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| So, I'm thinking about twister quilts. Then I have this thought... instead of using solid blocks, how about using fabric strips? I'm thinking if you started off with say, 10" blocks comprised of various 2" strips, sew them together and cut out 10" twister squares and put them back together, it could get REAL interesting in a hurry.
What do you all think? Dan |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by jennifer_in_va (My Page) on Sun, Apr 29, 12 at 21:17
| I say, "Give it a try and tell us what happens" ! lol Why not? What can it hurt? |
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- Posted by new2quilting (My Page) on Sun, Apr 29, 12 at 21:38
| The ones I've seen with stripes are fun. Having done one of these with pre-cut squares, I found it time-consuming, so piecing blocks will take some time. A couple of things to thing about. Twisters have a lot of seams and a lot of bias, and you're going to have even more seams if you piece together the blocks, so if you want to try it I'd suggest lots of starch. Also, I think the main thing about the twisters is contrast, so you might want to do light stripes in one block, dark stripes in another, or all shades of red in one, shades of blue in another. That way when they're nestled they really pop. |
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| I am all for trying out new ideas, so you should give it a try If you want something that random and scrappy though you might be better with a crazy quilt - the problem with twisters is that there's a LOT of waste. Will you end up with a pattern worth the waste? |
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- Posted by dan_the_mailman (My Page) on Sun, Apr 29, 12 at 22:47
| Making color runs within the blocks is a good idea. As for the additional seams and bias, after having done a queen-sized bargello a few years ago, that's not going to ever bother me again..lol! Kate, I think that, with the larger blocks, the material that doesn't get used within the twisters will be large enough to use in other ways, so that'll cut down on the waste. In fact, it might help me out with the postage stamp quilt I'm slowly working on. I think I'm going alternate solid blocks with the strippy ones so the quilt doesn't get too busy. And, who knows? While I'm working on it, I might get more inspiration to do even more to further projects! I'll keep you all posted on my progress. Thanks for all the input! |
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| Hi Dan, Would you post a picture when you get a few blocks done? I'd love to see how it looks. Cheers, |
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- Posted by geezerfolks (My Page) on Mon, Apr 30, 12 at 8:00
| Dan, I saw one Twister where the extra fabric was squared up and used in the border. Or, you could be like LindaOh and just keep making smaller Twisters with the leftovers. lol SharonG/FL |
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| I can't wait to see this, Dan. You are always thinking outside the box! |
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| "...postage stamp quilt...", "...the extra fabric was squared up and used in the border.", "...keep making smaller Twisters with the leftovers." More and more great ideas! |
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- Posted by dan_the_mailman (My Page) on Mon, Apr 30, 12 at 15:10
| Lol, thanks Bev! When I was in elementary school, our art teacher told me once that she could always count on me to change things a little when she'd introduce a new project for us. It's not that I can't follow instructions, I'm just always asking "what would happen if we...?" I guess you could say my medium is cloth. Instead of painting or drawing (both of which I also like to do), I quilt! I think I'm going to try a smaller block to see what this does. Instead of creating one huge quilt, I'm going to try this and hopefully wind up with a block around 30" square. That way, if I like the results, I'll just need 8 more for a quilt. If I don't like the results, or I think of another way to tweak it, I'll be able to make some changes for the rest of the quilt. Hopefully I'll have some photos to share in a few hours. See you soon! |
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- Posted by geezerfolks (My Page) on Mon, Apr 30, 12 at 20:40
| OK, Dan, it's been a few hours and I'm still waiting...... lol SharonG/FL |
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- Posted by dan_the_mailman (My Page) on Mon, Apr 30, 12 at 21:01
| Lol...sorry Sharon, it's not going to be done this evening. My experiment is going well though, I've got the blocks, both striped and solid, all done and sewn together. I've even got the frame around the whole thing. But, since I need to go to bed in about an hour, I'm stopping there. Last time I learned that, once you start the twister squares, you don't want to stop if you want to keep them in order. I'll start again on it after I get home from work tomorrow. Is the suspense getting to you??? LOL! |
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| This is fun - I'm following along too and the suspense is building... |
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- Posted by geezerfolks (My Page) on Tue, May 1, 12 at 8:51
| Well, yes, Dan.....we know you're doing your best to keep us hanging on your every post! LOL SharonG/FL |
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- Posted by dan_the_mailman (My Page) on Wed, May 2, 12 at 6:30
| Sorry Ladies. After work last night I came home and took a couple of vicadin and a couple sleeping pills and went to bed. Hopefully today will be a better day at the p.o., and I can come home to do some sewing. I want to see how this turns out! |
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- Posted by geezerfolks (My Page) on Wed, May 2, 12 at 6:43
| That must have been some day, Dan! Hope you have a better day today cause work is interfering with your hobby and we can't have that. SharonG/FL (who doesn't know why she's up this early and even posting!) |
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- Posted by quiltingfox (My Page) on Wed, May 2, 12 at 18:06
| Eagerly awaiting to see pics of this twister quilt Dan. :-) Best to you, |
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- Posted by dan_the_mailman (My Page) on Fri, May 4, 12 at 18:49
