I hope you are as excited and ready to get going on this year’s Quiltville Winter Mystery as I am.
Hopefully before you dig in here you’ve had a chance to re-read our Introduction post. I’ve linked it under our Lupine & Laughter Mystery tab at the top of the blog.
You’ll find all future parts by clicking to that tab.
The view of Reykjavik, Iceland from my hotel floor!
And another from our panoramic tour down by the harbor.
This was my first trip to Iceland and I had always wanted to visit. Now I was finally here with my fabulous Craftours group!
There was so much to discover ahead of us as we began our first full day of exploring.
From wonderful to weird – just what is this?
Our guide told us that Þúfa was designed by the Icelandic artist Ólöf Nordal, who sought to create a place of serenity and meditation in the bustling capital city. The piece is a large, grassy, dome shaped hillock with a walking path encircling it to the top.
At the top is an old fishing shed, the kind used historically to wind-dry fish, as a callback to Iceland’s past. Fishing was the lifeblood of the country for centuries, and how Icelanders managed to work in the tumultuous seas, harvest their catch, and utilize it for lasting food, clothing and oil, is a fascinating story.
The hillock of Þúfa also has ties to Icelandic culture; the hidden people in folklore were said to be able to live in an alternate world within rocks and such hillocks.
(Meaning all fabrics per set are the same, but fabrics can differ from set to set – just make 4 of each per set.)
These hourglass units will measure 2 1/2” unfinished and finish at 2” in the quilt.
You can use ANY method you prefer to make these, just keep in mind the unfinished and finished sizes. Adjust your seam allowance as needed to bring you to unit size.
Traditional Rotary Cutting: (Directions are for one set of 4 matching)
From pink, ice blue and neutral fabrics cut:
2 pink squares 3 1/4”
From neutral fabrics cut:
1 neutral square 3 1/4”
From ice blue fabric cut:
1 square 3 1/4”
Pair a pink square with a neutral square with right sides together. Slice twice on the diagonals with an X to yield 4 matched pairs of quarter square triangles ready to sew.
Repeat by matching the second pink square to an ice blue square. Slice on the diagonal with an X to yield 4 matched pairs of quarter square triangles ready to sew.
Using the Essential Triangle Tool will have you cutting easily from strips, saving time and increasing your piecing accuracy.
Unlike having to cut 3 1/4’’ squares as in the traditional rotary cutting method above, I used my Essential Triangle Tool to cut the quarter-square triangles from 1 1/2’’ strips.
1 1/2’’ strips are something I keep readily on hand so I can easily go to my strip stash and pull what I need.
Essential Triangle Tool Method:
Pair a 1 1/2” ice blue strip to a 1 1/2” pink strip with right sides together. (Top of photo)
Pair a neutral 1 1/2” strip to a 1 1/2” strip of the same pink. (Bottom of photo)
To cut quarter-square triangles, place the second green line from the top (Look for the 1 1/2’’ strip width marking down the center in green) at the bottom edge of the strip with the green line ON the pink fabric, not below it on the mat.
Trim 2 sides as shown. The upper tip of the ruler will extend above the top of the strip just a bit creating a flat spot at the top of the cut triangle.
Pivot the ruler, placing that second green line at the bottom of the strip, ON the fabric. Cut.
Pivot the ruler and continue to cut four triangle pairs from each fabric pairing – four from the pink/neutral and four from the pink/ice blue. Each unit is half an hourglass unit. When they are sewn and added to another unit they will complete one hourglass.
Four pairs of each = four hourglass units.
Stitch units as shown, sewing from top down off the point with the pink fabric on top.
Sewing from the corner first will keep your machine from eating the point.
*HINT* If your machine likes to eat triangles, start with your needle down. Position the triangle so it is right up against the needle and begin sewing with the triangles already on the feed dogs to help them through. The first stitch should go right into the fabric, instead of thread just wrapping around thread and air-sewing a few stitches before hitting fabric.
Machine still eating triangles? Try a straight stitch plate. Well worth the investment.
Gently press toward the pink triangles. Remove dog ears. Make 8 half hourglass units.
Join hourglass halves to make 4 matching hourglass units.
Spin press seams as shown to minimize bulk. Remove dog ears. Trim units to 2 1/2” as needed.
Just a smidge of trimming needed here!
One set of 4 matching complete!
Make 24 sets of 4
And that’s it for this week!
Click to view All My Tours and join me in my 2026, 2027 and 2028 line up of exciting destinations and quilty inspirations!
I am so excited about this whole lineup over the next couple of years and I hope you’ll join me.
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