Octagon Flowers

Honestly, Sam's Blog over at Mad Fabri-holic really should have a warning label! First she has me buying yarn and knitting up scarfs and now look - Octagon flowers. I was so excited about her current quilt in progress, even more excited that my eye right away saw that you could piece this quilt with no set in seams, that I started sewing all my 2.5 strips together. And here you have it - some octagon flowers - all sewn into 1/2 circles because I was going to sew them together in straight rows. Sigh - why is MATH (my least favorite subject) so prevalent in my favorite hobby (quilting)? I should have paid more attention in Geometry. Because, as you all can see... I used a 45 degree Kaleidoscope ruler and now have 8 sided octagons instead of the nifty 6 sided hexagons that Sam has.

The good news is that I can still avoid set-in seams by putting triangles on the bottom edges of each octagon. But I have an added design element of those setting squares. So, now the question is- what colors should I use them? I am thinking hour glasses 1/2 black and 1/2 ???

I'm having fun making these and already see some future projects using this pattern... I like the idea of using all the same fabric for dark outer circles and light middle circles and then the whirly gig in the middle. Or maybe just the same fabric for the middle circles. Perhaps smaller circles... The great thing about taking a photo of a quilt in progress is that you can look at it with a different perspective and start asking yourself - "What if...." questions.

Some more happy things about these octagon flowers (they are octagons, right?)...
1. They are BRIGHT, which is a good thing on yet another gray, rainy day.

2. I actually figured out what to do with all those fabrics that somehow ended up in my shopping cart every time I clicked the little mouse on my computer. Once they arrived I had to ask myself... "whatever was I thinking!!!". So, I am relieved that I am putting them to good use.

3. They are easy to make - all you need are a bunch of strips (width doesn't really matter, I just happened to have these already cut into 2.5") and the ruler.

4. Oh yeah, and I am actually using that ruler that I paid - oh I can't remember exactly, but something like $11.95 for. It is good to use what you have.