Trichotomy: Creating with Triangles!

Here's a stunning quilt made from triangles within triangles, creating the impression of pyramids! The title of the quilt - Trichotomy -  means "division into three parts or elements". We admire the stunning use of color along with the precision piecing.  (Scroll down for more information on triangle quilts.)

p.s. Check out our E-Bay shop for great bargains on quilt patterns and collectible items! For continuous free quilt patterns, please visit us on Twitter! 

Trichotomy by Barbara Oliver Hartman (Texas) @barbaraoliverhartman

Barbara Oliver Hartman says, "A quilt I started a very long time ago was resurrected and I am so pleased with how it turned out.  Not sure why I put it away.  I love the hand dyed fabrics, mostly Cherrywood, and how the lights and darks played so well together. This makes me happy."  

Trichotomy was machine quilted in wavy lines on a domestic machine, echosing the diamond shapes while softening the geometric design.

Throughout quilting history, the use of triangles to create a tessellation is called "Thousand Pyramids". We recently updated our Free Pattern Day for Thousand Pyramids quilts; CLICK HERE for the latest free patterns!

Image credits: Photos of Trichotomy were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2025 QuiltCon show in Phoenix, Arizona.

 

Free Pattern Day! Thousand Pyramids quilts

Here are some wonderful FREE patterns for Triangle and Diamond quilts, also known as Thousand Pyramids. Use them to design your own "pyramid scheme"!  To go to a pattern: Scroll down the page until you see the quilt you like, then click on the words "CLICK for PDF download" (or the hyperlinked website name) in the title above the quilt.

p.s. Check out our E-Bay shop for great bargains on quilt patterns and collectible items! For continuous free quilt patterns, please visit us on Twitter!

Carnival quilt, 60 x 70", free pattern by Ashley Newcomb for Windham Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

 Ambience quilt, 79 x 87", free pattern by Matthew Boudreaux for Art Gallery Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Bias Tiles quilt, 43 x 57", free pattern by Marinda Stewart for Michael Miller Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download) 

Jewel Tones quilt, 60" square, free pattern by Makower UK (CLICK for PDF download)

Equilateral Quilt, ~64 x 70", free pattern by Tula Pink for Free Spirit Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download) 

Heart Beats quilt, 68 x 72", free pattern by Tula Pink for Free Spirit Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Mountains Quilt, 36 x 50", free pattern at Art Gallery Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Argyle Style, ~41 x 60", free pattern by Kathy Doughty for Free Spirit Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Tri Love Quilt, 88 x 90", free pattern by Melissa Lunden for Birch Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Peppered Cottons quilt, 66 x 74", free pattern by Pepper Cory at Studio E Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Confetti quilt, 64 x 76", free pattern at Art Gallery Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Prisms quilt, ~57 x 72", free pattern by Heidi Pridemore for Timeless Treasures (CLICK for PDF download)

Triangles quilt, ~66 x 80", free Kaffe Fassett pattern at Free Spirit Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Perfect Harmony quilt, 57 x 72", free pattern by Heidi Pridemore for Benartex (CLICK for PDF download)

Karakoram quilt, free pattern at Art Gallery Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Three Times Around quilt, 57 x 66", free pattern by Valori Wells for Robert Kaufman Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download) 

Modern Lace Stars at Midnight, ~46 x 68", free pattern by Amanda Murphy for Blend Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download) 

Prismatic quilt, 40 x 60", free pattern at Cloud 9 Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Patchwork Prism Quilt, 70 x 76", free pattern by Anna Maria Horner (CLICK for PDF download)

Soundscape quilt, 80 x 95”, free pattern at Robert Kaufman (CLICK for PDF download) 

Crystalia quilt, 65 x 73”, free pattern by Denise Russart for Hoffman Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Prism quilt, 40 x 60”, free pattern by Marinda Stewart for Michael Miller (CLICK for PDF download)

Meadow Quilt, 54 x 58", free pattern by Beth Studley for Makower (CLICK for PDF download) 

Park Slope Triangles Quilt, 49 x 61", free pattern by Michael Miller Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download) 

Alfresco, 80 x 96", free pattern by Jean Ann Wright for Marcus Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Note: This post originally was inspired by the 2014 Winter Olympics, which took place in Sochi, Russia.  The theme was based on the patchwork quilt! The designs resemble Thousand Pyramids quilts.

Image credits and links: This post was updated on March 7, 2025.  All images are copyrighted by their owners. Please respect their generosity in sharing their free patterns, and the restrictions they have placed on the use of these designs. Complete information can be found at the designers' websites provided in the links.  If any links are broken, we'd love to know; email us at quiltinspiration {at} gmail {dot} com.

The Works of Tara Faughnan (4)

Tara Faughnan is a quilter, teacher and pattern designer who began quilting in 2001. For many years she worked for companies such as Michael Miller Fabrics and Riley Blake, creating textile designs. Tara was the featured artist at this year's QuiltCon show, presented by the Modern Quilt Guild. It was fascinating to see her work in person! We hope you enjoy these photos.

p.s. Check out our E-Bay shop for great bargains on jewelry, patterns, and collectibles!
For continuous free quilt patterns, please visit us on Twitter !

