Thursday, August 4, 2016

August 2016 program: Highlights of the summer POE (GSQA educational program)

This Pursuit of Excellence class shared techniques to enhance what we may already do.  This teaching format is beneficial to beginners and advanced quilters alike, as you can jump in where you need to, to increase accuracy in block making or just start with a method that will save you time.  There are many quilt blocks that use a 60-degree triangle as a unit.  

Part of the POE class time was used to demonstrate cutting up this triangle unit to make a quicker pineapple block unit.  This YouTube video incorporates these techniques https://www.pinterest.com/pin/362750944968758151/.  

There are rulers (TriRecs is one brand) https://www.pinterest.com/pin/362750944968758116/ which makes cutting these units easy. 
A formula for paper template is also available 
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/362750944968751119/

Many traditional blocks can be made with this technique; 54-40 or Fight and Storm at Sea are two examples.  There are also contemporary/modern blocks which I put on my list of might-become-quilts (https://www.pinterest.com/pin/362750944968758153/, https://www.pinterest.com/pin/362750944968758120/, and a Christmas tree https://www.pinterest.com/pin/362750944968758102/.  

In the POE class, the 60-degree triangle was used as one unit of a quilt incorporating a quarter-square triangle, a pineapple unit made from a triangle block, and an easy strip-piecing technique to make a chain block unit.  
The block could be done all in Christmas prints from your stash.  
This block also lends itself to becoming part of an interesting scrappy quilt with a conscious use of values.  

Check out the companion entry here on other things learned in class.  

Renee Hoeprich