| Okay, I've got the first part of this experiment finished. Finally, eh? It's nice to be enjoying an evening without the vicadin...lol! I made a large 9-patch block of alternating solid and striped 10" blocks, then attached a 6" border. Here's what I came up with... Then I used an 8" template to draw/cut my blocks. Here's the result... I like what happened, but I think I'm going to try again using fabrics for the stripes which aren't the same as the solid blocks to increase the contrast. I really like how the solid windmills sort of hide within the striped ones, and how the striped windmills create a secondary camoflauge pattern. |
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- Posted by jennifer_in_va (My Page) on Fri, May 4, 12 at 20:22
| So, it works! Yeah. I think I'd also suggest strips that are more narrow so you get smaller/more colors on those windmills. I also agree that more contrast is important. |
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| Very funky, Dan. I like it. This is one quilt where color selection really makes a difference. (I guess that's true about most quilts, but it seems more so here.) I think the black really sets off the stripes. Show us more! |
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- Posted by littlehelen (My Page) on Fri, May 4, 12 at 20:44
| HI Dan, I like what you created w/ your twist on the twister. I've made one twister w/ the smaller 5" blocks, I loved the result, but I was outraged at the amount of waste once I starting cutting. The results are cool..can't wait to see more..! V. |
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| Looks great! |
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| Wonder what would happen if the original had circles in it? Cool effect so far. |
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- Posted by luvtosharedivs (My Page) on Sat, May 5, 12 at 12:49
| What a difference a twist makes! I love the effect, and I like the idea of using contrasting stripes in narrower cuts. I'd also use a couple more black squares, if making a larger project. What are you going to do with the waste/scrap fabric? Julie |
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| I love it Dan, very creative!! I also remember those kind of days at AT&T OFTEN!! I saw a twister border like Sharon mentioned and I loe it, I have to find it again and bookmark it! I have the twister pattern from a very old book and I have yet to try it. |
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- Posted by dan_the_mailman (My Page) on Sat, May 5, 12 at 18:09
| Wow! A lot of questions! I like'em because they tend to spark more ideas, sooooo..... keep'em coming! Waste material: Once I've made eight more blocks the same size and have gathered all the left over material, I'm going to use it to make a border for the quilt, and possibly sashing between the blocks. Waste not, want not, right?! Peg, circles? Explain yourself! You've got my interest piqued with that comment! Black/dark blocks: There will be more. =========================================================== Another idea I've had is to make the squares 8" when sewn together, making the twisted squares gradully grow more off-center progressing from the lower left corner to the upper right. We'll see. Third idea would be to make one in black and white. Fourth idea? Combine some large bold prints with solids in an alternating pattern before making the twisted blocks. Anyone have any more ideas? Dan |
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- Posted by geezerfolks (My Page) on Sun, May 6, 12 at 6:37
| I don't have any ideas but this one looks like it does need a little more contrast to be able to see the pinwheels well....at least for me and my tired old eyes. I don't think there's anymore waste with this pattern than any other as the leftovers can be used in a number of ways. Don't forget the little pinwheels can be used in the border, although I'd opt for making squares. lol SharonG/FL |
Here is a link that might be useful: Twister border
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- Posted by polardream (My Page) on Tue, May 8, 12 at 11:20
| Very creative, Dan! I like the results. I am sure the finished product will be fabulous. Sue |
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| Hi Dan, I'd try this with paper first rather than waste fabric. I was thinking of blocks like Drunkard's Path with the partial circle in the corners - how would they twist? I'm just thinking outside the box - why straight lines all the time? Or it may be a bad idea because the twists may look really strange like a rag quilt. |
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- Posted by dan_the_mailman (My Page) on Tue, May 8, 12 at 17:25
| drunkards path, eh? sounds like an interesting experiment! I'm not worried about the waste of fabric because, no matter what I do, as long as there's enough contrast in the various materials I use, the twister pattern should show through. it might be more subtle in some blocks, but it'll be there. I wonder what a dresden plate would look like? ...the experiments continue..... |
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- Posted by lafonda_ranch (My Page) on Wed, May 9, 12 at 10:29
| I'm enjoying watch this progress!! I'm one that needs a pattern. So, I love watching this come together :-) Robbi |
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- Posted by dan_the_mailman (My Page) on Wed, May 9, 12 at 20:59
| Robbi, I used to be that way, always needing a pattern. I'm still that way a little I guess because I like to try new patterns and see how they go together. But then I like to get my "what if" ruler out and start measuring more fabric...lol! Somewhere over the last year I had something of a watershed moment. I've been reading variations of the phrase "it doesn't matter how you quilt, as long as you're enjoying yourself while quilting" in my quilting magazines. We've all got different ways to enjoy our hobby, and I do like to push myself with new patterns, techniques, and combinations of them. I've also got say I like having you all comment and watch what I do. I don't know of any local guilds, so you all are filling that spot for me. And I like it! Happy Sewing! |
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- Posted by new2quilting (My Page) on Wed, May 9, 12 at 21:52
| Since your original post I kept remembering someone in the Bunny Hill scrappy plate club doing strip pieced Dresden plates. She wrote up a tutorial, pretty cool. Now I'd probably just used striped fabric, but that's just me. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Stripped dresden plates
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