Tricky triangles

I thought I would just sneak in a quick post before Christmas to give an update on what we (well actually just me) have been doing. After last month's retreat where Sofie and Lynne laid out their blocks I thought I needed to do the same so that I could refine my colour choices for the last few blocks.

Not that you can see the colours all that well as it was a hot day so I had most of our blinds closed.

Auditioning a few selections for a couple more blocks.

I've also been re-working Block #2. I thought I found a solution.

But then Judy dropped around and she did not approve! So she picked out this new combination for the centre, which I had to admit did look better.

Block #24 has a circle of triangles and because I wanted to try and have nice straight edges and pointy points on them I decided to use the starch applique method that I had used before on one of my CCCQ blocks. 

Here's how I prepared the triangles.

Iron on freezer paper templates.

Cut out with approximate 1/4" seam allowance.

Spray some starch into the lid.

Paint starch onto seam allowance - try and not get too much onto the template, otherwise it gets too soggy.

Press with dry iron until starch dries.

Think about which way the tails stick out so that they are not on the approach side.

Remove freezer paper.

Use a plastic template to mark the line to line up with the circle placement.  

I pinned the triangles down first, luckily I did as somehow they didn't all quite fit and I had to move them out from the circle by about 1/4''.

I decided to use glue as didn't want pins creating bumps in my edges and points. The glue is inside from the edge so you don't have to push the needle through dry glue.

Position the triangles, tweezers help.

Then finally sew!

 This was very fiddly and time consuming but I think I'm getting the desired result.

We are looking forward to our next retreat by the beach in Warrnambool over the New Year holidays, complete with support crew :) 

In the mean time we wish you all a very Merry Christmas!!

Welcome to the G'nT Sisters!

Hi there and thanks for visiting our new blog. We set this up to track our progress on whatever we are working on together - currently this is Di Ford's Antique Wedding Sampler from her Quiltmania book  - Primarily Quilts. You can see the different colour choices in our center stars from Block #11.

Readers of my Wheels on the Warrandyte Bus blog will know that unfortunately I lost my signed copy whilst travelling across the Nullabor. Luckily I can share with the G'nT Sisters.

Our November retreat started with the usual Show and Tell of what we had been working on since our last get-together.

Lynne's striking finished quilt top for her son

Judy's Liberty & linen quilt top finished for her daughter (this photo doesn't do it justice)

Sofie's Block #20

Sofie's Block #11 

Lynne's Block #11

Judy's Block #11

Judy's Block #6 

My Block #25

Then it was time to eat a beautiful fresh salad.

The next-door neighbour even dropped in with these fabulous cupcakes - yum!

We then moved onto one of our favourite things - choosing fabrics...

Judy has the best stash!

fabrics for Lynne

fabrics for me

 Time to lay out some blocks to help with colour choices.

Sofie's blocks

Lynne's blocks

 We were so lucky to have a support team this time and had dinner cooked for us by two of the hubbys. 

G'nT Sisters & support crew

At our last retreat in Fryerstown we were so busy sewing we skipped a few meals and snacked instead, so this paella was a real treat!

We sewed, talked and laughed into the night. It was all too much for one hubby, so luckily there was Sofie's beautiful quilt to snuggle under. 

Goodnight 'til next time.

Carole