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Sands of Time Hourglass with the
Quarter Square Triangles
By Gene Black, an Alabama Artist, http://blog.geneblack.com
Hello, my name is Gene. I am an artist, quilter, designer and blogger who is very passionate about creating. Read more about blogger…
Since childhood, I have been fascinated with making things. When I started quilting, I found a new obsession. I love the AccuQuilt GO!® Fabric Cutter because it makes it so easy for me to spend more time creating and less time cutting fabric.
Today, I would like to discuss the Quarter Square Triangle block. This block is more commonly called an hourglass block. The block is a great geometric shape that is used repeatedly in quilts. The quarter square triangle block can be used in many ways. In some quilts, its use is obvious. In others, it is almost hidden as it plays a supporting role in the background or as part of the larger block.
Bow Tie Diamonds Quilt
My design, Bow Tie Diamonds, shows how the hourglass design can be used as both a foreground and a background in one quilt. Every block in this quilt is a quarter square triangle block. By simply making three color variations, the large background diamonds are created along with the red “bow ties” in the foreground.
In this instance, you would make:
- 25 red/ yellow combination blocks
- 40 blue/ yellow combination blocks
- 16 blue/ red combination blocks
To put together the Bow Tie Diamonds, there are only two row layouts making this super easy to piece together. However, you must be careful when you sew the rows together as the color combinations are alternating.
The odd numbered rows (1, 3, 5, 7, 9, etc.) are alternating yellow/ red and yellow/ blue quarter square triangles. For these odd rows, you would always sew the yellow sections of the blocks together to help you stay on track.
Game On Quilt
My next creation is named Game On because it looks like an interesting board game layout. If you wanted to add some pizzazz to this design, you can easily add appliqué shapes inside the large solid areas.
In this design, the quarter square triangles are practically invisible as the blocks all support a larger design. This can be made with only quarter square triangles and solid blocks. However, you can save some sewing time by using two pieces cut with the quarter square triangle and one piece cut with the GO!® Half Square-4" Finished Triangle.
This technique of mixing half square triangles with the quarter square triangles can be used to make a Pinwheel on Point block.
Pinwheel on Point Block
The finished image of the block followed by the exploded version makes it easier to understand how these two triangle shapes can work together.
You simply take two different colored fabrics for the quarter square triangle pieces, sew them together, then match them with a half square triangle. It is important to be sure that your quarter square pieces are always in the same orientation to create a pinwheel image.
This block can also be used for a quilt or perhaps a table topper.
Peppermint Candy Quilt
Using the Pinwheel on Point block, you can easily piece together a quilt or table runner to make this holiday-themed project called Peppermint Candy.
As you can see, the quarter square triangle block is amazingly versatile in quilting. This shape works well with other mix and match dies in the GO! collection of dies so the possibilities are endless.
Watch Video:
How to use the GO! Fabric Cutter
to cut 4" quarter square finished triangles.
About Blogger:
Gene Black can be found online at http://blog.geneblack.com. In addition, his painting can be found at http://www.geneblack.com. Gene is an avid quilter who started quilting in the Spring of 2008. He loves designing and making quilts. He has worked in Public Health for over 20 years and looks forward to retirement so that he can devote more time to creative projects.
