Monday, November 26, 2007

quilt-a-long, week 3

Welcome to week 3 of the quilt-a-long. We are going to be done before we know it!

Today we tackle triangles. I am sorry-but it's inevitable. Triangles are not my favorite, I admit, but if you take it slow and if you pin well, you should have good results.

Cut one square 7 1/4" from your colored fabric.

Cut that square in half on the diagonal both ways. It is good to make both diagonal cuts before moving any of your fabric. (Does that make sense?) If you move your triangles before the second cut it will be difficult to know where to make the second cut.

Cut one square 7 1/4" from your background fabric.

Cut this square on the diagonal both ways as well.

Cut 2 squares 6 7/8" from your background fabric.

Cut those in half on the diagonal, but only once this time. Each square should make 2 triangles for a total of 4 triangles.

Sew together as shown.



And you have block #3. We are a quarter of the way done with our blocks.

If you have any questions, I will try to answer them in the comments. Thanks for quilting along with me. The response has been so positive-I still can't believe it. And if you are wondering, it's still not too late to join in. But no pressure! :)

41 comments:

Anina said...

Oooh! I love it!

Shelli said...

arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Triangles!

ACK!

OK, breathe, breathe, this will be OK.... ;)

Any fabrics more forgiving on triangles?

Anonymous said...

Wow I'm behind. I think I finally just settled on some fabric :)

Emily Cole said...

OOOOOOHHHHHHHHhhhhhhh I love pinwheels!!! I've not yet tried them though - I'm soooo excited, can ya tell? ha ha! Can't wait to get started on this one - but will so I can finish my current project really quick! Em

Shelli said...

OK - and here's another question - for those of us that are truly stash busting, and not in possession of a large background color to tie them all together, will we do some sashing in between, perhaps, so that our blocks won't be too outlandish together? I'm just doing the fabrics that I enjoy, and I'm sure they'll all look good regardless, but perhaps some unifying strips between may be a good idea....

Anonymous said...

Thanks again.

Anonymous said...

Hmmm, I've made this pattern before but it's awfully fun to see it all laid out like this, step-by step. Great tutorial and pictures to go with it. I'll check back for the finished project. Happy Holidays!

dutchcomfort said...

Thanks again Amandajean, another challenge, a pinwheel... I learn so much!

Anonymous said...

looks like fun!! a little scary but fun! Thanks again this is great. The pictures with the steps really help

Anonymous said...

I'm excited!

Lindsay Blau Portnoy said...

Hello there quilting queen! Just a note to say hi and that although I am merely watching from the wings, I'm drooling over your magical creations....
Happy belated turkey day.
gobble gobble =)

Anonymous said...

I can't wait until next week to see what you come up with. I am still trying to get my pictures over, I joined flicker and I can see my block but haven't figure out how to transfer to quilt along.
Your instructions are great.

Amanda Jean said...

anonymous...

as far as transfering your photos to the quilt a long flickr group you need to join the group, then when you have your photo up on the page there are little icons directly above the photo...there will be a button that says add to group. there you can select which group you would like to add it to. hope that helps!

Lissa Jane said...

Trianges, I hate them with avengence.. will have a go though..

Have posted pics on my blog of blocks 1 & 2, and I am thinking they were so quick to whack together, might have to make some in a different colourway..


Lissa
Australia

Amanda Jean said...

shelli,

I don't think one fabric is more forgiving than another when it comes to triangles. you could try starching your fabric while ironing...that might help. but don't starch after you have cut your fabric up, it could get all wonky.

and as far as the sashing goes, you can do whatever you want to for the completed quilt...if you have to add a buffer fabric in there it certainly would be ok.

Kelly said...

Yay pinwheels!!
I've done them before, but not THIS way.

Oh, AmandaJean, thanks so much for this awesome project. So fun!!

Clair said...

Not bad for triangles. I might do it but I am trying to select fabric from my stash. That is maybe a challenge as my stash is relatively small.

Elizabeth said...

Great! Will do!! Happy Monday!!!

Bee said...

Beautiful! I cant wait to see it all done....eeccckkk then I have to baste my quilt. Not my favorite thing but love the quilting part.

Kieny The Dutchlady said...

Thanks again Amandajean for great tutorial and pictures!

Debbie said...

I'm so glad I found you. What a great way to learn new squares and use those wonderful scraps I have in the bag. I'll catch up this and meet you on week #4.

Chara Michele said...

This is such a pretty block! :)

tess said...

oops, haven't finished block 1!
love this one, even though it does have triangles in it!

Anonymous said...

Thanks again!!! I love pinweels!I'm so glad I found you! I need to thank "Abyquilt" in Norway for that!!!

Shelli said...

OK - STUPID question - these are my FIRST triangles, and the bits look SO lovely all layed out. Um. Then when piecing, the edges of the triangles don't seem to line up! Is there a trick? Well it does line up until I press the seams, and then there's an extra bit hanging over - does it disappear when you stitch it all together? Or is there a trick to triangles? (I was never good at math!) :)

Thanks,
Shelli
(clearly, a quilting newbie...)

Amanda Jean said...

shelli,

if it is just a bit of extra hangover, don't worry about it. continue to construct the square. at the end your square should measures somewhere in the ballpark of 12.5". if you are way off, you can try to make the block again. if it is too large, you can trim down the edges a bit. keep trying. it does get easier with practice. and pinning helps, too!

amandajean

a friend to knit with said...

if you could only see the look on my face!
you are amazing!

wyndesnow said...

Thank you for the tutorials. I need a small project like this to work on. count me in.

Elin said...

I've just found your blog, and I'm very tempted to sew along with you, is that ok? Wonderful tutorials!

Breanna said...

I have to say that this one is intimidating me, just a bit. I am going to give it a go, but I am nervous!

Jeannett said...

Linda idea AmandaJean, recien encuentro tu blog, pero tratare de ponerme al dia con los tres bloques.

Marcia said...

Thank you so much for doing this. I can hardly wait to see the completed quilt. Do you have one completed you can show?

Amy Jo said...

Though triangles are not my favorite, I am looking forward to the completed project, so I will move forward with positive thoughts about triangles! :-) I've got my fabric cut out and hope to sew by end of week!

Anonymous said...

I am so excited to join this. I just finished my first sampler quilt blocks from a class at my LQS. Hopefully I can keep up with this. Was wishing I had used 30's fabrics for that so here's my chance...

Kim said...

I finished my blocks this morning, finally! I really like the 9 patches going around the outside. Thanks for another great block :)

Waldeck Dry Goods said...

this one was so much easier for me than week 2! i guess i was in too much of a hurry. i'm almost embarrassed to post a photo of week 2, but i will...

Anonymous said...

Okie dokie! I am all caught up and ready for week 4. I'm excited. It took me awhile to figure out which background to use and get started. The blocks are well documented and easy to follow. I love it!

sulu-design said...

Simple and blue... my favorite one yet!

Jessica said...

I'm late to the game but finished blocks 1 and 2 this afternoon and am working on 3! Thanks for doing all this.

Michelle Payne said...

I am having the worse luck with block 3. I've ripped it apart three times. I can't figure out what I am doing wrong...HELP

Diane Swett said...

Hi amanda jean i am going to start the 12 weeks of blocks - I know it is now 2012 but you have inspired me. I just joined your blog about 2 weeks ago and am enjoying it. I finished block 1 & 2 and am working on block 3 now.
c
Diane S