SAHRR Round Seven – Pining for a Pinwheel Block

We can see the finish line in the Stay-At-Home Round Robin with this week being the last border Round Seven. Our host has been Gail at Quilting Gail and she chose the last block. It’s a Pinwheel block and we’ve been pining for it. Seven of us quilting bloggers are participating in this quilt-along. It’s not too late to jump in if you’d like to play along. The SAHRR started in January and we’ve selected our center block, added some Piano KeysPlus Signed up a border, added a gaggle of Flying Geese, played with a checkerboard border, added some adorable Wonky-Stars, as most recently a variation of a Log Cabin. Are you ready to spin some pinwheel blocks?

Share on Instagram #stayathomeroundrobin

The Pinwheel is Filled with History

The pinwheel is a type of whirligig and it spins due to the power of wind, friction, hand movement or a motor. Attached to a stick, the blades of the pinwheel fold inward, cupping the wind and causing the blades to spin rapidly. History does indicate wind-driven whirligigs existed in China in 400 BC! Of course, we’re not talking about the whirligig but rather the pinwheel quilting block. This is one of our favorite blocks to make and we’ve highlighted them in a few recent quilt top finishes like the 4-Patch Plus.

More Pinwheels Are More Pinwheel

The more the merrier is usually the case in almost all things, right?! That implies more is better but for our colorful Stay-At-Home Round Robin quilt top that may not just be the case. We had to step back a bit and critically look at what was the best choice to finish this off with a perfect exclamation mark. Last week’s Log Cabin block is being combined with our sweet little pinnies for the last border on two sides.

I quickly threw together a purple pinwheel and we tried a potential layout on the design wall. More half-square triangles were sewn and an alternate layout was tried.

Should we use spacers or not?? Should the log cabin blocks go in the corners (I only made four) or should a pinwheel take over those spots? Hmm. So many decisions!

A Pinwheel Decision

After much deliberation . . . truly, it was on the design wall for an entire week with pieces being added and removed each day. We decided to add our final Log Cabin and Pinwheel border as such:

Now, for the final checkered flag on March 29th (quilt parade), we’ll need to select a backing fabric and get it quilted up. I have some pretty multi-colored thread leftover from a finish I’m sharing on Wednesday that might work perfectly. What’s on Wednesday, you ask?! It’s an Island Batik fabric launch for a new line called Vincent’s Garden. Two friends are sharing their creations today:

SAHRR Blogger Friends & Linky Party

Linky party at Gail’s Quilting Gail website this week!

This week Gail will have the linky party open all week to share your update! Add your picture and check out what others have shared.

All of Our Previous SAHRR Links:

We hope you come back on March 29th over at Quilting Gail‘s website for the quilt parade. I suspect the diversity will inspire and amaze you. If you’re not completely finished, that’s okay! We’re all friends here – we know life happens but we want to see everyone who has participated. I sincerely hope you enjoyed the Stay-At-Home Round Robin as much as I did.

♥ ♥ ♥

Like/follow us on our Facebook page to see what we’re up to or I’ll also be sharing updates on Instagram.

Sharing

You may also like...

18 Responses

  1. Roseanne this is a colourful quilt and just makes me smile when I see it. I loved the creativity everyone has shown using their interpretation of each rounds specified blocks.

  2. plstockwell says:

    It’s been fun watching this unfold and how you go about doing it.

  3. Susan says:

    You and I both faced many placement decisions on those final two rounds. Your finish looks great!

  4. Sandra says:

    I love your quilt! I can just imagine you two picking off, moving around, putting back, all the pieces for the final borders. Looking forward to seeing it come alive with quilting.

  5. thedarlingdogwood says:

    love the pinwheels, and really, really love the partial log cabins in the corners! This is so fun, and I am loving the idea of multi-colored thread. Can’t wait to see it!

  6. chrisknits says:

    Love it, it is just so cheery!!

  7. quiltinggail says:

    Love the pinwheels on the side borders! It looks great! It’s such a lovely quilt!!! And, I still love how it’s rectangle! 🙂

  8. I love your quilt, so bright and cheery!

  9. ROCHELLE SUMMERS says:

    This is an incredible finish, Roseanne. You and Sue have really pulled out all the stops. I love the pinwheels and the big log cabins in the the corners. Using the stars for the top and bottom borders and the pinwheels for the sides really kept this from becoming toooo big. Hope the quilting goes as well.

  10. That looks wonderful, Roseanne! I love your cheery rainbow colors combined with the white background. Looking forward to seeing this one all finished!

  11. Looks great! I think spacers were the right decision and I look forward to seeing your finish-finish!

  12. Betty Cruikshank says:

    So playful and delightful to look at.

  13. Vicki in MN says:

    Did you enjoy the process and would you make another RR? Are you keeping this one?

    • Steve Pyatte says:

      ABSOLUTELY! I loved that it stayed right here at home . . . and all the design decisions are ours, however we interpreted them. I don’t know if we’ll be allowed to keep it – Addison already has buried her face in the fabrics and it’s not even quilted yet! ~smile~ Roseanne

  14. Brenda @ Songbird Designs says:

    Love it!! The pinwheels balanced out the quilt so well! It is such a happy quilt and reminds me a bit of a how a prism or diamond reflects light, bright, darker, and lighter again! Beautiful job!

  15. Laura says:

    Delightful finish! 🙂

  16. Nancy Bekedam says:

    So colorful and fun!!!

  17. And just like that, we have finished quilts! I do like your finish, with all the happy colors and those cheerful borders. It’s been so fun – I can’t wait to see how the others use their pinwheel borders!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.