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If you want the whole quilt to be neither square nor rectangular, you might make the quilt in my avatar without the corners. It would be hexagon-shaped.

Check out "Carnival", made from batiks. Non traditional and easy. Gentle curves are VERY easy to sew. I am halfway through piecing this quilt. You can make it any size you want. It is going to be gorgeous!:thumbup:

Quote:

Originally Posted by PaperPrincess (Post 5767718)

I think I've got something that will work. I'm looking for a tutorial right now, but can't find it.

I did this method and the link is in my post here http://www.quiltingboard.com/picture...p-t183000.html
here is my finished quilt http://www.quiltingboard.com/picture...d-t191417.html

Thanks everyone for links to the much more professional tutorials & videos! I could not find it anywhere, probably because I couldn't remember the name :p

I personally think since you have admitted to making only one quilt, and you do not want to invest in excessive tools, templates, etc., you would be better off staying with either squares, rectangles, or the like....no additional cost there presuming you already have at least one ruler, a rotary cutter and mat. So I suggest you find one of the more modern patterns which do not require a lot of "work" and by picking the fabric you want, will fit your criteria.....

Quote:

Originally Posted by PaperPrincess (Post 5767718)

I think I've got something that will work. I'm looking for a tutorial right now, but can't find it. I'll try and discribe the method:
Cut 9 squares of fabric, 14 inches. Make a stack. Make 4 cuts through all the layers, 2 vertical, 2 horizontal, sort of like a tic tac toe grid. Don't make the lines parallel, make them slanted, in different directions. Leave the stacks the way you cut them.
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Now shuffle the fabrics.
Take the first fabric from stack 2 and put it on the bottom.
Take the top 2 fabrics from stack 3 and put them on the bottom.
Take the top 3 fabrics from stack 4 and put them on the bottom.
Take... well you get the picture.
Now sew the squares together using a 1/4" seam. Trim them all down to 12.5".
Depending on the size of the quilt you want, you will need to make several of these stacks. You can make a pattern of the lines and cut them all the same, or cut each stack a bit different.
Although this results in squares, when you sew the squares together, match the colors on edges to the ones in the adjacent block and the squares will blur.

The Wonky Tic Tac Toe pattern was featured in the 2012 Block of the Month lesson at Craftsy.com (which is still available and free at Craftsy). Love the idea of stack and whack and shuffling the material.

You want to make a quilt for someone extremely special to you so it needs to be something that reflects who he is, or something about your relationship, or how you view him. Start with a little meditation of him! What are the colors he likes or wears? Is there a type of design that reflects his home area? That are his dreams?

My husband worked in the Sonora Desert for just a few years long before we met, but he has never given up his delight of the desert, its colors, its vegetation, its mountains. His quilts include a landscape quilt with as much of that as I coud get into one quilt; he put it up on the wall of our living room (it's 8x8'!). He saw some SW mimbres in a quilt shop and bought those (for me?) and the quilt of those is now on our bed as it's cover. Those are the only two quilts I've made that we have kept. Oh, I made a wonky heart with lots of red tones in it and wrote a poem explaining that the stripes reflect the romantic times, the hard times, the wild times.... you get the idea.

I have made (for our children, grandchildren and my siblings' families) quilts about water, sailing, dragons, music, flowers, astronomy.... whatever that person seemed to be "into". Most of those quilts had to perk in my brain for a while. But after thinking about them for a few days or a few months it became obvious what their quilt should be. That is what I mean by meditating on that person for whom you are doing a quilt. It is extremely rewarding.

My skills aren't great, but my quilts are considered very special. I've won a few prizes (viewers' choice; I'm not a good enough quilter to win a judged prize). At my husband's 75th birthday/family reunion party (about 100 people) our kids called in my quilts and the 150 year old hall in our mountain village was decorated with my quilts.

Final word: think about HIM and make it special for him. At least think about doing that.