Saturday, January 16, 2016

And then - Look A Squirrel!!!

I started to work on the pre-quilted blocks from the previous post.  They are now all nicely trimmed to two sizes.
But I went in to do something in the fabric/ catch-all room and found a nice little package of 10 inch squares.   My friend - Left-Handed Quilter - mentioned not liking to have blocks with bias edges.  And we discussed how many things from the Missouri Star Quilt Company tutorials are made with bias edges.

I thought - Hey, why not make these into HSTs?  (half square triangles that is.)  Being in the mood to do some "unplanned" sewing, I did these using the method of two squares together sew around the outside and cut on diagonals. It is a really quick and easy way to make HSTs.  Of course like most blocks they need trimmed to size.
The ten inch square make 6 1/2" HSTs if you are careful.  As you can see those trimmings are minimal.  I trimmed about half of them before my back complained that the table is too low.  So I stopped to play on the design board and see what I could come up with.
I ran out of board before I ran out of squares.  This prompted me to sit at the computer and play in Electric Quilt (EQ) for a bit.   EQ is a great way to play with design layouts.
First I put it in with the same layout as on the board above. Then I had a "vision" and took out the diagonal line.  I used the "fabrics" in the program to color it and I got this
It is all squares and HSTs and it makes two sets of stairs.  Of course, you could make only one OR you could make several sets of stairs.

I am still trimming (and playing) with the HSTs I sewed.  So at this point I don't know what they will become. But I did save the "stairs" project in EQ.

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  Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible unless otherwise stated. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger" - I can not reply.

6 comments:

MarthaVA said...

How cool! Love the stairs. I haven't tried EQ. Might have to look into that.....
Have fun - can't wait to see what it all becomes.
Someday, I want to be like you, Gene. :-)

Barbara said...

What a wonderful surprise! You are always coming up with something original and fun.

Kathleen said...

Oh I love what you have going there with the stairs!

A Left-Handed Quilter said...

Thanks for the shout-out, Gene! I saw your "stairs" and immediately thought of the "Escherian Stairwell" - that impossible staircase that Escher designed. It might be fun to try to duplicate it in a quilt. Chasing "Squirrels" is great FUN - one thing leads to another and then to another - no telling where you'll wind up - ;))

Linda C said...

oh, yeah Squirrels! Look what came out of the permission to chase them! Will watch to see how this comes out.

Marlene said...

Boy oh boy, can I ever relate to that sidetracked nature! I follow my muse all willy-nilly down side alleys all the time!