I have not had a chance to return to the sewing machine yet, so I thought I would look back and see what I was working on. And yikes! It was last February that I began the Demented Garden Mosaic (a pattern published online by Free Spirit.) And that is also where I found an old tutorial that I made for making this quilt. Because I think it is important to realize that this is not made up of half-square triangles. This is made from strips and the smallest piece I have to handle is 2X4.5 inches.
It starts with light and dark strips that are 2 inches wide, and light and dark strips that are 3 inches wide. Sew the light and dark strips together...a light 2 inch wide strip to a dark 3 inch strip; a dark 2 inch wide strip to a light 3 inch strip.
Next, cut each of the strip sets into 2 inch increments so you have stacks of 2 by 4.5 inch rectangle two-patches.
Take similar rectangles (that is, small dark squares) and sew them so the small squares are at either end. The example on the left shows two rectangles with dark squares sewn together. The example on the right shows to do the same for the rectangles with light squares.
These are the two types of blocks that you end up with.
Next, slice these blocks into triangles lining up the ruler so that makes a right triangle with a quarter inch seam off of the square. You will do this to both squares so that you get two triangles from each block. You may also have a sliver of excess.
Then recombine the triangles along the diagonal using one triangle with a dark square and one triangle with a light square. If you have ironed to the dark you will benefit from nesting seams.
These are the units that make up most of the Demented Garden Mosaic except for the strips of flying geese that march between the sections.
Meanwhile, I found out that mixes of Tabbies and Siamese can lead to a "Lynx-point Siamese" like Buddy. And supposedly one of their key characteristics is that they tend to be more dog-like than cat-like. Unfortunately, I found no discussion of a tendency to grow to the size of a pony or a tiny house.
14 comments:
That's the batty way to Totally Demented! Nice of you to share your Bat Wing tutorial.
I'm going to try to crawl around in a little place on the floor and pin baste mine later on today while hubby is out of sight and out of mind. Well, he's usually out of his mind just not out of sight and out of the house. For some reason he always needs to walk right where I'm pin basting.
I'll have to try it your way. Thank you for sharing the tutorial. So far I have been using the 8 at a time HSTs then it becomes a four patch.
I’m relieved to know they aren’t HST. You’d have to be demented to try that.
Ingenious! I am so keen to try that method one day....got to get a few UFO's completed for a deadline, but that is a great pattern for scraps and I have plenty of those.
Love it. I knew there had to be something out there for this.
Thank you for the info, will have to try it as this quilt is on the bucket list. And I do love the news on the furry children, they are so cute.
Sally, I was confused how you get 4" when sewing a 2" strip to a 3" strip...wouldn't it be 4 1/2"? I was wondering if the strips are 1 1/2" x 3"? Of course I could be total demented, lol!
Love Buddy’s picture. have you ever considered doing pawtraits of the two kids - er, I mean cats? I remember that you had posted that clever tutorial before. It’ll come in handy if I ever decide to get demented.
Beautiful kitty photo .... and your method for the Garden Mosaic makes a lot of sense.
You are really tempting me to try this pattern! Your final quilt is amazing. Maybe I could make a smaller version...
Beautiful picture of Buddy. I have always wanted a pony. My last cat was the size of a Bobcat. The one before that was more or a black panther. I want to try this quilt someday when I am senile:-)
I'm still plodding along, doing mine the loony way instead of the batty way...
Love the pic of Buddy the Wonder Pony!
I had a Tabby-point Siamese (my name for her breed), and she was one heavy weight, turned into diabetic in her old age. Beautiful blue eyes I named her Bella. Striped tail, with tabby parts on her back too. These are special cats, love on them! That is One Demented Quilt!
Thank you again for these directions. I forgot about these directions and had gotten back to making HSTs. I now wrote these directions and put it int he project box so I will continue to remember. I am making more blocks for this quilt now.
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