and we now have more than enough for a quilt or two. Here’s a layout for my first quilt, shown on the design floor.

The design floor has been a feature of several of our houses. As long as there’s a loft on the second floor that overlooks the first floor (usually the living room) I can get both a design floor and an exercise plan. Here’s how it works:

Lay out blocks on floor

Run up the stairs and look down to evaluate the layout

Run down and move some blocks

Run up and re-evaluate

Run down and move some blocks

Repeat, repeat, repeat…

So you see, having a design floor is a great exercise tool 😀

And here’s the quilt top sewn together:

Anyone else have quilting exercise programs to suggest? 😀

More Donation Quilts

Posted on January 31, 2021 by zippyquilts

Before I show the latest group of donation quilts, I want to say how happy I am that my long-time blogging friend Melanie has started posting again. She’s an expert in medallion quilts and does beautiful work, so you may want to check her out here.

These quilts are going to Ronald McDonald House, so here’s a last look at them before they go.

“In Fairyland”, original design, 2013. 53″ x 67″. I like it, but it’s never been used, so off it goes.

“Serendipity I”, 2020, 51″ x 61″. Pattern is from Love Jelly Roll Quilts.

Unnamed, 55″ x 69″, 2011. Made to use some of my huge stash of florals, but never used.

Kaffe Leftovers, 48″ x 60″, 2020.

I designed “Spring Sun” using piecing papers from a Judy Niemeyer pattern, 2012-2014. It was juried into an AQS show but has never been used, so it’s time to donate it.

“Elizabeth’s Village”, 40″ x 40″. Center design is by my friend Elizabeth and pattern is available in her Payhip store. I added borders so it would finish crib size, 2020.

“Baby Stars”, 45″ x 45″, 2019. Pattern is “Lucky Stars” by Atkinson Designs.

Star Swap Quilt, original design, 2019. 40″ x 40″.

I hope the families at Ronald McDonald House get enjoyment and comfort from these quilts. They were just stored in a closet here, so they need to be used.

2020 Review, Part II

Posted on January 24, 2021 by zippyquilts

Here are the rest of my 2020 project completions. As previously mentioned, shelter-in-place was an opportunity!

I designed and made Fiddlesticks after seeing a number of similar quilts on the internet.

Pineapple Fabrics requested pineapple blocks for a children’s hospital donation project, and my friend Chela and I each made several.

I finally finished this little art quilt, which was started several years ago

This quilt used up a lot of scraps!

I made numerous projects inspired by books I reviewed for C&T. The quilt on the left is a modification of a pattern that appears in New Patchwork and Quilting Basics, by Jo Avery. The block on the right is one of my favorites of the year; the pattern is in Quilt: Modern Curves and Bold Stripes.

The quilt above is modified from my friend Elizabeth’s Merrion Square pattern. The pattern is available in her Payhip shop and includes several variations.

This quilt was made with a jelly roll I won in a contest! The pattern is in Love Jelly Roll Quilts.

Who can resist the colorful fabrics by Kaffe Fasset? I made two quilts with them. This pattern is available free from Free Spirit Fabrics, here.

And here’s the quilt made with leftover blocks:

Above is another Scrap Quilt, 64″ x 64″. I was planning to teach it in January, but the COVID numbers have gotten too high here for that to be safe right now.

This is the quilt in crib size

The quilt above is another I developed for Studio Stitch. I think they still have some kits left if you’re interested. My friend Mary just sent me a picture of her completed quilt from the kit!

This next quilt, 12″ x 12″, was just a block for years after I took a leaf pounding class. I finally quilted it, and I’m happy with the result.

Here are 3 that I know you’ve seen before, but they were completed in 2020, so gotta show them:

It’s always a great idea to offset the intersecting seams!

I finally bound this quilt, which was a practice piece for a pattern I developed last fall

And finally, here’s my end-of-year art quilt. I’ve had this idea in mind for some time so I was glad to finally get it out on fabric. I think the tree topper needs a golden starburst around it, so I’ll be adding that before the next holiday season, but at least the quilt is mostly done.

Xmas, 25.5″ x 31.5″

Whew! 2020 had some redeeming accomplishments despite all the “challenges”, as we like to call them! I hope you find that the year had some good points for you, as well.

2020 Quilt Review, Part I

Posted on January 17, 2021 by zippyquilts

Every problem being an opportunity, I think we’ll review the projects completed in 2020 because of the opportunity to spend much more time at home 😀 In fact, I got so much done that I’m splitting it into two posts so my head doesn’t spin. Here’s part I:

Plaidish was made from a free pattern available from Kitchen Table Quilts

I designed the quilt above based on a barn quilt I saw every time I drove to town. The design was created in EQ8 and Eileen Fowler at McCall’s Quilting transformed it into a design of her own, giving me credit for inspiration.

The above quilt was designed in EQ8 and made with scraps. Studio Stitch offered the pattern free with purchase. I loved using all my colorful scrap strips.

I made this after reading Happy Villages by Karen Eckmeier

This wonky house was inspired by a class I took with Laura Wasilowski several years ago

And this one gave me a chance to use one of my little antelope charms

This dragonfly has sparkly wings and a rhinestone, too

Finally, I couldn’t help making a card with this cow, who has been in my stash for some time!

