Dancing Quarter Square Triangle Quilt

When I get requests for custom quilts I try to do something a little different with the layout and design.  This recent finish is no exception.  As I mentioned in my first post, the mom is a dancer.  I wanted something that had movement and some negative space.  I wanted the quarter square triangles to move.

My original thought was blocks tumbling into each other across the quilt.  As I began to layout the quilt, it ended up looking a bit more like a sideways pyramid.  I left it alone for a couple of days and then decided to add in some blocks dropping into the pyramid from across the quilt.  Think an hourglass filling up.

dancing quarter square triangle quilt

Piecing this took some time.  Yes, I could have cut strips of the gray to put into the quilt, but I probably would have botched that.  Not much yardage left on the bolt of this color and I wanted to make sure I had enough to finish.  Lots of starch was used to keep the seams laying flat.

For quilting I wanted to replicate a dancer moving across a stage.  I started with semi cicles around the border and went from there.  Arch here to here moving across the quilt.  My mother in law put purple thread in my stocking this year…it was perfect for this quilt.  Overall I tried to keep the arches random and spread out.

quilting the dancing quarter square triangles quilt

The end result is a little different than I anticipated.  Overall the look is there and the movement I envisioned.

dancing quarter squares triangle quilt

dancing quarter squares triangle quilt

The binding is a solid Kona purple I found in my giant trash bag full of scraps.    For the back I used the remaining scraps of Heirloom that I picked up in a destash.  Lots of piecing to make this work.

dancing quarter square triangle quilt

Still some scraps left over and some other precut triangles.  I predict another baby quilt using these fabrics.  As for the pattern, I want to try it on a large scale quilt.  I ran out of quarter square triangles and it created a size limit.

The baby has received it’s new quilt and I was sent a picture of her snuggling on it.  Love seeing my quilts in action.

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