Making scrappy patchwork with half-square triangles

What do you do with the cut-off triangles from piecing binding strips on the bias… or the triangle cut-offs when you do the flippy corner patchwork technique? Do you save them? 

I save these triangular scraps and use them as “leaders” and “enders” when I chain piece. They turn into little HSTs (half-square triangles). So trust me, I have a huge HST assortment!

Half-square triangle patchwork.

Lately, I’ve been enjoying “therapy patchwork” assembling HSTs into patchwork blocks. No plan. I just trim the HSTs with the Bloc Loc HST ruler, then sort them by color and size, lay them out, and make patchwork.

Half square triangle block with the Bloc Loc ruler.

At first, I was just making HST patches.

A 4x4 patchwork unit made with 1-1/4” half square triangles.

Then I started making them into larger blocks. In this one, the HST patchwork is framed with sashing strips.

HST 9-patch with borders.

Sometimes a fussy-cut motif is surrounded/framed with a border of HSTs.

Fussy cut center surrounded with HSTs.

Pinwheels are fun HST units, as well as a strip of HSTs sewn in a row.

Pinwheels and HSTs in a row.

Other patchwork units include the broken dishes unit, or the square in a square unit.

Four patch Broken Dishes units.

Making blocks with HSTs leads to more HSTs

I’ve got many more HSTs to use… units to make… blocks to assemble. By playing around with these little units, other quilt blocks have come to mind… shoo fly, bear paw, maple leaf… I’m sure there are more.

A stash of HST units awaiting patchwork.

It’s ironic, however, that in using up my stash of HSTs to make patchwork blocks, I’m also creating more HSTs with leaders and enders… which is where all this began.

An unending supply of HSTs.

Kind of like the loaves and the fishes…

Half-square triangles waiting for patchwork assembly.

A fabulous week of Improv Quilting at the Folk School

Last week I had the pleasure of teaching Improvisational Quilting at the John C. Campbell Folk School with 10 talented, inquisitive, and adventurous students, and my friend, Susan, as our studio assistant. It was a prolific week of color, pattern, and innovative piecing and patchwork, at a picturesque, nature-filled setting in western North Carolina.

Improv Quilting class display at the Closing Ceremony, John C. Campbell Folk School.

Ruler-free cutting: abandoning the rulers

Mari cutting one of her strip sets.

The first order of business in improvisational quiltmaking is learning to cut fabric freehand with a rotary cutter and NO RULER. We started learning this the morning of the first day.

For today’s quilters who are accustomed to using acrylic rulers and acrylic templates with gridlines and measurements to make patchwork, it may take a little time to get comfortable with this skill. 

By the afternoon of our first day, however, these fearless students were masters of the technique! Several commented how liberating it was and they “may never go back to a ruler…”

We worked on cutting strips, making custom stripes, inserting strips into wider rectangles, and combining strips to make other patchwork units.

At the end of the first day, the design walls began to fill with color and patterns.

Strips and stripes.

Strips, inserts and reassembling.

Strip sets and strips inserted into rectangles.

Strip exercises.

And if you can’t decide what fabrics to choose for various exercises… just take a look at what you’re wearing. The subconscious at work? Seredipity?

June and her coordinating strip set.

Mary Anne brought her hand-dyed fabrics to class.

Sue’s top matches her strip set.

Geometry and improv patchwork

As the week progressed, students learned various cutting and piecing techniques to make patchwork units—curves, quarter circles, and several triangle units. Do you remember your high school geometry???

Improv curves and triangles.

Improv curves, triangles, and wedges.

Improv triangles at play.

The improv patchwork compositions evolved on the design walls. With each new lesson, it was interesting to watch compositions change, grow, and develop from morning through the afternoon and into the evening. Each day brought a new path to explore.

The Improv Game

One of my favorite exercises in this week-long workshop is a game of improv. This time, a neutral color palette was the result of the roll of a die. We pushed the neutral color palette just a bit to include a light salmon, green tea, and fog (a dusky violet) solids [colors of Painter’s Palette by Paintbrush Studio]. Students chose 5 or 6 fabrics to use for their quilt blocks.

Making fabric choices… don’t over-think it!

Pushed neutral color palette.

