A Whale of a time!

I hope everyone had a great Easter weekend! Being able to enjoy the hope provided through the resurrection of Christ is one of the many blessing I'm thankful for!

March is practically gone, and I have not made much progress on the 2015 BOM. Would it sound strange if I said that I sort of needed a break? I don't like leaving things unfinished, but it seemed that I was no longer enjoying the quilting process, and it was all getting too stressful, or like that homework that we never did on time because it was so horrible, and we ended up putting it off for as loooooooooong as possible...  

So, just a teeny tiny break... I caved in! I just had to start working on a wall hanging that I had been thinking of making for a while...

After staring at the bookcase and the available fabric, I went for the gorgeous blue collection I got some time ago on sale. When I saw it, I knew I wanted it; I had no idea what I was going to make with it, but I just had to get it... Yes, I have my weak moments, but after seeing the results, who wouldn't like to consider having one of these every once in a while? 

The fabric waited patiently in the little bin for over three years, and when Elizabeth Hartman came up with her Preppy pattern, dots started to connect... You can find the link to this pattern on her page. Unlike her, I sometimes get these weird ideas in my head, but I cannot make them happen. It seems that she has this fantastic ability to see something and transform it into something beautiful. I love her eye for color, use of pattern and "shredding" something visually and transforming it into a quilt block.

I also had another roll of fabrics, from Jinny Beyer, who teaches the 2015 Craftsy BOM. I never knew that I already had some of her fabric in my stash, but it all went beautifully with the other fabric!  

Ah! The joys of happy quilty coincidences!

Even an old friend came to play with the happy whales! I did not follow of all the instructions in Elizabeth's pattern - you know me, I seem to be unable to follow instructions to the T. Instead, I used paper-pieced strips using adding machine tape. You can see my tutorial on this versatile technique here.

Tada!! Happy whales in purple waters... 

Ah! The joys of the joyful creative process!

Stay blessed,

Yiya

Cheery Mellow: Double Star, Take 2!

Another one, you say?  Yes!  All things deserve a second chance, and this Double Star made with flying geese units is no exception. The first Double Star for Cheery Mellow is not quite what I was expecting. I was wanting the outer stars to sort of blend with the background, but I am not sure of the final effect.

Just like I mentioned in that post, fabric makes a whole difference in this block; the two stars are supposed to be seen, not blend! (Duh!) (And that was for me and my blending ideas for a block that is really needs contrasting, not blending fabric - and I knew it!) Anyway, I generally move on, but not this time! So I decided to go ahead and make a second one, using the gray fabric for the outer points.

What do you think?  Both are nice, but the shapes in the second block definitely stand out!  If you decide to give this a try, just have this issue in mind - ultimately, it's your block, so if you like the blendy groove... go with it! :)

By the way, I learned how to do this from Craftsy's 2012 Block of the Month Class. This is one of their free classes that you can watch over an over because it never expires! How cool is that! And it's freeeee!!!  :)

So here is the fabric, ready to go!  You can find the size you need to cut in the class materials. By the way, these measurements don't leave much wiggle room, so a scant 1/4" seam came in handy...

Draw a diagonal line in all the squares.  This is completely optional, but it really helps me if I want to include accuracy in the equation...  :)

I know these are small units, but that little corner seems to always shift... I find that if I take the extra time to secure at least the corner where the seam ends, the final unit will always be more accurate... Ah! Accuracy and matching seams... like a dream come true! 

Now, let's tackle the geese!  Isn't that a funny picture? Tackling geese... ha! I guess I'm glad these have no feathers and cannot get mad!

By the way, these are perfect units for getting extra half square triangles, so I'll make sure that the optional steps for this technique are clearly set apart from the regular process:

Optional step: Double check my Cutting Corners post! Whenever you sew two 90-degree corners, just like for these flying geese, go back, sew a second seam and...

Now we have the corners ready to cut!

 

To get the extra half square triangles...

...cut in the middle of both seams. The "triangle" on the right in the next picture is generally discarded, but...

...with this trick, you will end with something that looks like this:

The first side of the flying geese units is done!  It is very important that you press the geese open before going on to the next step.

You are more than welcome to save the extra triangles for later; I just thought it would be a good idea to show how they come along with the main units for this block.

Once the first corner is pressed open, repeat the previous steps with the other side.

We now have something that looks like this:

(See why I like the extra HST tip?  Once this little "survivors" start to pile up, it's difficult to picture them as discarded pieces of fabric... I can already see all the different compositions we can get with these little ones!)

