We've all seen a million half square triangle (HST) Values quilts. I, for one, don't get bored of them. I think that is because no two are the same - from the fabrics to the layout. However, I wanted to try something different. I was actually prepping for my upcoming class - Values Plus. In that class students will play with values and more than just HSTs. The class is about experimenting, not just creating a HST quilt.

So I dug into my jars of strips and strings. All random fabrics, random sizes, and only paired up by value. That is, as I grabbed strips I made sure that they had a value difference. Sometimes it was subtle, sometimes it was bold. That's generally how I approach pure value work. Subtlety makes it a bit more interesting.

After sewing the strips together I picked a size to trim to. It was mostly dictated by the width of most of the pairs. So 3 1/2'' square it was! And then I kept sewing, and sewing. And trimming and trimming.

I played with a number of layouts. More of a rail fence setting? Totally random? Strips of light/dark? After a long chat with Amanda Jean I went with this final set up. I also decided to create these little groupings on colour, a four patch.

No word of lie, it wasn't until I was posting these photos here that I realized that they looked like plus signs. For my Values Plus class. Get it?

I'm such a nerd.