An unexpected favorite!

This is the story of a quilt I thought I would not keep, and it turned out to be one I happily use every single day!  

It seems like a lifetime ago, but in March, when the world was starting to quarantine,  Gundrun Erla of GE Designs was hosting a virtual quarantine quilt along with her pattern, Elvira.   It sounded like fun, and I got the pattern, and decided to start using up my stash.  (Okay - I say that every year, but I am making some progress!).  I keep my fabric in smallish bins sorted by color, and I had three bins full of various greens.  The greens, especially the grayer ones, are not a color I often use, so I thought this would be perfect.  I figured that I could donate the quilt.  I ironed the fabrics, and sorted by value to see what I had.   

The Elvira pattern, found here, is very nice, with big swatches of color.  I cut my greens up, and had pulled some unloved reds to complement the greens.   I started making some of the blocks, and found I really didn't care for it.  My green variety just wasn't coming together in such big pieces.  I was also furiously making masks, worrying about everything, and trying to finish up three studio art classes remotely.  I hit a wall, and just stopped working on that quilt. 

Since I had the greens (and reds)  all cut into rectangles, I decided to cut them up further into triangles.  

I started sewing them together at random, and then put them up on my design wall to see how it looked.   I had made a few triangle quilts before and liked how they generally turned out.  You can find those here and here.

I guess these pieces were just enough smaller that they worked nicely together.  

I ended up finishing the quilt in  August, and taking some proper photos in October.   The finished quilt is a nice lap size  - 61 inches wide by 72 inches tall.  Perfect for my reading chair.  I ended up quilting a triangle pattern in each triangle, keeping the lines about 1/2 inch or so apart.  I just moved from one to the next with a little loop, leaving an unquilted ridge between each triangle.  

I'm not the only one who finds this a most comfy quilt!  

I am sure I will find some fabrics that will better suit the Elvira pattern.  In the meantime, a quilt made from fabrics I didn't really like ended up being one of my favorites.  

I still have a few finished and gifted quilts to write about.  For a new project, I am currently working  on the 2020 Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt,  Grassy Creek Mystery.  These are fun, and a great way to learn new techniques and get great tips.  There is plenty of time to join in the fun.  Details can be found on Bonnie's blog, here.  I am documenting my progress right now only on Instagram, but I will certainly blog about it when it is complete.  Check it out  and follow me at @snugharborquilts.

Thank you so much for visiting my blog!  Stay safe!  

Take care,

Gretchen