Monday, August 25, 2008

New quilt tops done

Now that my Open House is over for my new fall classes--I can show you what I have been working on this past month. This "16-Patch & Pinwheel "is a very common traditional pattern (Bonnie at Quiltville has a free pattern as well as Mary of Maryquilts) although I just did my own thing with 5" charms I've been accumulating. I used entirely stash and scraps for this quilt. Decided after the fact that it would have been a bit quicker to use strips instead, but hey--it got rid of lots of charm squares! This is the quilt that I threw in a little bit of Miss A's top she has outgrown. I think I'll keep this quilt at my house for her. All the other kids have quilts here for them and she needs one as well. here's a close up....doesn't it just want to make you smile? I just LOVE working with the brighter scraps. I showed snips of this quilt this summer while I was working on it..called "Circle Game". Lollipops makes a kit that includes all the precut squares, circles AND the bias binding! How cool is that. I'm always looking for neat kits for my students. Beginners don't have the stash or scraps to pull from like us 'seasoned' quilters. :) Besides--she makes all the bias bindings out of the coolest fabrics, and you get a different one for each circle--think of the time saved AND NO bias binding to make yourself! I made a boo boo--as I read the pattern AFTER I made it! LOL But no one will be the wiser and I'll never tell.

By the way, do you know how to figure what size square you need to cut to yield the bias binding length you need? I had to play a little refreshing game myself! You multiply the length of binding you need (add all 4 sides of your quilt + 18") --(OR in the case of the Circle Game, you need 36" of binding) X the width of the binding you are making (in my case 2") = Y. Take the square root of Y and you get Z. Round up to the next whole number and that's the size square you need to cut. Clever, huh? The problem is that my adding machine is for accountants and doesn't have the square root key. No problem..go to math.com, and they have a square root calculator right there. You just plug in your numbers and it gives you the answer!
For example: I need 36" of 2" wide bias binding. I multiply 36 x 2 = 72. Square root of 72 = 8.48. (done at Math.com) Round that up to 9" and that is the size square you need to cut to make your bias binding. Just your little math lesson for today. :)


6 comments:

Carol said...

What a great quilt 16 patch and pinwheels is! Perfect use for all those charms we keep collecting!

Vicki W said...

I love both quilts. The colors are so bright and happy! I think the 16-p/pinwhel quilt is cool because it looks more complex than it is.

Granny said...

I worked on a similar 16 patch quilt today! Yours are so pretty . . bright and cheerful.

Suzanne Earley said...

your 16 patch/pinwheel is absolutely yummy in those colors!

Helen in the UK said...

LOVE your 16patch+pinwheel quilt. I've seen this on Bonnie's site and added it to my 'want to make' list!! Now your've made me realise I can use my 5" charms for it!! Love your colours - it looks so bright and fresh :)

Mary Johnson said...

I love the green one I made but have been wanting to make a multicolored version too - your fabrics are great in this one.