Here is the block we are making on the left. It breaks down into three parts really. Making the central 4 patch, the flying geese and the half square triangles.
I suppose that step two would be to cut all the units out as per the book instructions. That's 192 half square triangles. Jeez. I can't face doing it all at once. It would kill my spirit. Plus I am a bit worried I might cut it out wrong so I thought I might make a block and make sure it all fits. So that's my step two! I have decided to try and do an hour of sewing a night in the week instead of watching TV in the evenings so sorry for the dark pictures, but it works nicely doing this in small chunks. My attention wanders after a while as it is really a very big quilt compared to what I have been used to. It's a bit overwhelming if I think too much about it.
I suppose that step two would be to cut all the units out as per the book instructions. That's 192 half square triangles. Jeez. I can't face doing it all at once. It would kill my spirit. Plus I am a bit worried I might cut it out wrong so I thought I might make a block and make sure it all fits. So that's my step two! I have decided to try and do an hour of sewing a night in the week instead of watching TV in the evenings so sorry for the dark pictures, but it works nicely doing this in small chunks. My attention wanders after a while as it is really a very big quilt compared to what I have been used to. It's a bit overwhelming if I think too much about it.
One route would be to just cut all my 2 1/2" strips and follow the instructions but I thought I might create my hsts in a different way with the fabric in fat quarters - instead of using the Omnigrid ruler they suggest. I have decided to cut bigger squares that will allow me to create eight hsts at once!
Here's the method (see picture on the right)
Add 7/8" to your desired finished size (in my case 2 1/2") = 3 1/4
Multiply by 2 = 6 1/2
That's the measurement of your square you need to cut!
Then just sew along the dotted lines and cut the others. Done.
Well I did that and they were a bit big so I tried a 6" version and it was perfect. I sew just inside 1/4" so that I have a sliver of room to trim them exactly to size. There's nothing worse than a square that's too small. I also ironed my seams flat in the middle as it will make some of the bulky points easier to sew, otherwise I find the fabric moves and bunches and things start to not line up. I also used a plain old pencil to mark my fabric. Sometimes simple is best.
Here's the method (see picture on the right)
Add 7/8" to your desired finished size (in my case 2 1/2") = 3 1/4
Multiply by 2 = 6 1/2
That's the measurement of your square you need to cut!
Then just sew along the dotted lines and cut the others. Done.
Well I did that and they were a bit big so I tried a 6" version and it was perfect. I sew just inside 1/4" so that I have a sliver of room to trim them exactly to size. There's nothing worse than a square that's too small. I also ironed my seams flat in the middle as it will make some of the bulky points easier to sew, otherwise I find the fabric moves and bunches and things start to not line up. I also used a plain old pencil to mark my fabric. Sometimes simple is best.
So I'll be cutting 25 x 6 squares in total which will give me 200 hst. Right. Got it. Here are my test ones above. Plus a few Christmas gifts from my mum! A new blade and a 2 1/2" square. I have no idea if it will be useful or not. Only one way to find out!
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