Pieces of My Life: 2015-03-15

My first effort in making a "Twister Quilt" didn't turn out so great. I didn't understand the importance of having adjacent contrasting colors to showcase the twisters. I make this in 2013, and hoped it would look like a firecracker exploding into the night sky. Unfortunately, all the effort to cut twisters was in vane, because some of the sections were the same, and you couldn't hardly see the twisters. I needed light shades of the same hue interspersed. I spent a lot of time adding decorative stitches around the shape, but even then it didn't show up much. But from that experience I was determined to try it again.

Twister II Winter 2015

Before beginning my next twister, I cut out all the 10.25" blocks out, using a wide variety of hues, and patterns. Luckily some good quilter from Monticello had cleaned out her stash, and I bought it. It contained a wide variety of fabric that blended. Next, I turned to Pinterest and looked at every possible twister quilt I could find. I watched "how to" videos and decided upon a pattern. This is what it looked like when I sewed the squares together. I had 11 blocks X 9 blocks, plus the pink border Does this look like it could ever be a twister pattern?

That was the easy part. But it is important to make sure all the crossroads where seams meet, is even.

Next, using a twister template I cut out new squares! (Yup that what we crazy quilters do, cut up perfectly good big pieces of fabric, sew it together, and then CUT it up again!!) You lay the cross hairs of the template on the seams where the 4 different fabrics meet. (Just like hunting!) You start on the outside edge and stitch a full row at a time. Next you lay the squares out in the same order in which you cut them. I usually cut left to right.

Next sew that row together pressing the seams all in the same direction. The next row will be pressed in the opposite direction. This is what it will look right, and you'll wonder what in the world? How does this become a twister?

The photo above shows what the row looks like as you sew one block after another.. It looks crazy doesn't it? but believe me, it will turn into a twister once you sew on the adjacent rows. Look closely at the next photo and you'll be able to figure out how this happens. Usually the square you cut out will have one wing of the pinwheel and there are four different fabrics making up the block.

This picture above shows five of the rows stitched together, and the twister shapes have magically appeared. Make sure you alternate directions the rows are pressed so that the junction where the seams match up isn't bulky. And voila' below is the finished quilt. It is about 1/4 smaller than the original sewn blocks were, as there is quite a bit of fabric cut away. I gave those scraps to a quilting friend who will use the leftover fabric to make yet another quilt. I love how this turned out.

Because I had so much fun making this quilt...which is, incidentally, quite fast to make, I decided to make another one of more odds and ends I had stashed away. There is a fair amount of cutting to do, but using a rotatory blade makes it goes fast. The final assembly also goes quickly.