Do You Remember This???

Hello Everyone,

Last year I had posted this quilt, my Diamonds In The Rough, that I designed using just Half Square Triangles (HSTs).  I enjoyed using my scraps to create this quilt.

Why am I showing this quilt again, you ask???

Because... Lookie here... 

It is featured in the newest issue of Modern Patchwork!! Yahoo!!  I adore the photo they took.  It looks just right hanging there with those tulips.

Here is a little peek at the intro... YES... there are instructions on how to make this quilt too!  

The magazine will be available in my shop in the next few weeks and it will also hit the newsstands then as well.

There are other fabulous quilts and projects in this issue and it is very inspiring!  

I hope you like my design and will want to give it a try.  If not, there are tons others to try.  But I would love to see yours!!

I am off to teach at the New England Quilt Festival today.  If you are going, pop in to say hello!

Until Next Time...

Do You Remember This???

What Do Strawberries and Kiwi Have In Common?

Hello Everyone,

Aside from the fact that strawberries and kiwi are both fruit, they have been used in this next little project.

Aren't the trimmings yummy??

A great little pile of HSTs (Half Square Triangles).  I used my tutorial which you can find it here.

These HSTs were made for Nifty for the Two's Company Bee.  May is her month.  Her block was not really a traditional block, she requested a strip of HSTs in greens and reds.  Most of you know me and how I love bright saturated color, so it wasn't hard for me to find these colors in my stash.

Here is Nifty's strip of HSTs.  It will be off to you on Monday! There are 12 HSTs in the strip.  I really like how this one looks.

Here is a close up of 6 of the HSTs.  Now these are some strawberries and kiwi, I can make over and over and never ever get tired.

What are some of your favorite color combos?  This could be one of YOUR new favorites, just maybe?

P.S.  You might just find some of these fabrics in my 2 day sale that ends tomorrow night (5/13).  All Westminster Fabrics are marked down to $8.15 per yard.  Just click here to start shopping.

Until Next Time...

What Do Strawberries and Kiwi Have In Common?

It Feels Good...

Hello Everyone,

If you remember, I did a post on my Diamonds In The Rough quilt here and here.  It wasn't quite done in either, but now I can say.... "It feels good, it is done!"  

I really like it too.  I did sort of a strippy chevron type of quilting.

It keeps in line with the modern feel, I think.  What do you think?

The diamonds float, don't they?

I went stash diving and found the perfect binding that I had purchased years ago.  Sorry this one is not available in the shop. 

 I realized the reason that I had purchased this binding was because the stripes were pre-printed on the bias!  Clever and much easier than creating bias binding if you want your stripes on the diagonal.

And this stripe bring out the colors in the HSTs in the quilt.  

I also found this great print by Valori Wells in my stash while diving!  This is fabric that I also purchased years ago and thought that it went perfect with the quilt.  A nice springy feel.

Here she is... "Diamonds in the Rough".  I really do love how the diamonds float. 

Many of you asked if it was a purchased design... the answer is no, it is a design of my own.  I just made lots of HSTs using the method that I show in my tutorial here.  Then I laid them on the design wall until I was happy.

This will be appearing in a show too!! So you may just get to see it in person!

Until Next Time...

It Feels Good...

Whew!

Hello Everyone,

Currently, I am working on my newest design. This will be a fabulous one for beginners and experienced alike. I am using batiks from Island Batik.  The quilt will have an autumnal feel.

Right now, I am working on the Half Square Triangles (HSTs).  I used the method that I show in my tutorial which you can find by clicking here.  Great method and very little waste.

This is what the back side of my sewing machine looked like today.  A big old pile of squares that had been sewn and now needed to be cut apart.

Now cut apart, I had this giant stack.  Now to cut the squares in half.

Done!  Look at the stack now.

I thought it would be fun to measure the height of the stack and it measured 6 inches.  There is a lot of HSTs in there. It is a large quilt.  Now to press open and trim.

Ahhhh..... they look all ready to go onto the process in the making of the top.  One thing that I like about HSTs is that they are so versatile, you can see what I did with some in this post here.

