I hope you picked up your copy of the QN magazine and are enjoying all of the fun projects in this issue!
Please make sure to post a comment on my blog or on my Happy Stash Quilts Facebook page by midnight tonight EST to be entered in a drawing! Winners will be announced on Tuesday!
If the black, yellow and gray version of Rectangular Prisms caught your eye, scroll on down to see several color variations of this quilt. I have also included a few tips for construction of the quilt top.
The trick to selecting fabric for this quilt is to concentrate on value. Make the trapezoids out of Light and Dark fabrics. Use a medium value fabric for the triangles. This will give you a fun three dimensional look to the quilt.
Don't be shy! Cut several layers at once. I like to cut strips the height of the trapezoid and the height of the triangle. Then I speed up the process by cutting four layers at once.
When sewing trapezoids and triangles together, remember to offset the fabrics enough to create a notch where your seam allowance should be. (Press all seams toward the darker color. This will give you opposing seams when you sew the rows together.)
Now, I must admit, I am not a perfectionist with sewing. Sometimes my pieces get a trip to the rotary barber for a slight haircut before moving onto the next step.
Once you have created your long strips with alternating light and dark trapezoids, it is time to sew them together. I focus on matching up the triangle points. I even go so far as to pin these points (and as my quilting buddies know... I am NOT a pinner!) :-)
Now sew the long rows together... once again focus on lining up the places where the triangle tips meet.
Enjoy your quilt! If you really don't want to tackle binding all of the points at the top and bottom of the quilt, simply trim the triangles along the top and the bottom edges 1/4" above where the Dark and Light Trapezoid meet. Now you will have a traditional rectangular quilt to bind.
If you enjoy geometric quilts, check out the "Fractured Flowers" pattern by Happy Stash Quilts at http://www.happystashquilts.com/collections/patterns/products/fractured-flowers
"City Blocks" at http://www.happystashquilts.com/collections/patterns/products/city-blocks
"Robin's Rainbow" at http://www.happystashquilts.com/collections/patterns/products/robins_rainbow
"Retro Ribbons" at http://www.happystashquilts.com/collections/patterns/products/retro-ribbons
Happy Quilting!
Marcia
