Spinning Snails / Happy Trails

QUOTE FROM MY FRIDGE:

A good friend is cheaper than therapy!!!

 

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Over forty years ago when I first became interested in quilting I tore a picture of a snail trail quilt from a magazine.  Last fall at Festival in Houston I purchased Creative Grids ruler CGRJAW8.  This wonderful ruler made it possible for me to accurately piece snail trail blocks.   I finally have my quilt!!!

I have been making scrap quilts for over 25 years.  An easy way to make a successful scrap quilt is to choose a common background and a group of what I call “related fabrics”.   I picked a light tan for the background and an assortment of reproduction fabrics (the “related fabrics”) from my stash.  For a clear pattern to appear the reproduction fabrics must be dark enough to contrast with the backgound.

This pattern, Cut Loose Press CLPLRB001, is designed to use fat quarters but will also work well with scraps.

 

 

Quiltmaker Block #261

QUOTE FROM MY FRIDGE:

“A WOMAN IS LIKE A TEA BAG; YOU NEVER KNOW HOW STRONG IT IS UNTIL IT’S IN HOT WATER”  Eleanor Roosevelt

 

                                    QUILTMAKER BLOCK  #261 Spinning Star

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Around 1993, I spent a year in a study group based on Roberta Horton’s book An Amish Adventure.  At that time, for me the color gray was just gray.  After working with solid fabrics I realized that gray could appear slightly blue, green, purple or pink.  I learned that the Pennsylvania Amish used a palette of green to red with the neutral black.  Books on color call this an analogous color scheme meaning all of the colors are together on the color wheel.  Eliminating orange, yellow and yellow-green seems to make everything else go together.

When making quilt blocks, especially scrap blocks, the outline of the shapes is determined by value.  Value is the relative darkness or lightness of the fabrics.  I have found that using a wide range of values creates a clearer pattern.  If you want the star points to stand out use a very dark fabric with a very light.

For this project I have decided to use solid fabrics from the Pennsylvania Amish palette.  For such small pieces solids, tone-on-tones or very small prints work best for me.  This block requires four different fabrics.  I have chosen one very light green, a medium light green, a medium dark pink and a very dark burgundy.  This gives me four different values from two different color families.

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PIECING

When possible I like to cut pieces larger than they need to be, sew,  and then trim the units to the exact size required.  This block uses 16 units with a finished size of 1 1/2″ (unfinished 2″).  I call these units Three-in-a-Square triangle units.

Three-in-a-Square Triangle

If you would like to use my method, all of the squares need to be cut 3″.  For instructions go to my webpage LynnRoddyBrown.com.  The opening page has two Quiltmaker magazine covers.  Click on the first (the one with green).  At the bottom of the left column click on “Making Triangle Units”.

Texas Two-Step — Brights for Lillian

When I was driving from Houston to Atlanta for the birth of my first grandchild, Lillian, I stopped at quilt stores along the way.  I bought fat quarters of what I call “children’s brights”.  It is so much more fun to shop if you have a project in mind.

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With this quilt I used a common background that was darker than the “children’s brights.”  I had an adorable dark blue airplane fabric that was not used  because there was not enough contrast between it and the background.

The blocks are 8″.  The squares in the blocks have a finished size of 2″.  To make a pieced border fit I find it best to base the border math on the math used in the  quilt.  I made a 2″ black inner border, a pieced border of 2″ squares and then an outer black border.  The fabric does not show in the photo but it is a polka dot with many bright colors on the black.

The Texas Two-Step block is shown below.  The block has a diagonal line which makes many sets possible.

Texas Two-Step Brights

 

 

 

Texas Two-Step – On point framed with purple

My husband set up my blog and choose one of my Texas Two-Step Quilts for the first post.  I love scrap quilts.  The pattern in scrap quilts is determined by differences in value.  For this quilt my Friday Bee chose a “light” common background to be used with medium/dark reproduction prints.

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Texas Two-Step Quilt  On-point set framed with purple.

Texas Two-Step Block

Texas Two-Step Block

Once the blocks were made and put in a straight set on the design wall the quilt was boring.   Setting the blocks on-point and framing them with purple saved this quilt.  Mary Ellen Hopkins said “Purple goes with everything”.  I am a believer!!!