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I love it all: embroidery, canvaswork, quilting, crochet. So much to do, so little time.





Thursday, September 22, 2011

Half-Square Triangle Madness

Hi Blog Buddies,

My holiday quilting project is coming along .... verrry sloooowly.  This is a departure for me (a novice quilter) because I didn't really have a pattern with yardage requirements and a finished quilt size.  (This is the reason why, even with professional help, I was a bit short on my light-colored fabric.)  All I had was a graphic (not even a photograph) of one block.  And they gave three different strip widths, depending on if you wanted a 6-inch-square block, a 9-inch-square block or a 12-inch-square block.  What I didn't stop and think about ahead of time was.... the math.  Like just how many half-square triangles I would have to cut and sew together to make the finished quilt.

I chose the 9-inch block, mostly because I wanted my finished quilt to be 51 inches wide, and with five 9-inch blocks and a 3-inch border, that equals 51 inches.  (My finished quilt will be 5 blocks wide by 6 blocks long.)  If I had actually been able to see directions for a quilt my size, I would have read that I needed to cut out a total of 480 half-square triangles.  That would have given me pause for thought!  This is in addition to 240 squares.

A fraction of my half-square triangles,
after being cut out and sewn together.
Chaining them together
(sewing them continuously
without cutting the thread for each one)
is a big time saver.
Gee, I could have used them as
a Christmas garland!


And here they are pressed open
beginning their new lives as squares!

And while I still have a lot of cutting to do,
I couldn't resist making up some blocks,
just to see what the finished product would
look like with my fabric choices.


This is Block "A".


And here is Block "B".

The good news is,
I went to my LQS this week,
and they had the fabric that I was short of.

And just to keep things interesting,
I started another Hallowe'en stocking.

Here is my start on "Jack O'Lantern" by Blackbird Designs, from the 'Tis Hallowe'en booklet.  He'll be cute when finished, hopefully by early October.

Happy Equinox, everybody!
Thanks for visiting.

5 comments:

Kaisievic said...

Your quilt blocks are looking good. Well done!

hugs, kaye xoxo

CalamityJr said...

You are one busy lady! Your quilt is going to be lovely.

Karen said...

I love your quilt blocks! I can't believe you're a novice quilter! The finished product will be gorgeous.

Can't wait to see your BBD ornament finished. :)

geeky Heather said...

I would have needed to do a test of the two blocks, too! And they are simply lovely. What a gorgeous quilt it's going to be.

Anonymous said...

Averyclaire sent me here and I'm so glad she did. I'm just finishing up a small scissor fob of Halloween motifs. Your quilt squares are beautiful, and I can tell this is going to be stunning when it's complete. I love your fabrics and beautiful Christmas colors. Thanks for sharing. I'll certainly be back. Patsye