Iridescent Star plus My Favorite Quilt Block!

Made with Confetti & Crayola Cotton Basics from Riley Blake Designs
Iridescent Stars, 60" x 60" Lap Quilt

I'm happy to be sharing my latest quilt today, for a couple of reasons!  First, to showcase these fabrics from Riley Blake Designs, and second, to share my favorite quilt block on the Favorite Quilt Block Blog Hop hosted by Carla@Creatin'intheSticks.

First, about the fabric.  When I began quilting, it was difficult for me to put two prints together.  Then as I kept making quilts, my mind did a turnabout, and now I have a hard time using solids.  But once I finished a certain QUILT a few months back, I have been dreaming about making one with solids and not in double-knit polyester!

Riley Blake carries around 200 colors of this luscious, beautiful, soft-to-the-touch "Confetti Cotton" and "Crayola™ Cotton" solid color fabrics.  I only used 27 colors for this quilt.  And quilting it was like quilting through butter - love the feel of it.

Now, about the block.  As it turns out, my favorite quilt block happens to be whatever I'm working on at the moment!  I do love anything with triangles, so apparently, a half-square triangle is my favorite block.  Today, that is.

My beginning quilts were all made with half-square triangles (HSTs).  When I first realized that I could cut out squares to make triangles, instead of cutting out each individual triangle, that was a game changer.  Then I learned some tips, tricks and tools that really opened my eyes and made the process of quilting so much fun.

Pair * Mark a diagonal line * Stitch * Cut * Press

TIP:  Quilter's math formula to calculate the size squares needed to make two HSTs:

Desired Finished Size (FS) + 7/8"(.875) 

Another TIP:  Round the .875 up to 1 inch for a little "fudge factor" as I call it, then trim to the exact size once it's sewn.

FS + 1"

TRICK:  You can make 8 HSTs at the same time!  Just double the formula:

(FS + 1) x 2   See my TUTORIAL<<

Pair * Mark an X * Stitch * Cut + and x * Press

TOOL:  One great little tool that I probably use daily and can't live without to make practically perfect pretty points.  See my TUTORIAL<<

Eleanor Burns' Triangle Square-Up Ruler - Quilt-in-a-Day 

Made and trimmed the 164 HSTs for this quilt in no time, then it was fun to lay it out.  I stitched the blocks together into 4-patches, which made them easier to manage.

Then I freemotion-quilted with my favorite echo swirl overall design and added the binding and label by machine.

I'll probably use this quilt as a sample of machine binding for the class I'll be teaching next Friday at the Utah Quilt Guild Quilt Festival.

Oh, I think we are going to enjoy this quilt!  The pattern is forthcoming.  A big thanks to Riley Blake Designs for their wonderful fabrics, and to Carla for hosting this hop!  You can see a master list HERE, see a sample of everyone's favorite blocks on Carla's PINTEREST page, and visit those on the list below to see today's installments!

GIVEAWAY:  Win a bundle of RBD Confetti Cottons!  What is your favorite quilt block?  I'll draw a winner on Monday, Sept. 16th.

UPDATE:  We have a WINNER!!  Congratulations, Kathleen, your squishy package is on it's way!

 

Tuesday, September 10th

Quiltscapes<< Thanks for coming!

Melva Loves Scraps

Stitchin At Home

Homespun Hannah's Blog

Mary Mack Made Mine
Just Because Quilts

Den syende himmel
Selina Quilts