Nearly Insane Quilt - Block 49

Block 49 - Nearly Insane Quilt

I said that the blocks from Draw 15 did not have many pieces.  I was clearly deluding myself, as this block has taken more time than I thought it would to put together.  No wonder, as I count up the pieces they total 100.  Just for being time consuming it gets 5/10 for difficulty.

English Paper Piecing, Nearly Insane Quilt Block 49

The half square triangles in the centre are half inch square, so just that centre block has 64 pieces in it.  I find that at half an inch, the pieces are just about easy enough to handle, but if they get any smaller it does become a bit tiresome, in which case I have tended to switch to foundation piecing.

When I am covering the template pieces, I always trim off as much as possible to reduce the bulk and weight of the final quilt - every bit counts.  After all, this quilt is going to need quilting one day ...


Looking at the original pattern for the block, it is another which I have altered.  The HST combination in the original is all over the place, so I have twisted and turned some to make a new pattern.  It's amazing what you can do in Electric Quilt software. Indeed, this is quite a clever block, and if you had the whim, by rearranging the direction of the centre half square triangles, and the colour combinations you could make a whole quilt using this block, with each one looking very different.  I can't currently think of a reason why I would need to do that, I guess I am just stating its potential.

Since it has taken a while to finish, I am joining up with Crazy Mom Quilts.

NUMBER OF PIECES:  100
DIFFICULTY: 5/10
SMALLEST PIECE: Triangle, 3/4"  (18mm) x 1/2" (12mm) x 1/2" (12mm)
LARGEST PIECE: Rectangle, 3 3/8"  (86mm) x  7/8" (21mm)
TECHNIQUE: English Paper Piecing (EPP)
FABRICS:
Designer Beads (Red) Freespirit for Westminster Fibers
Polka Party III by Holly Holderman, Lakehouse Drygoods #03035
Cherry Sketch Basic Collection by Timeless Treasures #C8224
Red Garden Pindot by Michael Miller Fabrics