This beautiful quilt, which I've named "Happy Island," started out as I surfed my way to a free Aurifil "Designer of the Month" block called "Hanalei Garden," designed by Natalie Barnes, from Beyond the Reef.
I liked the block so much I made as many as I could with bright, primary scraps I had on hand. I finished with nine blocks. Each block is 12" x 12" and is made up of 204 pieces, including half-square triangles.
I stitched the blocks together adding 1" (finished) squares as sashing to match the intricate block pattern.
Then, deciding that these blocks would look gorgeous on point, AND that setting it within a bigger square would make a great throw-sized quilt, I added a bright blue border and did a little math.
Since I had the measurement of what would now be the hypotenuse (diagonal), I needed to find the dimensions of the two legs that would form the right triangle (since this is a square quilt, the leg dimensions would be the same ). The formula in this instance was the measurement of the hypotenuse (in this case it was ~45") divided by √2 (which calculates to 1.4142).
45 / 1.4142 = 31.82
I rounded up to 32" and added an inch to allow for seam allowances and trimming. I marked my fabric for (2) 33" squares and double checked my measurement to confirm the dimension of the diagonal was correct. (Here is a handy link to a Pythagorean Theorem calculator). I then cut (2) 33" x 33" squares of white fabric.
These squares were then cut diagonally, creating (4) bias cut right triangles. I pinned and carefully stitched the bias edges to each side of my main square.
I picked through my scraps to piece a border and finish the quilt top.
The quilt top now had (4) big, blank spaces, which is pretty intimidating to look at, but it was a great opportunity to add another layer of design to the quilt. I wanted something to complement the bright, tropical theme.
I found, and was immediately inspired by, Lori Kennedy's design, "A Day at the Beach." I followed her tutorial and loved the way the combination of elements flowed into one another as I was quilting. I was easily able to get into a rhythm, making the process sooo meditative!
For the border, I used the "rolling" side of Sariditty's "Gentle and Rolling" Wave Ruler, designed by Sarah Thomas. I combined the designs with a free-motion fill.
This combination of design elements was the perfect solution to convey the bright, island theme of this quilt.
I will add that if you are using hand dyes or fabric from any manufacturer that you are unfamiliar with, you will want to pre-wash your fabrics. I had some bleeding problems with my red and blue batiks and just about popped my cork when I saw the bleeds on my white fabric! Through emergency consultation with the quilting community, I found Dawn dish detergent to be the magic potion that corrected the issue. If you want to learn more about how to correct a fabric bleed, Vicki Welsh's "Save My Bleeding Quilt" is a post with accompanying instructions well worth keeping on hand. I also followed by washing the quilt in the machine with a couple color catchers.
I hope the story of this little diversion will be helpful along your path as you find (or design!) blocks and combine elements to create your own personal projects.
Happy stitching!
- Liz
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