Old Treasures Revisited

I recently started working on a new column for the magazine.  My thought was to create a feature where old quilt patterns were re-stitched with fresh fabrics.  I started to dig through thirty year old issues I found in the warehouse and was amazed to realize that instructions thirty years ago were predominately templates with little to no instruction for assembly.  I guess if you’re piecing by hand and you probably learned most of your skills from a grandmother, you wouldn’t need all those instructions we are so used to using. 

I found a pattern in one of the old magazines that really caught my eye.  It’s was a very basic hexagon pinwheel and the sample, you could tell from the photo, was done in old shirts and probably scraps.  This was very typical for the era. 

To be honest, I’m not much for hand piecing but that’s not to say I don’t admire those that do.  It's really a time thing with me. My mind started to think about how to simplify the process and make it faster.  This type of quilt pattern is quite popular right now.  You know, anything hexagon. 

I selected the fabrics I wanted to use, then began to experiment. First, I would strip piece to save time. That was easy enough.  Figured the angles and selected my rulers then it totally dawned on me. Faster can mean more complicated. 

Fabrics from Moda.

 

There is a lot more to figure out these days to update those simple template patterns.  With all our wonderful gadgets, it’s faster only after someone figures it all out.  Wish me luck!