Sunday, April 1, 2018

Bonus HST's For The Win!

I've been neck deep in so many projects lately, most on their way to becoming patterns.  That being said I haven't even started writing said patterns!!  It's really hard for me to psych myself up for the arduous task!  I feel like I'm putting undo pressure on myself!  I have issues!

Back in February at our Guild Retreat I brought along a stack of fabric for my Flying Geese quilt.  I was pretty excited because I was finally using my bundle of Alison Glass Handcrafted fabric.  


Making flying geese is a repetitive process.  Even more so when you sew an extra line for bonus half square triangles.  It's totally worth it though! Adding the extra stitch line will keep all my triangles together and when I'm ready to use them all I have to do is press and trim.

After stitching from corner to corner, sew another line 1/2" from the original line.  Then just grab your rotary cutter and ruler and cut between the stitch lines.  Now you have a bonus HST ready to rock and roll whenever you are!


This is what I came up with.  First, I got to use all my blue HST's and all my Kona Celestial scraps.  All this came from a hefty stack of flying geese!


I store my bonus HST's in a tote to keep them nice and neat.  I've always had the need to use every scrap from a project right away.  I have a fear that if I don't, I might never use them or they will get shoved in a dark corner never to see the light of day.  This also explains why I might have two or three quilts back to back in the same color!


The hardest part was picking a design.  As you well know, there are so many possibilities with half square triangles.  Part of my predicament was that I had three different sizes.  

I had trimmed the bonus blocks to 1 1/2", 2 1/2" and 3 1/2".  Easy enough, but I had to make all three sizes work together.  Eventually...I did.


To make maters a little more complicated, I set the blocks on-point.  I planned on stacking each set of sizes for something a little different. 


Blocks pieced, blocks trimmed.  Three blocks, three sizes.  

  

The 1 1/2" HST's finished at 1" for a 10" block, 2 1/2" HST's finished at 2" for a 20" block and the 3 1/2" HST's finished at 3" for a 30" block.  Now I had something to work with!

Afterward, I grabbed the background fabric and filled in.  By the time I was finished I ended up with one small piece of background fabric and I used all but two HST's!

I did have to make half a dozen small and maybe a dozen large HST's to complete the squares.  But it was still worth it and a win win for me.  I got to use even more of the Handcrafted scraps!  Whatever was left will get pieced together for the back.  

Now to get some backing fabric and quilt it!  Story of my life!!  The top finished at 46" x 65"!  Not a bad size for scraps!  I kind of like how it turned out.  It feels very Bohemian to me!

LINKING:
TGIFF


20 comments :

  1. I'm so impressed with how you use up all your scraps right away. I tend to let mine languish. No discipline!

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    1. I try so hard to use the scraps right away! I’ve got some scraps from projects that have been tucked away and since I didn’t use them right away … the momentum has gone away and I don’t know when I’ll get back to them!

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  2. You are a master! How exciting to use all the stuff!

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    1. Well thank you!! I don’t consider myself a master…mostly terribly OCD about scraps!

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  3. Great job using up all those bits! I admit I don’t keep those tiny pieces unless I know I have a project for them. Thanks for sharing with Oh Scrap!

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  4. Wise to use the scraps up fairly soon after a project. I have a couple bins that haven't seen daylight in at least a year............maybe I'll get them out and see what I can do with the nine patches and strips that are in there. I don't think I could have dealt with the smallest triangles as I don't have the patience. Love the background color and it really sets off the colors in the piecing. I think Bohemian is a good description and may describe you as well as you come up with wonderful "out of the box" designs. Very nice quilt! Nadine W. Northern Cali

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  5. What an awesome way to use up the scraps, and it's impressive you used all but 2 HSTs!

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  6. It's SEW much fun to use up the scraps, isn't it?!?!

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    1. I totally love it! I’ve found that using scraps create some pretty amazing pieces…sometimes better than the original!

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  7. I love what you did with your bonus HSTs, Jayne! I'm like many others - I have a basket of them that are going nowhere at the moment, although I have used a few here and there!

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  8. Great use of scraps! Another beutiful quilt.

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  9. I just love this combo of the blue with your scraps! Gorgeous! I keep my bonus HSTs unpressed and untrimmed just in case I need some weird size later.

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  10. I think it is awesome you can use up all the scraps and get bonus quilts! Mine don't get used right away and they may never, or I say-when I retire, LOL

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  11. Maybe that's the trick I need to do -- use scraps right away. This is so striking. The colours are amazing.

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    1. For me, it helps a lot! I have scraps and bonus this and that hidden in my closet. I’ve found using them right away eliminates that!

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  12. Two projects for the price of one. Ahhh, the joy of using up scraps!

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  13. I have a zip lok bag full of bonus HST's. It is such a challenge to make all that we want to. I look at that bag and see potential but I haven't used them yet. You did a great job with yours!!!

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  14. My scraps get tossed into the 'someday I'll do something with these' pile. I need to be a bit more disciplined! Love the quilt, and yes, it does have that bohemian kind of vibe!

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  15. Using your scraps straight away is such a clever idea ! I really should do the same ...

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  16. You have issues and I got issues. Someday we will get together and put our issues to good use. Till then, keep doing the amazing scrapmagic that you do. I have noticed that some of my best work happens when I just play with my scraps. I believe it is the Jayne effect, consciously or subconsciously.

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