This year I am hoping to finish a few UFOs that I have in my sewing room…
And this one is at the top of the list…
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I started it about two years ago (I know!) but other projects became more “urgent” and I had to put it away for a while.
It’ll be a Christmas gift later this year, but I’m trying to work on gifts throughout the year, so that I won’t be stressing later, wishing I had started earlier… (anybody know what I’m talking about??)
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I started out by gathering different blues & greens, 100% cotton, and cutting them into 5” strips, then 5” squares… (NOTE: This is Waverly fabric that I buy at Walmart. It’s beautiful, 100% cotton, and great for quilting! Also, it’s a lot more affordable!)
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Then I sewed them into half-square triangles using a white cotton, and ironed them with seams to the darker side.
I make half-square triangles by placing two 5” squares, right sides together, and sewing all the way around the square (with a quarter-inch seam). Then I iron it, and cut across in an X (corner to corner). You’ll have four half-square triangles.
Don’t they look pretty, all neatly grouped together?… I love ocean colors… sigh…
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Then it was time to trim those little “ears”… It really helps when you’re sewing them together!
See how nice they look once they’ve been trimmed?
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Once all the half-square triangles have been sewn and ears trimmed, then it’s time to lay out the square, paying close attention to the pattern — It’s easy to get confused, but after you’ve done it about 20 times, it gets easier. . .
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I love all the blues & greens…
Colors from the sea.
(Have I already said that?)
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It’s a simple pattern, great for a beginner, because it looks very complicated but it’s actually just half-square triangles making up one block that is used over & over again.
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Once you have four of the same squares, you put them together (again, paying close attention to the pattern), and sew them so that they make up one big square.
For the quilt I’m making, I need 16 of these “big” squares. It’ll be perfect for a Queen-size bed, but OK also for a King, if it has another sheet or blanket layered beneath it.
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I chose these colors because the family I want to give it to, they love ocean colors, too! (Who doesn’t?!)
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Half-square triangles are so versatile for quilt patterns… the possibilities are endless!
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This is what it looks like when 4 squares have been sewn together to make up the “big” square. You can tell that it’s the same square, just turned a little differently each time. (It took me a while to realize this!)
I tape one onto my wall so that I can look at it while I sew and keep those squares in the right place.
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I’m hoping to finish the quilt top this week and then begin the hand-quilting.
Anybody have any suggestions on the hand-quilting? I’d love any ideas! I may just do straight lines across the squares, but I’m thinking that something circular, to mimic waves, might be fun. Let me know what you think. I’d appreciate any ideas you may have! 😊
Happy sewing & quilting,
Daisy
A Daisy Garden 
Oh, this is going to be a beautiful quilt! I can’t offer any suggestions on hand quilting because I was never skilled enough to do it.
Thank you so much, Lillian! It means a lot coming from you. You may not be an expert in hand-quilting, but you certainly are in knitting! 😊
This is going to be beautiful!
I’m hoping I can match all those little corners when I sew it all together!
Love it, Daisy. I almost have my greenhouse up and running. You have to come up and help me with pictures, lol.
What a lucky family to be receiving this pretty sea quilt from you!
Thanks, Laura! I can’t say who it is (just in case they see this, which I doubt, but…), I think it will fit right in to their color scheme at home. 😊
Love the colors too Daisy! It thought it was smaller just looking at the photo– a queen size bed quilt is BIG! It will be fun to quilt, but will take a while! I just pulled out an old quilt project (I mean really old– my girls were both still home and helped me put the top together!!) I thought it would give me an excuse to sit in front of the Olympics if I were quilting!! — So hope you show us the quilt when it’s all finished! I know it will be beautiful! xox
Thanks, Rhonda! What a great idea—quilting while watching the Olympics! I’m hoping to finish it this week, and then begin hand-quilting while I “watch” TV or listen to an audio book. I have been pleasantly surprised to find that I actually enjoy hand-quilting…for some reason it’s relaxing to me and I’ve also used it as a time to pray for the person (or people) I’m giving the quilt to. I recently also started listening to beautiful music (while I sew or quilt), that I used to play far away and long ago when I was much younger… classical pieces and some opera… it’s been so wonderful and so relaxing. Anyways… thanks for your encouragement! 😊
So agree Daisy– hand quilting is so relaxing– quiet and not demanding. I’m about half done with the old quilt I picked up. I’ll show it to you when it’s done! Hope all’s well there. hugs!
This is amazing ! So glad you got to work on it again! Someone is going to be really blessed this Christmas! 🙂
Thanks, Debbie! It’s never too early to start working on Christmas gifts, right? 😊
I love the ocean waves pattern, too, and your colors are exquisite! When I made my own ocean waves quilt, I think (it was quite awhile ago!) I quilted it in concentric circles, to give the effect of the ripples you’d get if you dropped a stone in water. I’ll look forward to seeing more of this quilt!
Oh, that sounds like a beautiful pattern! I only knew of this one, so that’s what I did when I started it two years ago and unfortunately I can’t change it now… but from the ones I’ve seen on Pinterest, it looks amazing when it’s all sewn together. I would love to make another one (for myself), but right now I’ve sewn so many half-square triangles that I’m ready for something else… haha 😊
This quilt was well worth the wait!