A few weeks ago I featured diamonds in quilts. Today I want to feature jewels. Neither of what I'm talking about are precious gems (though I do consider my fabric stash precious). I've made a few designs and called them jewels - Fractured Jewels. The fabric is "chopped up" in small pieces, like this first one: Fractured Jewels using the Colonies Collection by Windham Fabrics Here it is hanging in my daughter's apartment several years ago. It was low so my granddaughter could see it! Fractured Jewels I made this using solid fabrics from the Colonies Collection from Windham about 15 years ago! I patterned another one using the same fabrics (and it's still a FREE pattern at their site). Fractured Jewels : 54" x 54" Then I created another concept based on a vintage pattern (Thousand Pyramids), using the leftovers from the Thousand Pyramids. First, the Thousand Pyramids quilt using 5" charm squares (solids). This appeared in the Modern Patchwork Mag...

Thousand Pyramids uses what's called a dogtooth unit with equilateral triangles. But, what if you elongated those triangles? Again, they zig zag, but what sharp teeth you have! I made these units several years ago with one of my paper piecing patterns and put them aside. They are from my New York Beauty workshop. Zig Zag Shark's Teeth: 33" x 44"  Here are some of the units using some Kaffe Fassett fabrics. They are still waiting for a quilt to live in: New York Beauty Shark's Teeth Let's get back to the Dog Tooth units for our Thousand Pyramids, ok? Why do I go off on these rabbit trails?  Dogtooth units can surround a beautiful Baltimore Album block Triangles surround a printed panel These are NOT hand appliquéd - they are printed panels from at least 15 years ago. I used the same triangles as are in the Thousand Pyramids quilts. I had to be very careful of my math! Here are 4 blocks: Now for the last Thousand Pyramids quilt for this week. I made this in 2014...

. . . and a free pattern! (Read to the bottom) Here is Day Two of my Thousand Pyramids quilts (and some variations). This next quilt was made about 18 years ago. This baby is probably in college now! Thousand Pyramids using all prints Here is the quilt lying flat on my carpet before putting the binding on. Notice that each triangle is a print and is not alternating with a plain or light "blah" fabric. There is a zig zag look to it, but the triangles are lined up with each other from row to row. Thousand Pyramids flat to better see the rows Now, just to shake things up a bit, here's a photo of a quilt made using the SAME triangle shape where they form a hexagon. I called this Hexagon Pinwheel. Very different look, right? But they are horizontal rows of 60 degree triangles, just colored differently! Hexagon Pinwheels This is from a collection that came as strips of 5" x 42" plaids. They called them "Fat Rolls." The triangle template is included, but it...

I love triangles, especially 60 degree ones. I have made several quilts in the Thousand Pyramids pattern as seen by this first one from 2001. These are 60 degree triangles and they appear to zig and zag across the face of the quilt. Bright triangles alternating with a light yellow print, then surrounded by a rainbow inner border and some great bug border print! Bright Triangles with Dragonflies Border   This next quilt was made with more novelty fabric. These are the same rows, but they are staggered so that they make a zigzag with the light dotted fabric. Both quilts use a 5-1/2" triangle. They are pieced in horizontal rows. One row has the solid colors with the triangle tip at the bottom; the next row has the solid triangles with the tip at the top. And the solid triangles are NOT aligned with each other as in the quilt above. Fun, huh? Zig Zag Safari baby quilt with matching pillows Thousand Pyramids is a vintage pattern that is supposed to use 1,000 different patches of fabric...