This pine tree has green flannel for foliage and lots of free motion quilting for texture

I made a bunch of postcard-sized art quilts as samples for a class I plan to teach on making landscape quilts. COVID happened, so the class hasn’t been offered yet.

I designed and made this little neighborhood after seeing similar projects online. Isn’t the internet a great source of inspiration?

Orphan Blocks

I made a bunch of donation quilts, including the two above constructed from orphan blocks. Several quilts went to a local at-risk infant project, and there’s another pile waiting to go to Ronald McDonald House.

I took a class with friends at A Stitch in Time and made this fall quilt. They still have the pattern if you want to make one, too.

I made this orphan block up into a little quilt for the SAQA auction.

Like everyone else, I made a zillion of these. At least my model is cute 🙂

I enjoyed making this quilt and the templates from Elisa’s Backporch made it easy.

That is surely enough for one post! To be continued…

Catching Up

Posted on January 10, 2021 by zippyquilts

Catching up on a few things that happened over the holidays:

First, Julie contacted me about an error in a pattern I did for McCall’s Quick Quilts back in 2006. It was nice to know somebody was still using the pattern! The magazine probably published a correction in the next issue, but I was out of town so didn’t have access to either my original article or the magazine. Julie figured it out on her own, however, and I think she did a great job. She was kind enough to send me pictures of her finished placemats:

Second, I got 3 quilts bound. Oh yes, I blogged about the first two before the binding was complete, taking care to hide the edges! Here they are:

Little Jewels, from a pattern by The Quilt Police

Quilt from Pat Sloan’s “Going on a Picnic” quilt along

I finally bound this quilt, which was a practice piece for a pattern I developed last fall

Third, Studio Stitch is now offering the pattern I developed to make this quilt:

The pattern is free with purchase of enough FQs to make the smallest size, but you don’t have to buy the same fabrics I used. Since I’m always looking for an excuse to buy more FQs, this seems perfect to me 😀

On to 2021!

Avoiding Half Square Triangles

Posted on December 27, 2020 by zippyquilts

Half square triangles are an important design element in many quilts. The split value and diagonal line allow a variety of dynamic designs.

**This is a Half Square Triangle (HST)**

One of my quilt groups has been discussing HSTs because some of us love them and some have limited tolerance for them. It matters because we regularly do block exchanges.

One member recently sent a picture of a beautiful depression block quilt, and that got the discussion going again. A depression block quilt is made entirely of HSTs!

**This is a typical block from a Depression Quilt**

**This is a traditional Depression Block Quilt made entirely with HSTs**

Not being much of a rule-follower, I got to speculating about how we might make this quilt using strips instead of HSTs. (Yes, I get that the original idea was to use up small scraps, but what if you just wanted the overall effect without all those HSTs?) My friend Mary B encouraged me to develop this idea, so here we go.

I did a number of experiments with Electric Quilt 8 (EQ8), which produced all the illustrations for this post. I learned that the most important element in the success of this quilt is contrast between the values (rather than the colors) of the fabrics. (All the illustrations use Fossil Fern fabrics from the EQ8 fabric library.)

I first tried drawing a block that used strips of lights and darks in place of the rows of triangles. This would simplify construction significantly.

Here’s the block:

**Depression block effect without the HSTs**

And here’s the quilt:

Then I tried a traditional Courthouse Steps block set on point to mimic the depression block effect.

Here’s the block:

And here’s the quilt:

Finally, I changed up the color arrangement in the traditional Courthouse Steps block to provide more variation.

Here’s the block:

And the quilt:

So! I’m not sure my variations are a good substitute for the traditional Depression Block quilt, but it was fun and I do like the quilts. What do you think, Mary B?

Little Jewels

Posted on November 15, 2020 by zippyquilts

I found a quilt like this somewhere online, and you know I love improvised scrap quilts, so I just had to make it! (Sadly, I have lost the link, so if you know where this came from originally, please let me know.)

It’s always a great idea to offset the intersecting seams!

My quilter was able to use Minky Dot for the backing and quilt it with no batting. That makes the quilt nice and cuddly without being too heavy.

I have been informed that the grandchildren prefer the quilts backed with polyester fleece for cuddling. The lighter weight of the quilt without batting also makes it ideal for dragging around the house or building forts and tents.

Polyester fleece can be a challenge to quilt because it stretches in at least one direction. The quilter told me that a midarm or long arm quilting machine does not have feed dogs, so stretching was not a problem, though the tension was a problem at times. I suppose I could do free motion quilting with the feed dogs down on my domestic machine, but walking foot quilting might stretch the back.

Minky backing with no batting allows the quilt to drape nicely

Quilt stats:

Name: Quilted Jewels

Pattern source: anonymous picture on internet

Finished size: 46″ x 62″

Quilted by: Julia Madison

Zippy Quilts

Modern Quilts With A Twist

Category Archives: scrap quilt

Scrappy Triangle Swap Blocks

Eight Years

Design Floor/Exercise Tool

More Donation Quilts

2020 Review, Part II

2020 Quilt Review, Part I

Catching Up

Avoiding Half Square Triangles

Little Jewels

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