  

I could not resist playing with the extra HST a bit... We can even make an extra Double Star! If you see the mat, I guess it will make it to a 9" block once finished... A little extra effort could go a loooong way!  :)

But going to the 12" inch star...  I find it's always useful to double check the layout before sewing; let me assure you - headaches are less frequent this way!  Besides, that seam reaper needs a rest every now and then (not that I use it often... hehe).

 

We need to start putting it together from the inside out; otherwise, the pieces won't fit!

The first step is build up the inner star, in rows: 

 

 

Then, sew the rows together:

Tip:  For better results, pin before and after the seams and right at the end; this will keep the fabric from shifting and the final result will be more accurate.

Join two flying geese units to form the upper and lower part of the outside star, like so:

Now, go ahead and sew two more flying geese units and two white squares to form the outer "columns;" I hope I'm not confusing you with so many units, squares, rows and columns - maybe it's easier if you see the picture:

Here it is!  A pretty pointy star with matching seams... woohoo!!  I'm really pleased with the results.

And here are the two double stars I have so far:

I definitely think that the one with the gray outer points stands out more. And, I also used a scant 1/4" seam for the second double star and, although I'd love to ask you to ignore all the wrinkles in the first star, I should not ignore the fact that fabric selection and shape are better in the block to the left.  

What do you think?  Please share your opinion in the comments!  :) 

But, heey! That's the idea!  Learning and searching for ways to improve our craft.

Here you go!  A beautiful double star for the Cheery Mellow quilt... Who knows when it all be done!

I hope you enjoyed making the Double Star - and don't forget all the extra tiny HST!  Thank you for reading and stay blessed!  :)

Cutting corners: Tips for extra Half Square Triangles

How many times have you finished putting a block together and ended up with scraps?  Well, it's not uncommon to cut off 90 degree corners and discard the extra pieces of fabric.

Somehow, this didn't feel right, so I decided to start experimenting with corners...  The result is tiny Half-square triangles, or HST, that can be used for another project.

For example, in making the flying geese to the left, I ended up with the HST to the right...

This is possible ANY time you are joining two pieces of fabric with a 90 degree corner and sew a 45 degree seam. Sounds weird, huh?  Just bear with me and let me show you what I'm talking about with pictures.

In the one below, you can see the joining of strips of fabric to form a quilt binding. Notice how the two ends of the strips are on top of each other, forming a corner.

The instructions for binding call for a diagonal seam from the inner to the outer corner. Pay close attention to the pic above; you will see a pencil line marking a diagonal line (which would be the 45 degree seam line).  

Just sew right on top of this line. This is the first step.

If this post was about making binding, instructions would call for cutting the corners to the right of the seam, leaving 1/4 inch of fabric.

But if you want an extra HST, don't cut the fabric off! Instead, sew a second seam about a 1/2 inch from the original seam on the area that would have been cut off in the first place.

You will end with corners that have two seams, like so:

In the following picture, the two seams are highlighted in BLUE.

The next step is cutting on the YELLOW line...

... so you will have the original unit (in this picture, the fabric to the left) and an extra HST that would have been discarded. Press open.

The result is an extra bunch of little half square triangles that would have made it right to the trash can to never be seen again! 

Now, we need to make sure they form a nice square. Remember that these are extra pieces that result from a completely optional step; they generally tend to be tiny.
 

I chose to cut these units to form a 1 3/4 square to be on the safe side; the size of the square will vary depending on the original corners you had.

Just make sure that the 45 degree line in your ruler is right on top of the seam - this is VERY important; this step will guarantee that the points line up when you sew all the pieces together.
 

Here is the same step, just with a different color of fabric; I thought this would make it easier to see in a picture.
 

Now that all your HST are squared up, you're ready to let your crafty bone loose and play with the arrangements!
 

How about a little diamond?
 

Or random placement with the seams facing the same direction?
 

If you have more, you can even get 4 little diamonds, so cute!
 

 Or even chevrons; just make sure you have enough HSTs...  :)

I am really developing a weak spot for this arrangement, more uniform, but so crisp and modern!

There are many other units that you can obtain extra HST from. They don't even have to be completely even, because of the squaring up...

How about you? Can you think of any blocks that can yield an extra unit from a rescued "almost scrap?" Please add your comments and share pictures!  Sharing is the best way for everyone to learn and explore more crafty ideas.

Thanks for stopping by and stay blessed!  :) 

Post Post... Does this even exist?

This Double Star is made with flying geese, 

perfect for getting extra HST!

Let's not forget about Strong Tower. Beautiful block and 16 extra HST!

A new piece joins the Extra HSQ gallore... Peppy yields a lot of them and I couldn't leave the scrapps alone! The center piece and some of the HST that ended up in the improv areas came from that little extra seam.