Fabric bundles were cut and distributed…

Pushed neutral fabric bundles ready for cutting and piecing.

… and the freehand cutting and piecing processes began.

Freehand cutting.

Classic quilt blocks were created using improvisational methods. Block names included Eight-pointed Star, Hour Glass (two versions), House Top (log cabin variation), Quarter Log Cabin, Sawtooth Star, Propeller (Rail Fence), Shoo Fly, Quarter Log Cabin, and a Star Block.

Improv versions of classic quilt blocks.

Tips, demonstrations, and resolving construction dilemmas

Many of the students commented that basic sewing/piecing/quilting tips that were mentioned and demonstrated in the workshop were so helpful. Whether you’re new to patchwork or a long-time quilter, it’s good to be reminded and refreshed about basic techniques—pressing to set the seam, spinning the seams, pressing vs. ironing, etc.

Demonstrations.

And I try not to let students go “out on a limb” in their patchwork without a safety net or a way to resolve construction conundrums. We talk as a group and I meet with students one-on-one to discuss ways to get around any construction challenges they are having with their pieces. 

Discussing piecing challenges.

Figuring out “patchwork construction” is a fun part for me as it’s like putting a puzzle together—without having the puzzle box cover that shows the end result. 

Discussing the composition. Audition. Stand back. Edit.

Presenting the work

At the end of the week, students have the opportunity to talk about their piece(s)—how they chose a color palette, what surprised them, if/how their perception of  “improv” changed from the beginning of the week until the end.

Gwen was surprised by all aspects of the improv process. She said the exercises helped
 to broaden her pieces. Gwen plans to quilt her piece by hand with big stitch.

Mari prefers a calming, neutral color palette. She found the improv process pushed her creativity
resulting in the addition of raspberry and burgundy colors in one of her pieces.
(But check out the sweater she’s wearing!)

Lisa said “her colors picked her” and not the other way around.
She found the grey fabric to be a good solution to resolving the composition of her piece.
She plans to “up her game” with free-motion quilting to finish her pieces.

The green/red/black color palette surprised Sue.
In the future, she wants to loosen up her piecing by making and using larger blocks.
She plans to expand her quiltmaking in more non-structured ways.

Carol, a garment sewer, learned a new vocabulary and is excited about using “quilting” tools
in future projects. She stretched herself in her choices of color
and plans to take a beginning quilting class to expand her skills.

Mary Anne’s hand-dyed fabrics provided a unique depth and texture to her pieces.
She was pleasantly surprised to learn she now likes freehand cutting with the rotary cutter!

Charlotte challenged herself with this color palette. By “letting go” of planning the color and fabric
 placement of each unit, she was surprised and pleased where the colors appeared in her project.
Charlotte plans to write a tanka poem about the meaning behind this piece.

June let go of “precise piecing” to be more free with cutting. She is inspired by the Gees Bend quilts
 and learned that it’s OK to cut into patchwork that wasn’t exciting to her.
She is pleased and excited about the pieces that she cut up and then reassembled.

Deborah started with fabrics that were not her favorites, but pushed herself and discovered
that she did like the color and fabric choices in the end.
Her previous work was more linear, but has now found an appreciation for curved piecing.
Deborah enjoys hand sewing but is contemplating whether to finish these pieces by machine.

As a more traditional quilter, Kristen was used to grid-based layouts. Free-form layouts are 
new to her. Techniques such as curved piecing inspired her “botanical” themed composition.
 Kristen plans to machine quilt her piece.

As you can see, it was quite a productive week!

Wrap up and final thoughts

It was indeed a wonderful week of Improv Quilting at the Folk School! In addition to learning improvisational cutting and piecing techniques, basic sewing tips, and gaining inspiration from the demonstrations that were given, the overarching comment from my students was the camaraderie they felt from each other, our studio assistant, and me during the week. I will say that the Folk School values—joy, kindness, stewardship, and non-competitive—definitely sprang forth this week. 

Keep “Singing behind the Plow.”

A big Thank You to each of my students for brining an open mind and sense of curiousity to class, and for just being yourselves. It was a delight to get to know you all! Thank you to Susan, my assistant, for taking photos, the copious note-taking, and keeping our studio space tidy. Thank you also to the Folk School staff, the behind-the-scenes personnel, and our Textiles and Natural Fibers Coordinator, Allie, for all the support, and for paving the path for an enjoyable and educational experience. 

