April 20, 2018

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...



22 comments :

  1. lovely miniquilt! PS. on your label it says 2017, i'm living in 2018 ;)

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    1. Ha! I never noticed until you pointed it out! Too long doing 2017 tax returns!

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  2. I love this one - as I do so many of yours. The coincidences are often funny, when we run into people who understand what we do. It really cracks me up that you still had to piece the back, on a small quilt. I do love the colors, too, and the way you worked with them.

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  3. Congratulations on getting it finished just in time and for having it appear in Issue 04!

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  4. This is a really cool mini quilt. All modern and sharp. Thank you for sharing your design process with us too. =)I hope your quilt will make Issue 04.

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  5. Fun, fun, fun! Triangles are my favorite shape. I loved that you used them as your quilting design.

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  6. Paige, it is perfect. Love the colors, love the binding, love the quilting. the only thing I would change is hanging it on my wall instead of yours.

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  7. Thanks for sharing the inspiration behind your quilts. I just love the quilting pattern - it is my favorite part!

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  8. Love your idea both for design and quilting Paige ! And you did a perfect work as usual.

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  9. Super triangle and lines that intersect, great colours. Meeting the time, well done. I would falter there, not a night owl at all.

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  10. Very pretty, the pattern and the colors. You really made it quickly too.

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  11. Gosh - this is really gorgeous! And thank you for, once again, sharing so much information about your process.

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  12. I love your entry, Paige! It is so crisp.

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  13. I love the name! And I'm in awe of your precise piecing and quilting. Best of luck in the challenge...I think it's a winner :)

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  14. Paige, your precision never ceases to amaze me! I'm still eagerly awaiting that tutorial about how you do your great bindings.

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  15. I'm amazed that you can put it together so quickly and still have it turn out so precise! What a fun little mini, and congrats for getting it in the issue! I love the backing fabric, by the way.

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  16. Those are stunning colors, Paige, and it looks great! I also really like the backing fabric. Your precision in everything always impresses me.

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  17. Love the clean simplicity of this one. The quilting is spot on.

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  18. Thanks for explaining your process of creating this. I love the backing print.

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  19. Congratulations on another publication, and thanks for sharing your creative process. The mini is lovely.

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  20. Small and very beautiful, precision and perfection in miniature Paige. I really enjoyed reading your process as always, a wonderful mini finish, good luck.

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  21. Congratulations on your beautiful quilt. It is perfection in every way! Thank you for sharing all the details of your process.

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