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November 2020: The Magic Number

From the traditional quilt blocks of past generations to the more recent, spiky, improv blocks of Nick Ball, triangles have long been an essential part of quilt design. There are hundreds of designs which can be made from different arrangements of the humble dark/light half-square-triangle; the modern twist on these perennial favourites being to make a quilt from a single giant block with each half-square-triangle perhaps 10 or 12 inches across - playing with scale is one of the many aesthetics of Modern Quilting.

I have always had a bit of a love affair with triangles, in particular equilateral triangles, to me they seem to embody a certain perfect completeness. When I look at my designs I realise that so many of them are based on a triangular block structure. Not only that but cones, pyramids and all things of a triangular nature appear to have influenced me at one time or another - Freud would undoubted have something pointed to say about it!

On our cruise around the internet this month we have found a plethora of triangularishness to tantalise your quilting taste buds and encourage you to have a go. In particular we would recommend you look at this month's SPECIAL OFFERS page on our website which will hopefully give you some ideas for small projects to make as gifts for a certain seasonal festival which looms, ever large, on the horizon.

Whether you are making gifts for friends, just for your own amusement, or just amusing yourself looking around, we hope you enjoy this edition.

AitchBee and Helen Howes

Contact us direct on newsletter@modernartquilters.co.uk


TRIANGLE SUN by Helen Howes. Click on the image to visit HH's website
PENROSE TRIANGLE by AitchBee. The latest in the FOOLING THE EYE 3-D series. Click on the picture to visit AitchBee's website


Debbie from blog, A Quilter's Table, shares her tutorial for improv spikes (as she called them). Lots of other quilts featuring triangles if you have a look around her quilt galleries.
You will often find us including the work of talented quilter, Lynne Tyler and her blog, The Patchery Menagerie and this is exactly why: this scrappy triangles quilt (shown in the process of being constructed) is called FRUIT LOOPS - yummy!
Modern quilter, Nick Ball, has made quite a name for himself in recent years with his fantastic series of triangle quilts. It is always fun to see Nick's Instagram page since he is constantly developing new ideas and heading in interesting directions.
Yes, this quilt is made entirely from triangles - improv triangles at that! Cheryl Arkinson set herself some very basic rules when she began this quilt (some years ago) but paramount to the rules was the importance of playing. The result: SOLID TRIANGLE PLAY quilt
Intentional Improv may sound rather an unlikely phrase, but you can understand the thinking behind these rather delightful (and aptly seasonal) trees from an article by Vivika Denegre on the Quilting Daily blog. It also includes another informative tutorial for making them, which could easily be adapted to make postcards or greetings cards.
Helen and I have been working on the idea of rectangular blocks (as opposed to the more common square ones) and we were amused to see these triangles set into rectangles. these little bits of loveliness were made by Daniela of Block M Quilts as part of a Quilting Bee
PERFECTLY POINTLESS by Maria Shell

A different choice of colours for Maria who we are more used to see working in a bright, bold palette


This link will take you to the gallery pages of the MODERN QUILT GUILD - stunning visual imagery and lots of inspiration for Modern Quilting

The image itself is HANDCRAFTED TRIANGLES by Jennifer Johnston - what's not to like? The colours, the improv floating triangles, the rectangular blocks, the change of scale all add up to a super Modern Quilt
When Helen showed me this quilt on this month's Pinterest board it knocked my socks off - this is one of those 'I wish I had made that' quilts FREE STYLIN', SPIRALLIN' & FLYIN' GEESE by Mel Beach.

Click on the image to see more triangular mayhem on our Pinterest board.
The image here will take you to another favourite blog of ours, Quilt Inspiration, where you can read about and see some of the works of Rosie Lee Tompkins (1936 - 2006) a Modern Quilter ahead of her time.

Whether you have come across the work of Rosie Lee Tompkins or not, this YouTube walk-through of the Retrospective Exhibition in her honour is worth and hour of your time. So, make a cuppa, find somewhere peaceful to sit, hog the biscuit tin and immerse yourself. CLICK HERE to visit YouTube





GUEST TUTORIAL for Improv Triangles by Sarah Dixon now available on our Free Patterns and Tutorials page
quilt inspiration


 Oh-oh-oh, equilateral triangles, love it - but even better these are improv pieced onto paper and then stitched together - I would thoroughly recommend that you click through and have a look at the finished quilt as well as Cathy Perlmutter's tutorial on how she made some of the blocks.
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