Falling {for Oakshott}

Fall is my absolute favorite time of year. The air turns crisp. the leaves change colors, and it's acceptable to wear yoga pants and a hoodie all weekend. Here in the Seattle area, the scenery is gorgeous as usual and we've even had a bit of wind to make the colorful leaves sail through the air like it's a movie or something. I mean, how pretty are these trees?!

Almost as pretty as these gorgeous new Oakshott Autumn fabrics, I'd say.

I was super excited to have the opportunity to work with these to create my own pattern. Of course, I thought of the colorful leaves falling to the ground and wanted to find a way to show that in a quilt. May I present Falling:

I absolutely LOVE how this turned out and it looks even better in person with the cross-woven fabric shimmering in the sunlight. Don't mind those extra edges that are sticking out in my picture above - those are trimmed off after quilting. Why trim more often than is necessary? This tutorial assumes you know how to piece 60 degree triangles so please do refresh your memory on that if needed. There are tons of great tutorials out there.

Want to make your own Falling quilt? You got it! Here are instructions to make your own 52" x 84" quilt. It's all based on 60 degree triangles. And just for the record, this could also be lovely as an intense sunset (Ruby Reds bundle with Colourshott 35 Linosa background) or a wintery scene (use the Lakes bundle with a Colourshott White Marble background, reverse the row numbers so the snow is falling!).

Fabric requirements:
Oakshott Autumn Fat Eighth bundle - I used all but 2 of the greens
2 meters background fabric - mine is Colourshott 18 Celebes
Backing

Cutting:
I starched my Autumn bundle before cutting to keep the bias edges from stretching out with the triangle piecing. If you're going to starch, definitely do it BEFORE you cut. You could get a little shrinkage with the starch and then you won't be happy. Don't ask me how I know this... All triangles are 60 degrees and were cut with the Hex n More ruler - it has a blunt tip on the top of the triangle. If you are not using a triangle ruler with the tip trimmed off, make sure you add an additional 1/4" to the triangle height. Diamond and half hexagon heights will not change.

Background fabric - referred to in directions as BG:
    (45) 6 1/2" tall triangles
    (45) 3 1/2" tall half hexagons (use the Hex n More or other hexagon ruler)
    (45) 3 1/2" tall diamonds
    (45) 3 1/2" tall triangles
The biggest triangles can be cut from 6 1/2" by WOF strips; the remainder should be cut from 3 1/2" by WOF strips. Go ahead and stack your strips to save cutting time. Save your scraps for the side edges of each row later.

Autumn bundle - referred to in directions as FALL:
    (90) 3 1/2" tall diamonds
    (450) 3 1/2" tall triangles
Cut 3 1/2" by WOF strips of each color you're using (I used 19 of the 21) and then stack them in sets of 3-5 for faster cutting. Cut 4-5 diamonds from each color and triangles from the rest of the strips. Save your scraps for the side edges of each row later.

To cut the diamonds, first cut 3 1/2" strips, then cut a 60 degree angle off one end by lining up the 60 degree line with the bottom edge of the strip.

Turn the strip the other way and line up the newly cut angle with the 3 1/2" line on your ruler. Cut. You now have a 60 degree diamond.

Piece Triangles:
You're going to make 6 different kinds of triangles. Think of each one as a big triangle made up of 4 smaller triangles. I've saved some of the piecing by cutting half hexagons (equal to 3 of the smaller triangles) and diamonds (equal to 2 of the smaller triangles). Make 45 of each of the different triangle types.

A: these are the 6 1/2" BG triangles
B: sew 1 FALL triangle to a BG half hexagon
C; sew 2 FALL triangles to a BG diamond

D: sew 1 FALL diamond to 1 FALL triangle and 1 BG small triangle
E*: sew 4 small FALL triangles together
F*: sew 2 small FALL triangles to 1 FALL diamond
* E and F are interchangeable - make more of one or the other if you like them better

Piece Rows:
There are 14 rows in total. Use the indicated quantity of each triangle type, rearranging in a configuration you like. The floor makes a fantastic design wall if you don't have a real one.

Label each row with a piece of masking tape to keep them in order.

Row 1: 14 A triangles, 1 B triangle
Row 2: 13 A, 2 B
Row 3: 10 A, 5 B
Row 4: 8 A, 7 B
Row 5: 15 B
Row 6: 10 B, 5 C
Row 7: 5 B, 10 C
Row 8: 15 C
Row 9: 10 C, 5 D
Row 10: 5 C, 10 D
Row 11: 15 D
Row 12: 10 D, 5 E/F
Row 13: 5 D, 10 E/F
Row 14: 15 E/F

Using your leftover scraps from cutting, add a big half triangle to each end of each row. I pieced multiple FALL scraps to make the ends for the lower rows. If your half triangle is a little wider than it needs to be, it's fine. I leave those on until after quilting and just trim them off when I'm squaring up the quilt. Just make sure they are at least as wide as the outer point of that triangle.

And the quilt top is done! I always love the stained glass look of a quilt in the sun.

Baste and Quilt as Desired:
I'm lucky to have a big conference table at work that I can borrow for basting from time to time. I do have the quilting done on this but wasn't able to get good outdoor pictures of the final product just yet. Thanks a lot, Seattle weather! Be sure to check back Friday though and I'll show you all the details then. A teaser for now:

I hope to see you back here Friday for the rest! [Update: see finished quilt here.] In the meantime, be sure to check out the 6 other amazing bloggers on this tour. It's fun to see the wide variations we all came up with from the same bundle! Thanks so much to Lynne for hosting and the encouragement along the way!!

Grab the button below and follow along the blog hop:

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21 October     Sonia Spence               fabricandflowersuk.blogspot.co.uk
22 October     Rossie Hutchinson        r0ssie.blogspot.com
24 October     Mary Menzer                 fairlymerry.blogspot.com
28 October     Alison Dutton                allison-sews.blogspot.com
29 October     Nicholas Ball                 quiltsfromtheattic.wordpress.com
30 October     Kati Spencer                 fromthebluechair.com

31 October     Wynn Tan                      zakkaArt.typepad.com