Geometry is Great!

So the other day I worked on the Challenge quilt that I can’t show for another three or four weeks, until the big reveal at MQX. The quilt as designed has some interesting seams and unusually shaped pieces (hence the interesting seams) to say the very least. This results in needing to actually draft pieces for this quilt so that I can accurately cut and piece later this week. So this is where the geometry comes in. Did I ever mention that geometry was my favorite subject in high school?

What do you do when you have to figure out strange angles and don’t have a protractor to figure out exactly where that line is supposed to go? Well here’s where geometry and a little knowledge of drafting works really well. This process would have been easier with the protractor, however a large roll of butcher paper, a sharp pencil, a 6 x 24″ ruler and clear tape came in really handy.

In trying to cut this very odd shaped piece I knew I needed a template. So I cut a couple of lengths of the 18″ wide butcher paper and taped it together by just butting the edges together and not over lapping because with this I didn’t want to risk tearing the paper in any way.

I then drew what I knew. I knew the center and several pieces surrounding the center.  Where the angles fall and how to draw them where I needed them.  I also know that a couple of pieces are mirrored on the other side so I only have to do this once and cut the reverse for the other side. Now for that pesky angle. Since I knew where a couple of pieces go and their length I drew in those lines – they are very, very important lines. Next at the correct heights I drew lines connecting the two pieces.  (In a couple of weeks I’ll put pictures on here showing you how I achieved this…it’s actually a lot easier than it sounds right now.)

Then I cut out the piece I needed, you know the really odd shaped one, added a quarter inch all the way around.  There are five sides to this piece and two 45 degree angles…there’s more but I don’t want to give anything away here.

Then theres the piecing, oh, the piecing.  It’s a good thing I have an understanding of open seam piecing or else I’d be doing some appliqué and I don’t want to appliqué.  It’s not that I can’t appliqué, it’s just that I don’t want to appliqué.  For this piece appliqué would be a pain in the toukas and there’s enough of that in other places.

Anyway, I’m making progress on this quilt.  I’m having a lot of fun and can hardly wait to show it to you.

Happy Quilting!

Teri