Kathmandu: Double Star medallion

 

This "third  chapter" of Quilts for Kids Nepal will involve medallion quilts where a central figure is surrounded by geometric figures and then strips are added to fit into the 80 x 100 inch finished size.  The Double Star design has only two templates, a diamond and triangle.  There are 8 diamonds in the center, and surrounded by a set of 8 red, then 16 red diamonds, all of the same size, with the triangles stitched in to make a square.

The two other "chapters":  the first one, being 12 designs of "Fancy Quilts", the second chapter being 8 designs of "Dharma Quilts" and a set of crazy quilts which the women say are not crazy but "Happy Quilts"

Kathmandu: "Cube"

This is where geometry comes in handy when designing a cube form.  I made various models made of  newspaper and magazine (for colours) sheets for the parts, before I was satisfied with the effect of using various shades of red, yellow, neutral  and white against a black background.  There are only two triangle templates for the sides which add up to a diamond with all the four sides being equal is size.  The strips were added when the three diamonds were finished:  just measure the lengths and cut the selected three fabric strips.  The traditional quilt block is known as "Tumbling Block".  Karama calls it the "Box".

Kathmandu: "Many Squares" medallion quilt

This is another design for Quilts for Kids Nepal, with a central figure made up of triangles and squares.  I did not "correct" the rectangle shapes along the borders (these should be squares) to show the importance of measuring the border first before cutting/ stitching the border parts.

I don't have a photo of Jeet's quilt using this design, but it turned out to be stunningly great, and my fave for this training trip.  Instead of using squares for borders, we used hourglass blocks to practice on the quarter-square method , and turned out very well indeed. Jeet was married at fifteen, and currently nurses her fourth boy.  Her sister had three daughters so she adopted one of them.  She has the best top-stitching skills in the group, with even, small and regular quilt stitches, and neat piecing.

Boudha, Kathmandu: 4 weeks at the Beggars Camp

(Please click on photo for a larger image)