The Triangle Quilt

The Triangle Quilt

90'' by 90''

So named by The Monster because it has lots of triangles. Simple, explanation, really. Made up with bee blocks from my Pieced Together 2 bee, and some more added by me. Random flying geese, all going in the same direction.

The girls decided to pretend they were fallen statues on their bed. Other than sleep it would be the most still they've ever been on their bed. Right after I took this picture they started wrestling.

This quilt ended up being the perfect size. I know some folks don't like square quilts for beds because beds aren't square. If you want to skip that traditional pillow fold look, however, the 90'' by 90'' is perfect for the modern queen bed. You know, the kind that are ridiculously tall? Even after washing I've got plenty of overhang, without it being obnoxious.

(When I finally get a chance to finish up the details in the girls' room and photograph it you will see what I mean.)

I promise you that the quilt does lay flat when it is on their bed. It's been washed already to get out some random blood stain. I actually had it on their bed for a week before I finished the binding, so maybe the blood was a prick on my own finger? But for a bed quilt for two little girls I expect it to get washed A LOT.

For that reason I didn't stress over the quilting too much. I wanted it solid and graphic, but I didn't worry about it being perfect. It is my theory that "organic line quilting" is another way of saying "too lazy to mark". Well, it is in my world. The quilting on this one is mostly straight lines with random triangles. They sometimes echo the actual geese blocks, and sometimes they don't. It turns out to be a pretty neat effect on the finished quilt.

When it came to the back I more than lucked out. Back in March, when I was visiting Amanda Jean, we went to Hancock's (I think). The grey was purchased with these bee blocks in mind, although I had no idea what the quilt would become at the time. The turquoise polka dot I also bought then. The two combined perfectly in this back. The polka dot is a single stripe down the middle of the back. The Monster is obsessed with all things striped, so at least one had to be there.

Binding a quilt this size doesn't go fast, but it was a great activity on the nights I couldn't face much more after this run of single parenting. Or when the girls are playing baby tigers on the floor and you sit on their bed, under the the quilt, stitching. Other than that one section of turquoise it is the same yellow. I wanted the geese to pop, so I carried the yellow to the binding.

As for solving the problems we were having before, this quilt has definitely been the solution. Besides, it's pretty.

A Triangle Quilt

Welcome to the next hole in my head. No, I'm not even close to finishing the last one. I got tired of trimming all those half square triangles. There are nearly 300! Or it might, just might be evidence of some quilter ADD.

These are the bee blocks from the Pieced Together 2 Bee. I was putting together another, similar top a few months back and The Monster expressed such excitement over the design. That quilt went to live somewhere else, however. Ever since she's been asking for a triangle quilt of her own.

Then, the other night, I walked into this scene. Beyond the damn cuteness of the two of them cuddled up like that, you can see their sweat-soaked heads. They refuse to wear anything but full PJs and fight over the heavy duvet every night. With summer finally here the nights are actually warm. What else to do but make a quilt.

Yes, here in Calgary we switch to quilts in summer, instead of winter. Winter is for duvets (or layered quilts) and summer for quilts. So it is now my mission to get the girls a triangle quilt before summer ends.

I started with 11 blocks of various sizes. I figure I need 25 blocks at 18.5'' square to get to the queen sized quilt I want, with plenty of overhang. Since Sunday afternoon I've managed to make 6 more blocks and cut out 5 more. Some of the blocks might end up being solid yellow. Maybe, maybe not?

We're looking at a long weekend, I wonder how much I can get done? You know, in between actually spending time with the family.

Revelations

I've had a revelation over the last few weeks. It does not at all coincide with my birthday. Or the hours spent in the ER with The Evil Genius last week. It started when I came across this particular blog, Can You Stay For Dinner? She chronicles a massive weight loss and living her new life - the triumphs and the struggles. In one post on her weight loss she mentions emotional eating. Many of us do it, myself included. But when I read her post something twigged for me. I was convinced that I ate for the hug that it gave me - beer or chocolate at the end of the day to come down from the stress. In truth, comfort eating for me is a way to simply hide under the covers when I'm too drained to face the world.

This revelation hasn't caused me to suddenly stop eating cake at night. I mentioned that it was my birthday on the weekend, right? But it is making me stop and look at all the things that have been hanging over my head, keeping me down. By not tackling some things on the to-do list, simple and large, I'm effectively hiding my head under the covers instead of moving forward with life.

In that spirit I'm on a kick to catch up with bee blocks and knock out some WIPs. Not all of them, only those that are holding me back from starting some new work. These are commitments I've been avoiding in the interest of doing things for me, but in avoiding them I'm not able to move ahead. They need to get done so I can really pay attention to myself and the fun stuff.

This first set is for Shea, as part of my Pieced Together Bee. I am now addicted to Moda Crossweaves. These are gorgeous! Her only request was right angles only. I found out on this block that you can still do improv, it all matters in how you prep the pieces. I see more challenges like this in my future. And more crossweaves.

The next ones come from the Mid Mod Bee. Every single block and participant in this bee inspire me. I've had so much fun working on these blocks because they are all different and all come from such different places. But the inspiration from mid-century modern design prevails. It's been great to see the interpretations.

This is Robin's. She wanted a loose interpretation of Mondrian, a little less precise though. Mine isn't quite as curved as she'd probably like, so I left it large for her to trim down.

And this is Blair's. She was inspired by some images of fireplaces in a mid-century modern design book. I have the same book, so I totally get the inspiration. What a great combination of solids she has here.

I've got a couple more bee blocks to go and some tops to put together, then I can feel comfortable moving forward on some of my own projects again. Including some baby and wedding quilts. No rest for the wicked! Or the sick as the cold the girls gave me for my birthday is indeed begging to have me hide under the covers.

Geese Going South

Participating in bees has been a challenge. I'm notorious for not finishing things on time. But I feel a bit better knowing I'm not the only one in my group. And just yesterday I found a block that I finished months ago, but never got popped in the mail. Yikes! It will go in the mail this weekend, along with the fabric for my month.

This month I've chosen a Flying Geese block. I've sent out a generous FQ of yellow, plus some greys, whites, and a touch of turquoise. I'm not picky about the size or shape of the geese within the block or how many you put in, I only ask that they all fly in the same direction. You can also make the geese any way you are comfortable doing. Some tutorials for you here and here.

Finished block size will partly depend on how many geese you do within the block. My preference is for a block either 12.5'' square, 12.'' by 18.5", or 18.5" square.

I've had this quilt in my head ever since the bee started. The one thing I don't like about bees is feeling like someone else's sewing factory. I personally, prefer to be challenged to create something a bit more unique. I also like to get something unique to the quilter back. Then I love the challenge of making it all work together. That's why I'm excited about our Mid Mod Bee and my month here at Pieced Together.