I’ve had this idea kicking around in my head for a while. Yes, of course, I need a new project like I need a hole in my head. And the timing isn’t perfect, but is it going to get any better with a new baby coming? Hardly. So, here we go.
I want to make a half-square triangle quilt. I want to just go through all of my scrap bins and use as much of it as I can to make a super-scrappy triangle quilt.
But, of course, to make a reasonably-sized quilt, that’s a whole lot of little triangles. I thought I might go about it in the vein of Amanda Jean‘s nine-patch-a-day quilt-along from last year. A couple of triangles a day are manageable. Thinking of them in sum total (I figure I’d need nearly 200 for a lap quilt) is too overwhelming. But a bit at a time, I can do.
Anyone want to join in and do this madness with me? Here’s my plan:
1. I am starting with 5″ squares, in part so that I’ll be able to use leftover pieces of charm packs. That will leave me with 4″ (finished) blocks.
2. I will use a print and a white solid for each block. I pulled out a big length of white I already had in my stash (might be Kona Bone?), and have cut it into 96 5″ squares so they’re ready to go (it was a little less than 2 yards). You could, of course, use ONLY scraps and no white for double the scrappy goodness, but then I’d try to make sure there was some consistent contrast in the two fabrics you put together: light vs. dark, warm vs. cool, etc.
3. I will make it my goal to make two sets of triangle blocks per day (i.e. two pairs of a white and a print), which would give me 28 blocks a week. If I can keep up that pace, I would make it through my 96 white squares in seven weeks, or almost mid-November. If I can’t keep it up, well, I’ll do my best. This is a hobby, after all, not an obligation!
If you’re interested in joining in, let me know. I’ll try to post links to folks playing along, and if there’s sufficient interest, I may create a Flickr group or something. Obviously, it’s your quilt, so if you want to make the blocks bigger or smaller to suit your own interest and pace, go for it!
What will the quilt look like in the end? Well, there’s only about a million possibilities. We’ll cross that bridge later, but feel free to browse the Half-Square Triangle Quilts pool on Flickr if you’re in need of inspiration!
So, you in?
I’m in. I have two charm packs of Bliss with no plans yet so why not. That will mean I only need to cut my solid so sure let’s do it
What’s one more project.
Have you seen the method for making HST’s on the Moda Bake Shop?…look up the project “Lap top in a jiffy” You use a larger square set, sew around all four sides, then cut corner to corner for 4 HST’s! It works really well!!!!
I’m in! I have a stash of vintage sheets that I was planning on doing this with! Twin size for a gift that will never get done if I don’t start it! Thanks for the motivation!
Tara recently posted..What the heck do you do with a mini-quilt
I would love to join althougth I am having trouble keeping up with all the things I am doing now. But why not add another?
Anne D recently posted..What do you think
In.
I could use
1) a use for some of my scraps
2) a simple, but substantial xmas gift for my neighbors, and
3) some more connection with my quilty friends.
Bring it, darlin’.
Susan McKey recently posted..Oh- how I miss you
I will join in. I certainly have a lot of scrap fabric that I would like to do something with.
Nancy Alberts recently posted..Monday- Monday!!!!
You bet! I have a bunch of little squares already cut to make big scrappy star blocks like Rita’s over here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/redpepperquilts/3967073255/in/set-72157607481499797/. It will take me approximately forever, but if I just do a few at a time, it won’t be so daunting!
Meg in CT recently posted..Oh- what a mess!!
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I would love to try this. I need to purchase a base fabric, like kona snow or something like that. i’m thinking a light grey? what do you think? i have lots of scraps to use. fun! can you count me in too?
what a fun idea! i’m not in. yet. but maybe in a few days i’ll break down and start. i have a values quilt that i’ve wanted to do forever….and i have lots of stash to use…but tooooooooooooo many on the go. i’m pondering…
amandajean recently posted..binging on fabric
No guarantees here, but I have a paper bag full of 4″ squares of kaffe stripes that I cut for half square triangles almost a year ago. And haven’t stitched a single one. Maybe I need to just pull it out and do a couple a day until I’m motivated to put them together. I think they’ll be mini-quilts, though.
mjb recently posted..Printed Linen Quilt
You don’t know me–I don’t know you–but I will join you and we can get to know one another. I like your blog–came over from Amanda Jean. I think I will have to do all scraps– I will try warm and cool and recruit my daughter to help in choosing.
Carin
Had I just not finished one I’d be in! This is my favorite class to teach too.
You go, girl!! This is a great project to use as “Enders and Leaders”, where you keep a stack of the precut whites and prints by your machine and every time you end or begin a seam, you sew onto or off of one of your HST units. Over time you accumulate a surprising amount of sewn HST units, with the added benefit of no thread tails to worry about as you sew. I did a little blog on this topic, with a blurb on leaders and enders at the end: http://greenwich-8.blogspot.com/2010/03/tidiness-tip-1.html
Janet Wilson recently posted..Chocolate Brownies
Yes, I have just a few works in progress (hmmmm!?), so I’m in with this. This very afternoon I will sew my first triangles, and post it on my blog.
[...] This is, of course, separate from what I would consider “scraps.” To me, something gets tossed into the scrap bins if it cannot be easily and neatly folded around my little cardboard template. Sometimes that means a width-of-fabric strip that is maybe six inches wide, sometimes it could be a 2.5″ square. You can see my scrap bins on my first Triangle Madness post. [...]
[...] quilt, well, a big one anyway. And, while blog browsing, I saw that a few people following Liz’s Blog were making one as well, so I decided to join along. Using my stash, made over 400 half square [...]