Research Triangle ~ Curated Quilts Mini Triangle Challenge

I cut this one a little close by entering right at midnight on April 1st, the deadline to enter the Triangle Mini Quilt Challenge sponsored by Curated Quilts.  I was hand sewing down binding as fast as I could and took this photo at 11:39 pm.

I learned about the triangle challenge by picking up a postcard in Curated Quilts' booth where I met sweet Amy Ellis in person.

The first challenge I encountered was not having fabrics with those colors.  In my stash, I had Cotton Couture in Spa and Pluto that matched, but that was it.  I was done with Pluto from making this quilt.

Using the Michael Miller Cotton Couture color card, I picked out Sun and Orchid that matched and ordered on line.

Now to come up with an idea.  I started with some rough sketches on graph paper.  And, I'm even thinking about quilting ideas at the same time. 

Nothing developed there so I turned to a 'triangle' search on the internet.  I kept seeing the same image over and over, an equilateral triangle in a square, and thought I could accomplish it in a day.

This illustration is by Jim Wilson, a mathematics professor from the University of Georgia.  When I emailed him to ask permission to use his illustration, turns out, his daughter, Mary Kerr, is an accomplished quilter and certified quilt appraiser.

When it came to piecing, I cut out the equilateral triangle from Cotton Couture Spa using this 60° degree ruler (affiliate link).  For the background pieces cut from Orchid, I used the same ruler cut out another triangle which I discarded.  This way, the triangle and background pieces were all on grain.  I know, I'm crazy like that.

I'm also auditioning binding, a Michael Miller print, Candy Pointillism.

Because of all the bias edges, I pieced the triangle using my walking foot.  As a matter of fact, the entire quilt was pieced, quilted and bound using the walking foot, except for the hand sewing of the binding.

Now to quilt it.  That was another challenge.  I decided on simple walking foot quilting.  Well, the quilting was simple but the marking took some careful measuring to insure the lines would cross precisely.

Aurifil 2588 Light Magenta matched the Cotton Couture Orchid perfectly.  And, if you look closely you can see where I have marked some lines with the a hera maker.

For the most part, the intersections aligned.

I used Cotton Couture in Sun for the binding and despite my best efforts, I ended up with two joins within two inches of each other.  And, no surprise, it's a bias binding.

As small as this quilt is, 12" x 12", I still had to piece the backing.  I was using up fabric from another challenge, the Michael Miller Spring Cotton Couture challenge.  Members of the MQG can read all about After Dinner Mints here.

Here, I'm about to unsew part of the binding so I can tuck the label inside the binding.

Keeping with the triangle theme, I made the label into a triangle which I quickly added before shipping Research Triangle off to Curated Quilts.  I'm excited it will appear in the mini quilt gallery of Issue 04.

The Research Triangle Park in neighboring, North Carolina, inspired the name of my quilt because I certainly did a little research on triangles to make this mini.

Quilt Stats

• Finished size: 12" x 12" 
• Pattern: equilateral triangle in a square
• Fabrics: Michael Miller Cotton Couture in Spa, Orchid and Sun
• Thread: Aurifil 50 wt. in Light Turquoise 5006 for piecing, Light Magenta 2588 and Medium Butter 2130 for hand sewing the binding. 
• Quilting design: triangle grid 
• Batting: 100% Cotton Warm & White by the Warm Company
• Completed: April 1, 2018

My mini, Off the Grid appeared in Issue 02 of Curated Quilts and you can see it here and here.


Linking to...

Finish It Up Friday with Amanda Jean at Crazy Mom Quilts
Thank Goodness It's Finished Friday, this week with Izzy at Dizzy Quilts

Off the Grid in Curated Quilts Issue 2 + Giveaway

Surely, by now, you have heard of or seen the new modern quilt magazine, Curated Quilts, started by Amy Ellis and Christine Ricks.  You can read all about their mission here, but one of their desires is to highlight the quilting community in the pages of Curated Quilts.

Curated Quilts issues a mini challenge with each issue based on a theme and and a given color palette.  For Issue 2 the theme was log cabins.  You should know by now I can't resist a challenge and you may remember this mini log cabin quilt, Off the Grid, I made back in September 2017.

I was excited when Off the Grid was chosen to be included in the mini quilt gallery for Issue 2.

I even met Amy while at QuiltCon in Pasadena, CA.  Behind us are the minis for the Minimalism challenge featured in Issue 3.

When your quilt is featured in Curated Quilts, you are generously provided copy of that issue.  I am already a subscriber, so that means I have an extra copy of Curated Quilts Issue 2.

