Quilt blocks have got to be one of the most enduring themes in my needlepoint. They are #2 after Bargello. I hadn’t been needlepointing all that long when Needlepoint from Great American Quilts was published and I still have one of the many pieces I made from patterns in this book.
I have done needlepoint quilt=based stars as ways to try color schemes. Many of these trim my Christmas tree. I’ve made quilt-based projects, used them as inspiration for projects in books, made Scrap Bag Needlepoint projects in quilt designs.
Looking through my books of quilt blocks a couple of weeks ago, I got inspired yet again. That’s the idea behind this month’s Twinchy Challenge.
The theme of the month is quilt blocks. There a literally thousands of them and many hundreds are available in drawings on the Internet. And there are more in books and magazines. Between the two encyclopedias of quilt books I have, there are over 6000 different quilt blocks and new ones get created all the time.
My choice of quilt blocks is intentional because if you use 18 mesh canvas a twinchy block is 36 stitches. And for quilting 36 is a great number because you can divide it so many ways.
Let’s say you want a block which has four equal patches, you have 2 x 18 — a four-patch block.
If you want three patches across, so you get nine patches, you have 3 x 12 — a nine-patch block, one of the most popular types.
Four patches gives you 16 square, 4 x 9 – a sixteen-patch block.
You could add borders between twinchies, called sashing in quilt terms and even make a twinchy quilt. I may do that myself. If you did each patch differently you’d have a twinchy sampler quilt. Make the sashing the same color as the backgrounds and the blocks will look as if they are floating.
This could get to be addictive.
You can see a couple of my quilt Twinchies at the top of the article. And I’m certain as certain can be we’ll have lots more to show you at the end of the month.
Remember, if you make a Twinchy, email me (napaneedlepoint @ gmail.com – remove the spaces) and I’ll put it into the gallery post at the end of the month.
So there are lots of options, go and have some fun.
Come September, another great Twinchy Challenge.
About Janet M Perry
Janet Perry is the Internet's leading authority on needlepoint. She designs, teaches and writes, getting raves from her fans for her innovative techniques, extensive knowledge and generous teaching style. A leading writer of stitch guides, she blogs here and lives on an island in the northeast corner of the SF Bay with her family
I am ignorant as to what a twinchy is? Can you name some good books on quilting blocks for needlepoint please. Thanks.
Twinchys are 2 inch square bits of needlepoint. The idea is adapted from Inchies which are popular among other kinds of artists but a bit small, I think, for needlepoint.
As for books of quilt blocks, a classic book of quilt patterns is Brackman’s Encyclopedia of quilt patterns. But I find ideas for needlepoint in all kinds of quilt books and magazines. The block pictured, Log Cabin Leaf, comes from a book of Fat Quarter Quilts I got from the library.
Keep Stitching,
Janet