Ripe for Triangles
Quilt-making fills so many rolls in my life. Some quilts are very aesthetic and extensively planned, like the Penny Sampler or Nineteen Thirty. Others are emotionally expressive and thus cathartic to sew, like Never Easy or the NICU baby series.
original Penny Sampler
stack of NICU heart quilts
I make some quilts as gifts or as charity projects or for my children. With these I think, of course, constantly about the recipient. That is an outward-looking, outpouring process. Then there are the ones I make to let off steam. These are usually scrap quilts, and when I sew them it is as if the fabric and colors are pouring into me, filling me back up with energy, perspective and joy.
I needed to let off some steam this week, so I decided to mess around with this roll of pink/red/white fabrics. It’s called a Honey Bun, and is made up of 1.5” cut width-of-fabric strips from the Zen Chic collection Just Red. Looks like Valentine’s Day, right? That’s good timing.
I’m not really a precuts kind of girl, so I needed inspiration. I browsed online for patchwork ideas that use a thin sashing, preferably nothing too traditional. I happened across a Film in the Fridge tutorial called Two Triangle. Crazy small world - I longarm quilted a Two Triangle quilt for her years ago!
That’s funny. Anyways, the Film in the Fridge tutorial is clear and very do-able, but then a lightbulb went on in my brain. Scraps! And not just any scraps.
Triangle Scraps.
Those are my scrappy nemesis. They’re so tricky to work with. Usually incredibly time-consuming. I pulled them out and asked myself if I was really up to the challenge. While I mulled it over, Elora helped me sort them into different stacks, based on approximate size.
Then I realized that I could chain-piece the triangles in mass on the long honey bun strips. That would be fast. I wouldn’t trim them to size first. I would just go for it and trim later.
Plus, and this was the kicker, I could use triangles of different sizes. I could combine tiny triangles to make bigger triangles to use in the very same block. Wowzers!!! And that, my friends, is triangle scrap jackpot!
Well, the fabric is filling me up, as you can tell. I am so grateful for happy, scrappy quilts that are discovered when the moment is ripe.
This month with do. Good Stitches our charity bee quilt block is the wonky star. That’s always fun! I have a whole scrap bin full of triangle scraps. Wonky stars are the ideal quilt block for using up triangle scraps. Each of the eight star points will use a triangle scrap.
You might wonder why there is a sort of cut-out missing at the upper left corner of the block? That’s so because Expansion nestles beside another Positivities patchwork group, creating an overlap effect. That’s the style of my modern samplers - scattered and overlapping design elements, this time floating on a consistent background fabric.
Triangles are the building blocks of so many special quilts. They can be simple or fancy, traditionally pieced or improv pieced, wonky or tidy, scrappy or refined. In every form, I love them! Here are my favorite 9 patchwork triangle quilts.
So, you have heard a bit about Angled class, but what is it actually? Glad you asked ;). This digital class is ideal for developing quilters who want to really master angled patchwork piecing skills. You will grow to understand the why’s behind what works and to be able to put those principles into practice in your own designs.
I am in love! Come see the first block I made using my Tangential star pattern, from Angled course: I mean, wow! I think that it came out so well! The colors are absolutely divine. I love Anna Maria Horner’s saturated, dramatic tones with the Kona Avocado background.
Ta da, my finished Lavender Blue Teeter Totter Quilt. My satisfactions and dissatisfactions, in today’s post. I do hope that someone who loves purple will give this quilt a home! She’s listed in my Handmades shop, along with my previous multicolor Teeter Totter, aka Flower Fields.
Week 5 Sew-Along Goal: Finish the quilt top. Time to wrap this up! I sincerely hope that you have enjoyed this quick little sew-along. Maybe you’re even dreaming about sewing your next Teeter Totter quilt? They can be a bit addictive (says the person who just finished her third).
Week 4 Sew-Along Goal: Sewing Blocks. My last batch of blocks are a pale shade of purple, like the lilac trees abloom in our neighborhood. I hope your project also makes you smile today. P.S. If you can’t wait and want to start attaching short sashing pieces this week, you won’t be the only one.
