Whew! What a scorcher! Ā And all that! Here in ‘central southern England’ (a geographical reference point often used by weather forecasters) we have been enjoying/suffering a run of hot, humid weather. Even so, there are a few indications that Summer is coming to a close and we are approaching a new season: Just a hint of Autumn colour on a few leaves at the tips of branches; the sound of Robins rehearsing their song; and the arrival of the ridiculous ‘Daddy-long-legs’ drifting through open windows and bumping into light bulbs!
All of which makes me feel more in tune with the Autumnal hues of the fabrics I’m using in my current work in progress. It has been a bit hard to push through the piecing (hot weather and all) but I completed the 25 Ohio Stars earlier this week and yesterday, at a sewing day with friends, I pieced the 16 setting triangles and four corner triangles needed to complete the top š
This is the firstĀ time I’ve made pieced setting triangles. If I had followed the pattern instructions the little triangles running along the outside edges would have had biased edges. Experience tells me that having stretchy bias fabric along the edges of a quilt top is not good, with the likelihood that borders will not lie flat. So I improvised; the instructions were to make theĀ little triangle pieces by cutting squares in half diagonally, instead I quartered slightly larger squares of fabric so the longer exposed edges of the triangles are the outside edges of the squares, running with the grain. Hopefully this will make adding the borders a little easier. Those borders are giving me food for thought, I guess they will be made from a medium to dark fabric but as yet I’m not sure of the colour…
Linking with Myra at Finished or not Friday.
Allison
Great idea to use quarter-square triangles for the setting triangle edges. Your quilt will be very pretty!
Thank you!
I love the colors in this quilt, Allison, and I especially love that red and army green 9-patch block. I can hardly wait to see the whole top put together. You were wise to make the outer triangles quarter-square instead of half-square. I know you could have put a basting stitch in the HSTs but that’s extra trouble (and still uncertain results) when it’s so easy to cut the QSTs. I wonder why a pattern would call for HSTs along outer edge….
I’m not sure why either other than it was a book about scrap quilts so maybe the assumption was the scraps might be too small to cut quarter square triangles! You and me both for those two fabrics – of course they were the most expensive!
Very smart decision. I don’t like a bias edge anywhere, and always re-work directions that will give me those.