Railyard (2022-24), 60" square, by Tara Faughnan

Different angles of the regular and irregular triangles create so much movement in this design! Tara says that she wanted to work with triangles that were non-uniform, but still had points.  "After a few attempts at free form piecing, I realized it was more work than fun, so I created foundations to piece this quilt." Railyard is machine pieced and hand quilted.

  Pineburr (2015), 52 x 54", by Tara Faughnan

Pine Burr quilts are constructed of folded triangles (prairie points) sewn side-by-side onto a foundation.  Tara says, "I have long been enamored with Pine Burr quilts (it's the official quilt of Alabama), and this is my second attempt at making one. This is such a heavy quilt, that I had to make it in pieces and attach them to a backing fabric as I went, not being able to plan or foresee the pattern beforehand, but designing it row by row." 

Beautiful solid colors were chosen for this quilt.  Each row was quilted down and the next row added on top, hiding the quilting on the front.  Made from cottons and poly blends, machine pieced and quilted.

Diamonds (2015), 59 x 69", by Tara Faughnan 

Tara says that Diamonds was started as a quick color study.  "Working intuitively, this was one of my early investigations into how shape informs color and value interaction." "I cut and arranged all the pieces over the course of a couple of days, and didn't make too many changes to the layout when I pieced it together.  If you look in the top center, you will see a "hole" where the values are close together. I purposely kept this in the quilt, as a beautiful reminder to respect the intuitive process of design, that there are no "mistakes" and that "balance" is overrated.  Machine pieced, hand and machine quilted.

Quilts made of triangles arranged in rows are also known as Thousand Pyramids.  Scroll down for a link to our Free Pattern Day!*

Hourglass #2 (2025), 60" square, by Tara Faughnan 

 

This quilt is infused with rich, dark hues.  Tara says, "I run a membership for 1/2 the year, and we play with curated (but limited) palettes each month. And every year when the membership closes for the season, I have a visceral desire to use all the colors, and use them with abandon.  I chose the Hourglass block to work with, as I love the structure of a simple repeated block, giving me room to play with color and value."  Hourglass was machine pieced and hand quilted.

*For two dozen FREE patterns for Thousand Pyramid quilts, CLICK HERE!

 

 Image credits: Photos of Tara Faughnan's quilts were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2025 QuiltCon show in Phoenix, Arizona.

It's Modern Quilt Month! (5)

We're celebrating Modern Quilt Month at Q.I. This is the fifth of FIVE posts. As The Modern Quilt Guild says, modern quilts often use bold colors and prints, high contrast, graphic areas of solid color, improvisational piecing, minimalism, and/or expansive negative space. Enjoy!

Also check out our E-Bay shop for great bargains on quilt patterns, books, fabric and jewelry items !
You can also visit us on Twitter. 

Raspberry Jazz, made by Pamela Dunlap, quilted by Jean Shute

Equilateral triangle blocks of warm reds and oranges, offset by black and white and gray, create a modern look for a quilt that is both visually and comfortably warm. Pattern source: based on Sheila Christensen's Caravan design in her book, Quilts with an Angle. 

Looking for Mr. Wright, made by Caroline Ellermann and Mary Huff, quilted by Mary Huff.  

This original quilt design was inspired by architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Caroline Ellermann and Mary Huff say, "With our "nephew" in architectural school, we decided to make him a quilt he could relate to." The strong black lines and color blocks remind us of a stained glass window.  The quilting echoes some of Wright's themes as well (shown below).

Midnight Blues, made and quilted by Pamela Dunlap. 

Various blues paired with a black, night sky batik make for a starry quilt that seems to shimmer.  Pamela Dunlap says, "It was fun delving into my stash of fabrics to make this quilt." This quilt design looks complex but gives a beautiful result!  Pattern source: Sheila Christensen's "Hampton Ladies", Quick and Easy Triangle Block Tool book. 

Knot Today by Kathie Miller, quilted by Kim Votava.  

Kathie Miller says, "Graphic and geometric - this pattern just called my name.  Add to that a chance to use part of my batik scraps and this fun quilt became reality.  Kim [Votava] added her special quilting touches to bring everything together." [Pattern source: "Knot Today" by Angeles Jaso Tucker for It's So Emma.] We love Kathie Miller's fabric choices and Kim Votava's quilting designs!

Look Ma, No Stitches, made and quilted by Christine Nelson

 Christine Nelson says, "I enjoyed using a variety of fabrics in this quilt.   The pleated log cabin technique makes the stitching invisible on the front.  Measuring the strips carefully as you place them before stitching is important." Pattern source: Lynne Wilson's Pleated Log Cabin.  The centers of blocks have fascinating fussy cut motifs.

Big Hexies - Mostly Marcia by Janet Pugh.

Pattern source: Modern Quilts Unlimited, issue #19. Janet Pugh says, "Sarah Thomas used vertical rows of half hexies, [so] no set-in piecing is required.  I used nearly all fabrics designed by Marcia Derse.  Each piece uses a 4-sided half hexagon template.  Easy Peasy!"

 Note: For MORE hexagon designs, check out our Free Pattern Day for Hexagon Quilts (CLICK HERE):

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2024 Tucson Quilters Guild show.