My newest blog post is up on Quilt Magazine's site.  Come and see what I had to say!  Just click here to read it and leave me comment if you so desire!

Have a great weekend!

Until Next Time...

Whew!

In The Nick of Time...

Hello Everyone,

Whew!  I made it and with no time left to spare. I finished up my November block for the Two's Company Bee last night!  It will be on its way to Jessica today.  Luckily she lives only one state away, so she may have it by Saturday!!

Jessica, so sorry it took so long, but after all it took me almost two months to complete Shelly's block...

Anyway, Jessica's two color quilt is brown and blue and made up by starting with...

a pile of these... HST's!  I used my own method for which I have a tutorial.  You can find the tutorial by clicking here.

These HST's came out to 4.5 inches unfinished.  Now to trim and do the layout.

This looks like a good layout.

Joined together and spritzed with a little bit of Mary Ellen's Best Press so it lays nice and flat...  Voila!  I hope you like the fabrics that I chose, Jessica.  This is going to be a fabulous quilt!  Enjoy!

Until Next Time...

In The Nick of Time...

A Terrific Method for Making HSTs

Hello Everyone,

Since I have been making many Half Square Triangles (HSTs), of late, I thought it would be a great time to do a tutorial on one of my favorite ways to create these very versatile beauties. I know that there are many ways to make them, but I tend to like this one the best.

So let's begin....

First, you must have your two strips of fabrics that will make up each triangle in the HST. In this case, I cut my strips to a width of 4.5 inches wide and I have a solid and a print.

The end result will be a 3.5 inch unfinished HST, once pieced into the quilt it will be a 3 inch finished HST.

Next sub-cut them into squares the same width as the strip. Here the are cut into 4.5 inch squares.

Then place them RIGHT sides together.

They should match up on all sides, RIGHT sides together.

Now from one corner to the next you will use a tool, such as the Quilter's Magic Wand, to mark your sew lines.

You will draw them on either side of the wand. I used pencil and this is fine as the lines will not be seen, they will be sewn over and are on the WRONG side of the fabric.

Next you may choose to pin on the outsides of the drawn lines. You don't have to, but if this is your first time using this method you may want to do so.

Then you will sew ON one of the lines.

Then flip the square around and sew on the OTHER line.

Once the lines are sewn, I like to set the seams with a hot iron.

Now take your ruler and lay the 1/4 inch line right on the stitching so that the edge of the ruler is in between both stitch lines.

Then cut, with your rotary cutter, down the center of the stitch lines. This will give your 1/4 seams for both sides.

Now you will press the triangles open by pressing the seams to one side. Voila, you have HSTs, but you are not done yet. They are not the size that we need.

Now take your square up ruler and place the diagonal line ON the seam with the size of the FINAL square inside the edges of the HST. You will see here we have the 3.5 inch lines above the bottom and left edge of the square.

Now trim the right side and top of the HST.

Then flip your HST around and place the 3.5 inch lines RIGHT ON the edges that you just cut. Because we flipped the HST the edges now are on the bottom and left side. You can see how the lines are right on the edges.

Now trim the right side and top edge again.

This is about how much waste you will have. But now you have the perfect size HSTs and any error in sewing that you might have made (although I know you didn't) has been erased... so to speak. All your HSTs will be the same EXACT size.

Just repeat the steps above for many more perfect HSTs. By the way, I like to chain piece these, so you can do each step in multiples so as to speed up the process.

Now onto the possibilities....

You can arrange them like this or...

like this, one of my favorites, a pinwheel! Or like this...

Or like this...

Or like this...

Another of my favorites... the flying geese.

Now that you have all the details, you should go and play!! I would love to see what you all come up with, please share!! I have some photos of a couple of quilts that I made with just HSTs in my Flickr set. Just click here to see them.

PS. All Art Gallery fabrics are marked down to $7.25 through 1/14/11. You can find them here.

Until Next Time...

A Terrific Method for Making HSTs