Hi Guin! I've written a few previous posts about this type of quilt. The first one I made was using some orange/blue half-square triangles - here is the URL to that post - http://colorfulartgirl.blogspot.com/2007/11/half-triangle-squares-from-squares.html
Here I talk about the original inspiration for the quilt - from a two-color (I think) quilt by Sue Ulrich called Raspberry Mocha that was in a Better Homes and Gardens magazine in 2007.
I ended up adding more colors and made the quilt Izabella's Puzzle: http://colorfulartgirl.blogspot.com/2008/12/two-finished-in-december-2008.html
You can see that I really like to create a contrast between the lights and darks, and I use medium values to blend between the two.
Then I wanted to make a baby quilt using the same pattern. So I mocked up some ideas in EQ6 to decide which to do:
and here is the finished quilt from that: http://colorfulartgirl.blogspot.com/2012/12/art-stuffed-animals-and-baby-quilt.html
Then I started in on a red/white/blue quilt, and there are several posts on my blog showing the progress of that quilt, including this one, which talks about the process and shows how I was sampling colors and values in EQ6 to come up with a design idea: http://colorfulartgirl.blogspot.com/2012/07/process-patriots-puzzle.html
If you don't have EQ6 you can just as easily use a paper and some colored markers. I don't use EQ6 very much (you can see I have an old version of the software) but it's useful when I want to mock something up quickly and fill blocks easily with color without having to break out the markers: http://colorfulartgirl.blogspot.com/2012/07/process-patriots-puzzle.html
That link just above also shows how I placed blocks on the design wall to try and find a pleasing arrangement. Ultimately, what I did was select a hundred or so fabrics from my stash by milling through my entire stash and pulling out everything that met the color requirements (blue, red, white, black, black/white, and any combination of those colors i.e. red/white, red/black, etc). Then I made half-square triangles as referenced above, by cutting several squares from each piece of fabric and matching them up with another piece of fabric, generally a light with a dark, a medium with a dark, or a medium with a light, and NOT light with light, dark with dark, or medium with medium. (Though, depending on the effect you want to achieve, you could pair dark with dark and light with light etc and then have your pattern fade into the background, that's what I did to some extent with the baby quilt - the light part in one corner where it goes to yellow/white. Then, after making the half-square triangles and pressing them out, I threw them up randomly on the design wall and, in the case of the red/white/blue quilt, left it up there for several weeks a.k.a. months a.k.a. one year and moved them around until they were visually pleasing to me. I sewed several additional squares with fabric I selected especially for a particular area because none of the blocks were really satisfying to me.
I think using software like EQ6 (or even markers on paper) is really beneficial with a design like this because once you have some idea of how you want it to look, you can calculate just how many lights/darks/mediums you need, which is what I did with the blue/yellow/green baby quilt. I don't recall doing the same thing with the red/white/blue quilt...
I'll try making a real tutorial with pictures the next time I make one of these quilts. Meanwhile, I think the best (and funnest) way to make quilts like this is to get out some fabric and sew some squares together and put them up on a design wall (warm and natural batting nailed to the wall) and see what you think!
Hi Lea, thanks for posting and sharing your finished project.
ReplyDeleteI daresay that I liked the colourful back more...
Thanks again!!
Beautiful! Two different quilts in one. I can't decide which side I like best.
ReplyDeleteWhat great work...awesome, as always!
ReplyDeleteI love this quilt! Love it! Can you do a tutorial on how you put together the reds, whites, and blues?
ReplyDeleteI love this quilt! Love it!! Could you do a tutorial on how you put together the reds, whites, and blues?
ReplyDeleteHi Guin! I've written a few previous posts about this type of quilt. The first one I made was using some orange/blue half-square triangles - here is the URL to that post - http://colorfulartgirl.blogspot.com/2007/11/half-triangle-squares-from-squares.html
ReplyDeleteHere I talk about the original inspiration for the quilt - from a two-color (I think) quilt by Sue Ulrich called Raspberry Mocha that was in a Better Homes and Gardens magazine in 2007.
I ended up adding more colors and made the quilt Izabella's Puzzle:
http://colorfulartgirl.blogspot.com/2008/12/two-finished-in-december-2008.html
You can see that I really like to create a contrast between the lights and darks, and I use medium values to blend between the two.
Then I wanted to make a baby quilt using the same pattern. So I mocked up some ideas in EQ6 to decide which to do:
http://colorfulartgirl.blogspot.com/2012/10/eq6-designs-for-baby-quilt.html
and here is the finished quilt from that: http://colorfulartgirl.blogspot.com/2012/12/art-stuffed-animals-and-baby-quilt.html
Then I started in on a red/white/blue quilt, and there are several posts on my blog showing the progress of that quilt, including this one, which talks about the process and shows how I was sampling colors and values in EQ6 to come up with a design idea:
http://colorfulartgirl.blogspot.com/2012/07/process-patriots-puzzle.html
If you don't have EQ6 you can just as easily use a paper and some colored markers. I don't use EQ6 very much (you can see I have an old version of the software) but it's useful when I want to mock something up quickly and fill blocks easily with color without having to break out the markers:
http://colorfulartgirl.blogspot.com/2012/07/process-patriots-puzzle.html
That link just above also shows how I placed blocks on the design wall to try and find a pleasing arrangement. Ultimately, what I did was select a hundred or so fabrics from my stash by milling through my entire stash and pulling out everything that met the color requirements (blue, red, white, black, black/white, and any combination of those colors i.e. red/white, red/black, etc). Then I made half-square triangles as referenced above, by cutting several squares from each piece of fabric and matching them up with another piece of fabric, generally a light with a dark, a medium with a dark, or a medium with a light, and NOT light with light, dark with dark, or medium with medium. (Though, depending on the effect you want to achieve, you could pair dark with dark and light with light etc and then have your pattern fade into the background, that's what I did to some extent with the baby quilt - the light part in one corner where it goes to yellow/white. Then, after making the half-square triangles and pressing them out, I threw them up randomly on the design wall and, in the case of the red/white/blue quilt, left it up there for several weeks a.k.a. months a.k.a. one year and moved them around until they were visually pleasing to me. I sewed several additional squares with fabric I selected especially for a particular area because none of the blocks were really satisfying to me.
I think using software like EQ6 (or even markers on paper) is really beneficial with a design like this because once you have some idea of how you want it to look, you can calculate just how many lights/darks/mediums you need, which is what I did with the blue/yellow/green baby quilt. I don't recall doing the same thing with the red/white/blue quilt...
I'll try making a real tutorial with pictures the next time I make one of these quilts. Meanwhile, I think the best (and funnest) way to make quilts like this is to get out some fabric and sew some squares together and put them up on a design wall (warm and natural batting nailed to the wall) and see what you think!