GIVEAWAY  

To celebrate my return from Tax Land since April 15th, well this year, April 17th is finally over, I am giving away a copy of  Curated Quilts Issue 2.  Due to shipping costs, I am limiting this giveaway to US addresses only. And, if you do not live in the US, but have a friend who does, I will be happy to ship to their address in the US.

Photo by Curated Quilts

Use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter by answering a couple questions about challenges. By entering, you acknowledge that you are 18 years of age or older and that you have a US shipping address. The giveaway is open through Saturday, April 21st at 10:00 pm PM Eastern, and the winner will be selected randomly and emailed within 24 hours. Winner will have 48 hours to reply to the email to claim their giveaway or a new winner will be randomly selected. Good luck!

CONGRATS! The winner is Beth S. in FL!  Thank you all for entering and your thoughts on challenges!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And, now, I finally have time to enjoy Issue 3 that I just received!

Postcard Exchange Blog Hop ➕ Plus Signs

Back in January, Patty at Elm Street Quilts announced she would be hosting a worldwide postcard swap which sounded like fun!

The Basic Rules

The swap was limited to 100 participants and rules were simple...

• Choose whether you would ship your postcard worldwide or just within your own country.
• Select a one word clue for the person making your postcard. The clue could be anything - ex: blue, flamingo, summer. 
• Postcards should be 4" x 6'' and must be made of fabric.
• To keep it simple, only the postcard should be mailed - no small treats or extras. 
• The postcard could be mailed in an envelope or just as a normal postcard.
• Keep your swap assignee is a secret - shhhh!!

My Word

I must confess, my one word clue I chose wasn't exactly one word, but I turned it into one word...PlusSign!   And just look at the plus sign postcard I received from Terri, all the way from the west coast.

Playing it safe, Terri mailed my plus sign postcard 'protected' in an envelope.

Who would have thought 4 little plus signs would fit so nicely on a 4"x 6" postcard.  And, look at the detail Terri added with the embroidery with metallic floss. You can see barely see where she quilted the postcard by outlining the plus signs.  

And, look at the detail on the reverse.  The back was printed and includes a special message.  I love the handwritten detail on the postmark.

I was curious as to how Terri put it together.  I could tell the two layers were sewn and then turned right sides out, but where was the seam?  I had to really look hard to fined the seam where it was hand sewn closed.  You can barely make it out on the bottom edge on the left. 

Thank you, Terri!  I appreciate your thoughtfulness and care you put into into creating the Plus Sign postcard you made for me!  I love it!  

Postcard for Nina

The word my partner, Nina, chose was Surprise!   You will never guess what I surprised her with...a Plus Sign, whether it was one word or two.  Here it is finished and ready to be mailed.  

I used the small block from the Signature Plus quilt which was featured on Day 2 of the Modern Plus Sign Quilt Blog Hop.  I extended the width a bit to accommodate the post card.

The indigo plus sign fabric was dyed in an indigo fabric dying class with Maura Ambrose at QuiltCon 2017 in Savannah.

  

Once I made the block, I used 505 spray adhesive to adhere it to the craft felt and quilted around the plus sign just like Terri did her block.  And, I secured the edge with a straight stitch at that point. 

Knowing that I wanted to write on the back, I fused the backing to the postcard.  I secured the edges with a zigzag stitch. I wrote a message on the back and added straight lines to help me keep the address evenly spaced. 

Here is the postcard ready to go in the mail, complete with a return address label and a Global Forever stamp.  

And, one more!  I'm glad to say my post card to Nina arrived safely the UK.  I was nervous, especially since I mailed her postcard naked (without an envelope)!

Thank you Patty for hosting the Postcard Exchange!  I had so much fun making and receiving a postcard.  And, thank you, Terri, for making the lovely post card for me!  

Please stop by and visit the bloggers to see what postcards they have made and received. 

Denise @ DottieDoodle

Dione @ Clever Chameleon Quilting

Isis @ Creation d'Isis

Karen @ Run Sew Fun

Lynette @ What A Hoot Quilts

Laura @ LC's Cottage

Lisa @ Sunlight in Winter Quilts

Marsha @ Quilter in Motion

Michelle @ Creative Blonde

Paige @ Quilted Blooms (you're here!)

Patty @ Elm Street Quilts

Sandra @ mmm! quilts

Susan @ California Fiber and Music

Valerie @ Val's Quilting Studio

Be sure to check out the Postcard Linkup at Elm Street Quilts or #ESQpostcardswap on Instagram for inspiration on making your own postcard to swap with a quilty friend.

Linking to...

Finish It Up Friday with Amanda Jean at Crazy Mom Quilts

Show Off Saturday with Caroline at Sew She Can