Wednesday 23 October 2013

Half Square Triangles, the possibilities are endless!

I dont know what it is about rainy weather, but for some reason on those days I get a lot more done.  I'd usually do the things that I put off or set aside for, you know 'a rainy day', LOL.  But this week I was inspired to create.  So as I was looking through my fabric stash and picked out a 6 piece fat quarter bundle my sister sent me from the UK and I started browsing the web for inspiration to strike.

Image from Robert Kaufman

I did a general search for modern quilts and the one that grabbed my attention was this Asymmetrical diamond quilt from Robert Kaufman

I downloaded the free pattern and as I was looking through the fabric placements and fabric requirements I was inspired to design something different using this layout as my base.

I wanted to extend the design a bit further so I took my graph paper and started drawing.  So after a lot of scribbling and playing around, this is what I came up with.



So putting the pattern aside I immediately started planning.  This whole quilt consists of half square triangles.  Now let me be honest, I am NOT a math wiz, all I wanted was to get the exact amount of hst (half square trianlges) I needed to make this quilt.  So using THIS video tutorial from MissouriQuiltCo on Youtube for creating pinwheels which are made up from hst I knew its an easy technique to get it done fast...

A fat quarter is 18 x 22 inches, that is if its cut perfectly.  I knew I could get 9 - 6 inch squares out of one fc (fat quarter), but since I still had to cut off the selvage AND straighten the edges, I ended up cutting 8, 5⅞ inch squares from 6 different prints giving me 48 squares and for my background colour I cut the same amount.  So.. from one square I get 4 hst, I had 48,.. so 48 x 4 = 192, and I needed 180, so I was in the clear.

So after a lot of cutting...


...piecing


and MORE cutting


I ended up with these... Beautiful open and pressed half square triangles.


but...they still needed squaring up!


So after a lot of trimming squaring the hst to 3⅝ inch squares it was time to arrange the pieces...


at this point I got really exciting seeing the picture grow...


I ran out of space on my table, but once I have these pieced together I can lay out the rest..

I cant wait to see the whole quilt pieced together, so you guessed it, I'm off to start piecing these squares together....

Happy quilting!

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38 comments:

Rene Sharp said...

I think I am going to climb onto the half triangle band-wagon, and see where it takes me. Thanks for the inspiration :)

Laura said...

That looks amazing :) well done :)

Pippa Parsons said...

Love love love the colours,design..everything

Míša said...

It is really beautiful! I like the green-black/gray combination

Jenn said...

Wow! That is going to be one awesome quilt :).

Cheers,
Jenn from Mellycoddle :).

Lorna McMahon said...

Beautiful job, Marelize. It was fun to see pictures of the whole process you went through - so far. I love the green you chose for the background. What an awesome quilt this is going to be!

Patricia said...

Great fabric selection for this! I love the rose prints. Designing is fun! It's my favorite part, that's why I have so many UFOs. Looks really good.

Karin said...

Beautiful!...love the colour combination you have chosen

Erin Quinn said...

This looks really lovely. The green is so clean and fresh.
E xx

Mike Pearson said...

I like it and green is my favorite colour!

Danih03 said...

Great design! I like how the diamonds are ever so slightly offset!

Pat Merkle said...

Love the colors! It's going to look fabulous!

Paula said...

That is gorgeous! Wonderful colors!

Sandy said...

Absolutely gorgeous!! Great job on the design and fabric choice!!

Anonymous said...

Absolutely love this quilt in every way- from the design to the fabrics to the method for making HST. This is by far my favorite way to get accurate HSTs, and I think they work up pretty quickly as well. Great job, lovely quilt! I look forward to seeing more of your work!

Fullfilling my Dreams said...

Thanks for the tutorial, it is going to be gorgeous. I love it.

~Diana said...

I love how you diagrammed this design, and boy does it pop! :) Thanks for sharing! Nothing like a good set of art pencils!

http://sewcraftychick.blogspot.com/

Sewing Mom said...

Beautiful design and I love the colors too!

Lindsey said...

Great design, lovely colors! Can't wait to see it finished!

anyadahab said...

This is great. I love the colors!

Yvonne Campbell said...

I love your design. It looks great!

Unknown said...

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Great job! Thank you for the master class!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Paula said...

I love this, and I think I am going to try to do something similar to this for my mom. I'm not good with math, so just for a reference, with the size and # of squares you used, how big is this quilt top? Thanks.

Anonymous said...

Great colors. I love HSTs. They are so versatile.

Jennie @ Porch Swing Quilts said...

HSTs are so fun! And I love your extended layout. This quilt is going to be a stunner, for sure.

I find myself praying for a rainy day. All this sunshine makes me feel, I don't know, selfish or something if I'm sewing.

Valspierssews said...

Your design looks fabulous. I like they way you added more design to the design. It looks more interesting than the original.

Joanie's Trendy Quilts said...

Great design Marelize! Fabric choices used are gorgeous!

Shannon said...

Very pretty!! I love it. That is a great way to make many HST!

Connie Kresin Campbell said...

Looks beautiful and I think HSTs are so much fun to work with! Thanks for sharing.
Freemotion by the River Linky Party Tuesday

Vicki said...

That fabric is glorious! This is such a fun pattern. Congrats on all of your hard work.

hydeeannsews said...

so utterly cool! I've been messing with the endless hst's, too. love your idea!

Conni said...

wow, that looks like a whole lotta work!! very nice!

Leanne Parsons said...

Wow! This is gorgeous! The fabric is amazing, and the design is so graphic and fun. Great job!

Kelly @ My Quilt Infatuation said...

I love these colors, and this layout is so cool!

Thank you so much for linking up to Needle and Thread Thursday!

:) Kelly @ My Quilt Infatuation

Amy said...

Looks great!

Paula@TheSassyQuilter said...

I used this technique too and it is quick! Love the colors you are working with and the design is nice. Going to look great:)

Diana @ Red Delicious Life said...

This is going to be stunning. I'm also making a ton of HSTs for a project but I have a feeling it's going to end up on the back burner in lieu of holiday sewing.

Millie said...

I love this quilt, the colors and design, but my favorite is the QUILTING, it is drop dead gorgeous!

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