Pythagorean Sash: 2016 Riley Blake Spring Fabric Challenge

It was time for another Riley Blake Fabric Challenge! This years fabric is called Sashing Stash designed by Eleanor Dugan, and it’s so incredibly versatile!

They sent each of us 3/4 yard of the top fabric

It was also the very first challenge members of our guild signed up to participate in as the TMQG. 

We had until the end of May to submit our entry on the MQG website. Actually, they requested MQG members also post their quilt on Instagram, FB and Twitter using the hashtag #mqgfabricchallenge, MQG galleries and on Pinterest! (They definitely don't know how proud I am when I remember how to post on instagram... & the rest... um, perhaps I'll figure them out... someday.)

This fabric is so inspiring! So much so... that I stared at it for several days unsure what to do to make the best use of what little I had of it. (As soon as I can buy some- I absolutely will!)

I remembered a block I created at a workshop was hidden below the layers somewhere in my WIPs pile and decided it was the perfect centerpiece! 

Since that block was my only "planned pattern", next I started auditioning solids. I took a lot more photos of this project than most- since I had no real idea what direction I was going. So the remainder of this posting will be mainly images:

I created this block a few years back at a paper piecing workshop. 

I wish I could remember who the guest designer was and give her credit... 

so yeah... if you are reading this.... THANK YOU!

I decided to frame the block with 3" red strips

Squared up centered... 

eh...decided I wanted to go a different way...

I decided to create an asymmetrical shaped quilt square

Then it was time to make that first cut into the Riley Blake Fabric. It is designed to cut apart & leave 1/4" seams for piecing. 

So, once I braved the rotary cutting, I auditioned different designs and tried to imagine what patterns could go "where and in what way". 

I just kept auditioning different patterns & borders... until a quilt starting developing.

HALF SQUARE TRIANGLES

2" border

FLYING GEESE

I always use rulers and painters tape 

to help guide my quilting stitches.

"invisible thread stitch work from behind"

Quilting away the hours on my Babylock Elissimo

looking good... but... It needed more...

decided to square up my quilt with a final frame of asymmetry- 

opposite of the first one created earlier in yellow

creating prairie points by cutting apart rows of

EQUILATERAL TRIANGLES

after completing quilting, trim & squaring up... 

I decided on a few different locations to 

add those PRAIRIE POINTS!

I auditioned a few different binding colors 

before deciding on solid black...

I machine stitched the binding 

on front of quilt using a 1/4" edging foot

I hand stitched the binding to the quilt back

I am fairly pleased with my completed challenge!

description as part of MQG entry:

A multi fabric improv quilt inspired and created for the 2016 Riley Blake Fabric Challenge featuring Sashing Stash designed by Eleanor Dugan.

My Sashing Stash

Riley Blake Challenge Quilt 

2016:

Pythagorean Sash

The SPRING CHALLENGE that was purebred for June

It's that time of year again... 
weddings, graduations, end of term events... and the list goes on and on.
I never seem to be home long enough to go anywhere near my sewing room.

BUT-

I am the VP of programing for The Tyler Modern Quilt Guild & I had personally proposed a spring challenge last winter... so I knew I had to follow through on it.

I challenged our members to create a quilt featuring their MONTHLY BIRTHSTONES & FLOWERS.  I gave them FEB through MAY 2016 to complete their creation.
Needless to say... I delayed... and now hurried to get it ready for next weeks meeting. 

So here were the specifics I challenged:

-FOCUS FABRICS---Your BIRTHSTONE COLOR and your FLOWER COLOR

-Your quilt must represent YOUR BIRTH MONTH and can be created any way you wish. (EX: applique, pieced, painted, whole cloth, embroidered, embellished)

-Your BIRTH FLOWER must be somewhere on the FRONT of the quilt.
You can make ANYTHING you like… a spring table runner? pillow? wall hanging? Something new… JUST GO FOR IT!!!"

I also provided a formal listing with REMINDERS of MONTHS, BIRTHSTONES, FLOWERS, & their MEANINGS to help them get started.

My birthday is June 4th. 

Thus: June: White/Cream Pearl -Red Rose …Love, strong.

Purebred by Erin Michael for modafabrics

I love the combination of colors created by the "paint by numbers" within the fabrics palette of roses... the reds, creams, pearls, grays, & greens. I thought the fabrics perfect & am so glad I stumbled on them! 

I quilted it to be reversible