——

For more photos of the week, see Part II blog post.

Happy Christmas and a mend-ful New Year

Out of the gate for a Winter of Care and Repair is this pillow that had literally busted at the seams. It’s been mended and in use again... in time for the holidays.

Mended tree pillow back in service.

This pillow is a long-time, scrappy favorite of mine. It was a project I made as a beginner quilter. The original fabrics for the sashing, border, and the pillow back were solids—and likely from a source that was used before I knew about, and understood the value of, “quilt shop quality” cottons. As you can see, the fabrics didn’t hold up as long as the rest of the pillow.

Unstitching and removing the patchwork from the pillow top.

Disassembly and the mending process

I decided to save just the center patchwork and put it into a new setting. It didn’t seem prudent to unpick the other seams and try to salvage the lesser-quality solid fabrics. (They will find their way into another scrappy project.) 

For the new borders, a cotton blender—a “holiday red” (merlot is the color name) from the Canvas collection [Northcott Fabrics]— was my choice for the replacement fabric. 

Unstitching the center patchwork from the old pillow.

After unpicking the patchwork from the borders, doing a little “quilty math” to fit the size of the pillow form correctly, the new strips were cut and sewn to the patchwork.

New borders added.

I sew rounded corners on pillows so they won’t be so pointy once the pillow form is inserted.

Sewing rounded corners.

A new pillow backing (I use the overlap style) was added using the same Canvas blender fabric. The old pillow form was inserted, and the tree pillow is like-new again.

Mended pillow.

The Winter of Care and Repair is off to a productive start. Happy patchwork for a happy Christmas!

Kantha stitched zipper bag, Make Nine finish

Checking this UFO off the list! 

One of my Make Nine 2020 goals was to complete a UFO [unfinished object]... I had many to choose from, to be sure. Since the soothing, repetitive nature of hand stitching has become a mental salvation from the news grind about Covid-19, this kantha stitching project was easily revived from the UFO pile. 

So this is my seventh Make Nine 2020 UFO finish—a kantha and decorative stitched zipper bag.

Kantha and hand stitching zipper bag.

Kantha stitching and hand embroidery

This piece was started sometime in 2018 with the hand embroidered Sunshine Girl. My fabric of choice for hand stitching is a yarn-dyed woven from Diamond Textiles. Over the span of 2+ years, the kantha stitching slowly filled the background areas, using up random, single strands of colored embroidery floss. The needle effortlessly glided through this yarn-dyed fabric to create lines of multi-colored dashes and texture.

Filling the background with kantha hand stitching.

When Little Miss Sunshine was finally completed, I wasn't sure what to do with her... a pillow? a small table topper? a wall hanging?

Better yet, something more functional... for every day use: a zippered project bag. 

Complementing hand stitching with decorative machine stitching

Now, the Little Miss Sunshine bag needed a second side. For this, I took quilt blocks from last year's 100 Days 100 Blocks project and patchwork bits made with Diamond Textile's yarn-dyes and pieced them together. This patchwork was thread embellished by machine with 12 wt Spagetti thread from WonderFil Threads and the built-in decorative stitches on my sewing machine. It was fun to experiment with the decorative stitch patterns!

Auditioning decorative stitches and thread colors.

The pieces were then ready for bag assembly...

Pieces ready for bag assembly.

Inside lining with pockets

Pockets were included in the lining (a floral print from the Charleston collection from Art Gallery Fabrics)—with a 3-step zigzag stitch to coincide with the outside.

Pockets with decorative stitching in the bag's lining.

Zipper installation

The instructions from Sam Hunter's Chunky Wee Zippy Pouch pattern and a zipper pouch tutorial from Noodlehead helped with the zipper installation. 

12 wt Spagetti thread [WonderFil Threads] for decorative stitching.

The finished bag is approximately 12.5" x 13" and has a boxed bottom. 

Zipper bag: Kantha hand stitched side.

It's currently holding my English paper piecing hexagon project. 

Zipper bag: Machine pieced side with decorative machine stitching.

A completed UFO for a WIP [work in progress].

Check one more item off the (loooong) UFO list.