Interleave Quilts

Despite my blog silence, I've been a busy little quilting bee in the studio working on a super secret project.  But this weekend, I enjoyed a little break from this project to participate in a 2-day Interleave workshop at Wooden Gate Quilts.  As soon as I had seen the class sample posted in their class brochure, I immediately recognized them as I had pinned several images of similar quilts to my Pinterest board and was eager to learn how they were created.  

Lorrie Cranor first developed the Interleave technique as part of her Sabbatical from teaching mathematics and computer science at Carnegie Mellon University.  Our instructor, Monica Tong, came across them when creating a quilt for her daughter graduating from Carnegie Mellon University.  And despite Lorrie's blog tutorials, Monica did a great job of translating the technique and sharing tricks and tips learned from her earlier experiments with the Interleave technique.  

Sub Lime Interleave--Quilt #1

As usual, I was up late the night before class auditioning fabrics to prep for my class project.  After pulling out a ginormous stack of fabrics, I only managed to narrow down the field to 3 smaller bundles of fabrics.  As 11 PM rapidly approached, I decided I would sleep on it and make my decision in the AM.  Well, I don't know how much sleeping on it I managed, as I was both giddy about the class as well as nervous about not having all the fabrics finalized/prepped.  So in the AM, I decided it was easier to prepare 2 sets of fabric rather than commit to only one.  And this actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as I had a second project to start while waiting for the next set of instructions.  The first day flew by and I made great progress on my first quilt top and brought it home to complete.  I then worked on the second quilt top on day 2 of class and started to finish/bind my first quilt.  And both were finished the very next day in time to bring to our monthly quilt guild show and tell.  

Despite the curving illusion, it is pieced with all straight line sewing.  And you quilt it as you go so it is pieced and quilted at the same time, making it go all the faster.  With each strip finishing at 1/2", it took some patience to see the sin wave emerge.  But after 12 or so rows, you would start seeing the curves play out and the different shapes evolve 1/2" at a time.  And then you see different patterns/shapes depending on how far back you step from the quilt--it really is a dynamic design.

I only changed the fabric choices and got 2 very different quilts.  By adjusting the dimensions of your strip sets, starting curve and even shapes, you can achieve some really stunning patterns.  So I definitely see myself experimenting more with this technique and all the various possibilities!  So stay tuned for more Interleave fun (after of course I finish my super secret project).

Sub Lime Interleave Quilt up in the Leaves

Majestic Interleave--Quilt #2