Friday, January 6, 2017

The Temperaure Quilt 2017 Quilt Along

I mentioned a couple of posts ago I was debating about doing a Temperature Quilt this year.  I mentioned it on Instagram, too, and between the two, at least three people expressed that they wanted to do it too!  So I guess I'm making it official.
So lets talk about a couple things if you want to play along.

1. Fabrics.  You will need a range of fabrics representing the range of temperatures for where you live.  You can usually find your extremes by a web search.  Here in WI I'm ready for a range of:
-20 through 109 degrees Farenheit.  I've assigned them every 5 degrees for more interest.  You could do every 10 degrees and use less fabric.  Maybe if you live in a place that doesn't change much you could do every 1 or 2 degrees.

2. Timing.  I found it worked best to do blocks for a week at a time.  Usually on Sunday afternoons I would pull out the fabrics, write down the numbers for the week and then make the blocks. Two weeks is doable, but more than that takes a while. 

3. Getting your information.  I would recommend getting your temperature from a consistent source.  Where I live it matters quite a bit, because Lake Michigan causes something called "Lake Effect" which means the closer you are to the lake, the more the weather and temperatures can change.  Generally cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter.  I really like Weather Underground because they keep a historical calendar, so you can look up all the past information you need.

4. Rules.  Well, there aren't really any. At least not yet.  If I get enough interest I'll see what I can do about prizes and motivation and such.  I will for sure write a post once a month for progress and encouragement.

This was my original mock-up from 2014.  My quilt turned out pretty close.  I only did each day's high.

The following is loosely what I'm planning.  I will for sure do half square triangles for highs and lows.  I will not do so much sashing (the grey) if any at all.  I consider this an evolving project.
 Here are some other ideas for you to check out.
The half square triangles are for highs and lows.  Each vertical row is a month.
 Vertical rows, no sashing.
 Vertical rows, sashing, highs only.

This quilt along is really quite free form - the few people I've talked to have different ideas they are trying out.  Hexies and diamonds have both been brought up.

So, if you are interested - go ahead and leave a comment on this blog post - or on Instagram.  We'll use the hashtag #tempquilt17.  Tell all your friends.  If it gets bigger than a few comments - I'll look into an official sign up sheet.

If you comment below, make sure you are NOT a no-reply blogger.  If you are, I cannot reply back to you.






5 comments:

Deb Fox-McHugh said...

I just came across this idea on Instagram this morning using crochet. I love this idea! I'm in!

Needled Mom said...

This is a great idea. I need to pull some fabrics and get started.

dez said...

Did you finish your 2017 temperature quilt? The colors you picked were beautiful! How did you know how much of each to buy? Thanks Dee

Rick said...

What size blocks did you use? I’m thinking of making a twin size quilt for a granddaughter. Great ideas. Thank you!
Nana

lisa said...

I would like to make a temperature quilt using the last example shown above (Vertical rows, sashing, highs only.) What size blocks do you use, what size sashings and what was the final sizing of the overall quilt? I realize i can play around with the sashing sizes to make the quilt wider but am curious how you did yours!! I would like to start Jan 2022!!!