Scrappy Quilts – Delectable Mountains

Scrappy Quilt Patterns – Delectable Mountains

Over the past year, I have reignited my love for scrap quilts. Couple that with the desire to use fabrics I already have on hand. This year I will post projects that are scrappy and geared toward using up leftover materials. Some will focus on the 2 1/2″ squares and 2 1/2″ strips; others will focus on various size leftovers. The Delectable Mountains Is the first free quilt pattern I will tackle. Check back each month for more easy scrappy quilt patterns.

Collecting the Fabrics for Delectable Mountains

Quilts created with rich, warm colors speak to my heart. A friend’s autumnal quilt triggered this adventure. In organizing my projects, I noticed I didn’t have a quilt in this colorway. There is plenty of time to finish it before next fall. To carry the autumn theme further, I will machine applique maple leaves across the quilt top.

Is there a bit of guilt because finishing projects should be my focus? Maybe. My rationalization for adding another project was only using fabrics I already have in my stash. That works, right?!?!

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If you want to try this quilt pattern, start by collecting 8 1/2″ squares of a pale neutral background, vibrant/bright fabrics, and dark colors. Due to the fact I wanted an autumnal quilt, I focused on the colors: Red, Burgundy, Orange, Yellow, Brown, and Green. As a result of my color choices, I am in my happy place.

Purple fabrics didn’t make it into this quilt. Since I am not a big fan of purple, it results in limited amounts in my stash. My go-to fabric types for this quilt are mainly batiks and hand-dyed fabrics. There are a few cotton prints to help round out the textures.

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Creating Delectable Mountains Blocks

Previously, I created this block using several methods: including specialty rulers, HSTs, etc. The goal this time was something much more straightforward. The 8 1/2″ squares were my answer resulting in oversized Half Square Triangles.

I gathered all my bigger pieces of fabric from my leftover bin, did a quick press, and started cutting out 8 1/2″ squares. There was something so satisfying about seeing that bin emptying. At times, this kind of prep work can seem so tedious, but today it was relaxing.

Once the squares are cut, you can draw a diagonal line across the wrong side of the square. Sew 1/4″ away from the drawn line on both sides of the line. Cut apart on the drawn line.

I cut my squares on the diagonal for this project to achieve more variety in my blocks. It saved time since I didn’t draw lines and created more variety in my mountain combinations.

TIP: Use the 45* line on the ruler to help keep your blocks square.

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Creating Large HSTs (Half Square Triangles)

As you can see from the photo, I created two piles of triangles. Layer a background triangle with autumnal fabric, right sides together, and sew a 1/4″ seam down the long side of the triangles – creating a Half Square Triangle. Press the seam allowance toward the autumnal fabric. This method made it easy to chain sew the units quickly with little thought to color placement – yet.

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HST’s Completed

In the picture to the left, you can see the color families used for the autumn colors. At the top of the picture is one finished block. Doing this gives me insight into how the whole quilt will look.

TIP: Be very careful when you are sewing as well as pressing the HSTs. That long edge of the triangle can easily stretch.

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Layering the HSTs

Choose two different HSTs, and layer the right sides together with the background fabric matching up with the autumnal fabric. The seams should nest easily together. If you feel more comfortable, use a flat headpin to hold the HSTs together. Another option is to press them together to keep them from sliding.

***NOTE: you can choose to match up the same HSTs if you want your mountain to have the same fabric in the individual block. In my opinion, there is no wrong way to do this. It is a matter of personal preference. In my picture above, I chose two different HSTs because I wanted the autumnal fabrics to spread out more in the quilt.

Squaring the HSTs

Trim extra fabric from all four sides of the HST. There will only be skinny threads.

My ruler has a diagonal 45* line; I line that up on the diagonal sewing line of the HSTs. You will square them to 8″. Because I started the process with 8 1/2″ squares, it gave me a little wiggle room for squaring up the blocks.

I have to admit; the older I get, the more light I need when squaring my blocks. I use a floor lamp with an adjustable gooseneck to help with that.

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Subcutting the HSTs

Now it is time to sub-cut the HSTs into 2″ segments. Keep the unit in this orientation (shown below) and cut two-inch pieces. For the first cut, I line up the left edge of the HST on the 6″ line and trim on the right. I keep moving my ruler to the left as I am cutting. Cutting in that direction, I don’t have to move the HST; move the segments instead.

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Delectable Mountains Block Creation and Layout

After sub-cutting the HSTs, I found this block often had me second-guessing myself when trying to lay it out correctly. Because of this, I create one block to use as a guide; to reference as I am sewing each block.

Carefully sew the segments together to create your block.

It can be quite a process to ensure the colors flow nicely across the quilt. Laying out the colors like those shown in the photo to the right reminded me to pay attention to the colors on both sides of the mountain.

Back to block creation – when I first started creating blocks, I noticed that I had many reds on one side of the mountain. Because of that, I laid the individual half-blocks out like the photo on the left.

I loved seeing the autumnal colors; it motivated me to finish the quilt top. Once I have the leaves appliqued and the top quilted, I’ll share a picture!

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Delectable Mountain Quilt Layout

There are many options for this quilt layout; test possibilities to find what you like best. If you do a quick search online, you will see many options! See my Pinterest page for layouts that I found. If you want even more options, don’t sew both sides of the mountains together.

Here are the results of my scrappy Delectable Mountains, minus the appliqued leaves. I will share the finished product once I complete it.

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UPDATE: Here is the quilt top with the applique leaves. Now to machine applique them and then onto quilting!

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What I like about this scrap quilt:

• It goes together quite quickly
• The basket of leftover fabrics empties fast
• The more variety of fabrics (color and texture), the better the results.

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Until next time.