Friday, June 18, 2010

Triangles, Triangles!!

This looks pretty close to the same as when I showed it before, but I did add the lower row of triangle sashing. Do you all realize there are a LOT of triangles in this quilt? LOL

The end of 2009 I started swapping half square triangles with 6 other ladies. Because there are nine blocks we thought we'd swap for nine months and end up with enough hst and a great variety to make this quilt. I finished up the last three months of hst so I could free up my commitments for the summer. By my calculations when we are all done swapping all 7 of us would have made approximately 7, 119 half square triangles!!! Amazing huh?! And very cool not to have to try and get those fabric combinations all from one stash.

I may have shown this before but this is my favorite way to make half square triangles. The formula I use is the finished size+1" x 2. (example 1 1/4" finished+ 1" x 2=4 1/2" square) This is the size square I will cut from both fabrics. I wanted more hst from the fabric on the right so basically I have two squares. You can use a pen, pencil or even your Hera tool to mark diagonal lines. Then sew on both sides on the line.


Cut, press and trim. You'll get 8 hst from one square. It is pretty fast and relatively accurate, depending on your sewing!!

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MJinMichigan said...

OMG I had no idea we were each making that many!!! Your blocks are looking great.

julieQ said...

Wow, so gorgeous, Lori!! What a fun thing to swap...fun, fun!

Vicki said...

Hi Lori - that's the method I use for hst when I need lots of identical hst's! Great way to attack the hst swap. Love the blocks!

AmyJo said...

Your blocks look wonderful !!!

Karen said...

That is a mind boggling amount of hst's!

Laurie said...

Lori, You blocks are lookeing great! Mine are finished! I figured I did 3,176 triangles. I'm now looking for the time to go quilt store hopping to find my outer border; I think a red.

be*mused jan said...

This is going to be a knockout quilt, Lori! All of those triangles..wow.

Kathie said...

aaahhh why did you ever figure out how many hst we made swapping!
LOL...this looks wonderful
maybe I will have to make this quilt, as you know I am planning on making a different quilt than the rest of you!
Kathie

Heidi said...

What a fun swap to do Lori!

Hugs from Holland ~
Heidi

Brandie said...

All those triangles will make the most beautiful scrapy quilt. I even bought a quilt book recently, because you have shown me how beautiful a scrap quilt can be. In this book is a pattern for a scrappy triangle quilt. No I didn't need a pattern, I bought it as an inspiation. It also reminds me of your CC&C doll quilt. Thank you for sharing the scrappy look.

Robin said...

I really like the blocks you are working on. Scrap quilts are just happy, don't you think?

That's a lot of triangles - whew!

Sue said...

My goodness, That's a lot of triangles. They are really looking good.

*karendianne. said...

Huh. First of all that's really amazing and makes a girl happy. Happy to think of all the variety y'all have generated here. Supremely unique blocks you'll have. Yes, yes, I'm so happy thinking of it all.

Thanks for the tip on making these faster, too. I'm up for giving that a go.

I think, after all my reflective moments, HQ is a good place for me to hang out. Probably I'm not the only gal that thinks that way. Just sayin'...

sewprimitive karen said...

ohhhh the blocks are SO pretty, I adore the colors (I'm just going to skip over the little matter of making gazillions of HSTs lol).

Millie said...

Your blocks look beautiful!

libbyquilter said...

the blocks are fabulously fun riots of color and that hst trick is definately worth remembering~!

:-)
libbyQ

Sue-Anne said...

That's a great idea to swap the HST's. Your blocks look wonderful and thanks for the little tutorial.

Donna said...

I am a new reader to your blog and love your "Under the Big Top" quilt blocks. Is there a pattern you are following, or is it one of your own invention? I would love to make one of my own ...

Donna D., Hemet, CA
ladynredd2003@yahoo.com

Dixie said...

Your blocks are so, so nice, Lori! How fun to include the swapped triangles in your quilt. Just love it!

Vivian said...

The bright, bold colors in your blocks are just plain happy! They'll be part of a great quilt, I'm sure.
I've seen your method of making HST described in various places but haven't tried it yet. It's such a sensible way, as Vicki wrote, when you need a lot of identical HSTs. I need to give it a try.

Cardygirl said...

Your quilt looks stunning...so many triangles!

Karen said...

I don't think I have ever seen a formula for making the hst this method. Since you are trading so many, I can see how this would be a good way to do it. I know I commented earlier but I came back to look again.

Quilts And Pieces said...

They are absolutely beautiful!

Lynda said...

Half square triangles are so tedious but fabulous. Thanks for showing this method of making them.

Ann Champion said...

I love your scrappy blocks! It was a great idea to swap fabrics. You'll each have a wonderful variety.
I'll have to try your method for sewing multiple triangles? They'd be nice and accurate.
Umm..you're not supposed to count the pieces until AFTER you've sewn them all. It's too scary to count before! LOL

Linda C said...

What a great idea swapping fabrics, lots more variety. Thanks for the tutorial. l usually just make mine 1 square at a time, but will give this method a try.Your blocks are looking fantastic. Its a quilt l have long admired.

Maggie A said...

Wow lots of hst......thanks for the method of doing them, I haven't tried that method.

Nicole said...

That is such a coincidence! I am working on a quilt called Mocha Trails, and the hst method the pattern calls for is exactly what you showed in your tutorial. I like that it eliminates the whole paper piecing thing. I really liked doing them this way.

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