Week 3 Sew-Along Goal: Sewing Blocks. Today on Instagram via I saw that several of you are making a Teeter Totter quilt with a rainbow blend layout. Of course that is sure to be amazing. Can’t wait to see your quilts develop!
Week 2 Sew-Along Goal: Sewing Blocks. We’ve just started a beginner-friendly sew-along, chock full of happy-go-lucky triangles. I am pleased to see you rooting around in your stash and scraps to bring something creative to life.
Week 1 Sew-Along Goal: Cutting. Don’t have background fabric yet? Need some help choosing triangle fabrics? This post includes some fabric tips, especially if you want to make a quilt like the cover quilt. Also, what to avoid. Get inspired to start your own Teeter Totter!
Let loose and have some fun with this quick and easy, tossed triangles quilt. Teeter Totter is a dream-come-true for your triangle scraps, but sews just as well from your stash. Use those precuts! Our sew-along is 5 weeks, starting May 1. Supplies - Precuts - Prizes - Schedule - it’s all here in the master post. I hope you’ll sew along with us!
Friends, I am so pleased with how this turned out! My latest Teeter Totter quilt exudes a happy energy with a confetti of bright colors on bright, solid white. It looks positively resplendent in Keukenhof’s lush, colorful gardens! This was fun to sew and to photograph.
Color, pattern, shape - it surrounds us. Beauty is strong and strength is beautiful. Take time to appreciate the beauty in your life today. I’m enjoying the beautiful process of sewing my second Teeter Totter quilt.
These bright, happy fabrics are my next quilt. It’s going to be quick, easy and perfectly pointy. Can you already guess what I’ll be sewing? Teeter Totter is gearing up for an April 17 pattern release and May sew-along!
Creativity often requires a question or limitation that sparks the problem-solving journey. I wanted to use up a roll of precut fabric strips, but ended up doing something even better - enjoying triangle scraps. Through this quilt those triangles have earned the perceived value of all my other scrap categories. And that is a big step up indeed!
Our family was hit with a very intense flu, so it was a stay-at-home sort of weekend with lots of naps. Still, I did make it to my sewing machine a few times to feed these triangle scraps under the humming needle. Sometimes a distraction is good medicine.
I make some quilts as gifts or as charity projects or for my children. That is an outward-looking, outpouring process. Then there are the ones I make to let off steam. These are usually scrap quilts, and when I sew them it is as if the fabric and colors are pouring into me, filling me back up with energy, perspective and joy.
I absolutely adored cutting these exquisite floral fabrics, but along the way I couldn’t really visualize how it would look put together. A leafy green is nature’s accompaniment for flowers, but how would it serve as the background color in my quilt?
It’s happened to you too, I’m sure. You’re happily sewing, your mind relaxed, contented and open. Suddenly it strikes you that the scraps of your current work-in-progress are positively perfect fodder for a new idea, and you feel instinctively that it must be.
I’m naming this one Starry Night for the deep gray and navy stars that form the center of the work. All the colors grow subtly lighter as you move away from center, creating a soft, glowing effect. At the edges blush peaks out like the dawn of a new day.
Stitch, stitch, whirrrr. It’s always a wonder that humble thread can transform flimsy pieces of fabric into a new and wonderful whole. Patchwork is a just fabric mosaic, and thankfully our tools are much lighter and easier than stone and mortar.
When you feel a bit down, do you turn to patchwork for comfort? I totally do. After we lost the bid for that graceful 1930’s house, I was dealing with a lot of negative emotions, so I decided to start something new.
At last, a finished quilt! How I’ve missed it. I love the satisfaction of zigzaging the binding on and then spreading the quilt out on the floor to take in the finished effect for the first time. A deep breath in and a deep exhale. A photoshoot. A cozy quilt.
For my stop in The Seedling Quilts book tour, I chose to make the Lavender quilt. I was drawn to the fascinating triangle work and splashy negative space. See how it turned out and learn more about Jodi Godfrey’s new book!
I love that this project has pushed me a little out of my normal, color-wise. I don’t think I would have had the restraint to make a (mainly) blue and white quilt, if it wasn’t for the Lavender quilt pattern.
Can you guess why I am making teeny tiny 2” finished triangle-in-square blocks? Think happy sashing. Think very happy sashing!