Skip to main content

Dazzling

Ever since I made Oliver's first quilt last year I've been interested in learning more about diamond patchwork. FancyCrazys, one of my favorite quilting supply sellers on Etsy, had a used book on diamond quilts up for sale, so I invested.

Diamond Quilts & Beyond by Jan Krentz is packed full of inspiration and instructions on how to manage the 45 degree diamond as a single-unit design feature. This is exactly what I needed to wrap my head around this kind of patchwork.

Most of the book is about construction and design, color and pattern choices and ideas. There are four projects at the end that looks fairly simple, but I'm more interested in seeing how other quilters use diamonds. Fortunately the author included a gallery section with 34 diamond quilts by herself and other makers to admire.

There's a distinct Asian feel to all the quilts in this book, which is definitely my favorite vibe. One thing I appreciate about this approach to quilt making are the straight seams. I am not great at piecing, and being able to assemble patchwork in rows seems to be the easiest way for me. All of these diamond quilts are constructed in diagonal rows. When you're trying to match up seams row piecing is the simplest way to do that (or hide your mistakes, like I do.)

Here are some of the quilts from the gallery section:

Since this book was published back in 2005 it's probably out of print now, but if you're interested in getting a copy I'm pretty sure you can easily locate a used edition. Alibris has 28 copies available starting at $1.45.

Labels:

Comments

nightsmusic said…
Very pretty designs! I'm looking forward to yours now ;)
May 10, 2020 at 9:41 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Love Means This

Invested in a couple of hand-dyed bundles from one of my favorite fabric artists. This one said "Make me into something for Valentine's Day." So I went for a quilted and embellished tote. I kept thinking about what love means to me as I worked on it. Here's the finished tote. Although I was tempted to embellish with beads and pins, I got sick and only felt well enough to do a little stitching every night. As I worked I thought about how often love seems disappointing to us, especially when it fails to live up to our expectations. But now that I've experienced love in many forms, I can say that it's made me a better person than I might have been without it. Love is a precious thing, and should be appreciated in all its forms. I am very grateful for the love of my guy, my child and my friends who have stuck with me all these years. That's you two, in case you're wondering. :) Also finally found something to do with a ve...
1 comment
Read more

Goodwill Gamble #2 Arrives

My second Goodwill gamble arrived; this is one I paid ten bucks for last month. Just inside the lid was a big roll of plastic mesh that I think is for latchhook work. In the auction listing it looked like fabric to me, so that was unexpected. Someone at the seller's end was nice enough to put a note on this pinned fabric. I'll put on my gloves before I take it out to inspect it. The embroidered green fabric turned out to be 1-1/2 yards of sequinned and three-dimensional designer fabric. I'll guess this cost somewhere between $20.00 to $30.00 a yard, and it's in pristine condition. But here's a shot of everything in the lot, which is mostly crafty odds and ends with a small amount of cotton fabrics, a large amount of synethetic fabrics, and some other surprises. The original owner of these was probably a Catholic school teacher; these beads, crosses and medallions are the kind of rosary kits for kids to make at Sunday school or Bible camp (and s...
Post a Comment
Read more

Fabscrap for 2023

In December I made two orders from Fabscrap. The first arrived with this giant spool of variegated taupe yarn; it's more than enough to make a nice big wrap or a lap blanket. I also added two pounds of mendable sample garment tops in this particular order. I made a mistake and clicked on large for the size, and then later read that they were out of stock. I expected they would backorder my order, but instead they made some delightful substitutions. This pretty pink top doesn't need any mending or alteration. This is a dress, I believe, and it looks to be in perfect condition, too. A white eyelet blouse, also in new condition. Keep in mind that all these garments are $8.00 a pound, which works out to $4.00 each for this order. That's cheaper than Goodwill. I even got a coat. That neon green faux fur on the cuffs definitely has to go, but I love the coat. This is a yard pack of neutral naturals. The linen alone (on the right) is worth about $25....
Post a Comment
Read more