Wednesday, March 18, 2015

HST's For A Queen

My last post was about hand dyeing fabric.  Hand Dyed Heaven.  I had a beautiful stack of fabric dyed, ironed and ready to cut.  These fabrics were specially dyed and reserved for a custom queen quilt full of half square triangles.  And now we begin...

combination of hand dyed and shot cottons
Where to start.  Of course, cutting squares!  I pulled out my Kaffe Fasset Shot Cotton stash (because I love these mixed with the hand dyed fabric), and began cutting 8" squares.  The stacks were growing and by the end of it I had about 275 cut and stacked.



Once the cutting ended...finally...I needed to pair up the squares.  I love seeing the combinations as I put together the pairs.  I marked each set with a diagonal line and carefully pinned them together for the marathon of strip piecing.  First 1/4" on one side, and then the other.  Kind of mindless sewing, but waiting for the payoff!

You know the next step.  More cutting!  I whipped out the ruler and rotary cutter and sliced and diced each pair in half.  I had my 'Ginsu Knife' vibe going full force!  That resulted in a whole 'lotta' triangles!


 With the steam iron blazing, those cut triangle pairs became square (almost) again!  Lots of ironing, lots of steam, lots of stacking!

 Aren't they pretty?  I enjoy seeing these blocks come together.  Any block.  Once they get ironed they just look so much better!  

 Okay, let's do some more cutting!

I can't sing the praises of these Bloc~Loc rulers!!!  I couldn't tell you how many HST's quilts I have made in the last year (I need to research that)! If it wasn't for these rulers I'm sure the number of finished quilts would have been drastically reduced.  Not to mention they wouldn't be nearly as perfect without Blok~Loc's help!


 Usually I end up trimming these to 7", but I wanted them a little bigger because of the size of the quilt.  If I was super careful they would end up being 7 1/2" trimmed.  With the exception of one block that was slightly smaller that the rest, I was able to accomplish that task.

Think about those 138 sets for a second.  This is the carnage left from trimming all of them! Seriously, I feel like I cheated the system for trimming so little and getting away with it!


Half square triangles are basically very easy with lots of design possibilities.  When I make these quilts part of the 'fun' is to see how perfect I can get the points!  Bring on a challenge! So, I will take extra care when putting the blocks together.  

This is where I am as of today.  Two panels each of which is 6 HST's x 10 HST's.  If I were to sew these two panels together right now the quilt would measure 84" x 70", but that can't happen!  I still have to add more. Who would want a queen quilt that didn't fit their bed? Although, the quilts on my bed are not queen size!  I just turned them so there was more length on the sides.  

 More work on this today.  Add more length, a little more width, finish the top (hopefully)!  I always get excited at this stage of the game.  You can see the end in sight...that feeling of a fully finished quilt top is exhilarating! 
LINKING:
Posted by at
Labels: , , , , ,

20 comments :

  1. BeccaMarch 18, 2015 at 10:22 AM

    That little trimming pile is amazing! So little waste. I need to look into those rulers more seriously. :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JayneMarch 18, 2015 at 11:13 AM

      I couldn't believe how little the pile of scraps ended up being after trimming! I highly, highly recommend Blok Loc rulers.

      Delete
  2. Lorna McMahonMarch 18, 2015 at 10:53 AM

    Your hand dyed fabrics are always so luscious looking.... especially paired with those shot cottons. Yes, the HST's are a lot of work. But you have done an amazing job of making them and your points are spot on. Looking fabulous, my dear!!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. the zen quilterMarch 18, 2015 at 1:17 PM

    Very gorgeous colors! HSTs are kind of fun though, even if they take a lot of time. You can do so many things with them...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JayneMarch 18, 2015 at 1:24 PM

      You really can and I do love the challenge of matching up those points and seams!

      Delete
  4. Soma @ inkTorrents.comMarch 18, 2015 at 3:33 PM

    The hand-dyed fabrics and the shot cotton look great together. I am always amazed by how precisely you match up the points. Beautiful!

    -Soma

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JayneMarch 18, 2015 at 5:40 PM

      I feel that since HST's are pretty simple, making the points match increases the difficulty!

      Delete
  5. lelandavestudiosMarch 18, 2015 at 4:53 PM

    Those hand-dyed fabrics are gorgeous! Your pattern really brings out the beauty in them! Just lovely!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JayneMarch 18, 2015 at 5:41 PM

      I have always loved the hand dyed and shot cottons together!

      Delete
  6. Judy@Quilt ParadigmMarch 18, 2015 at 5:05 PM

    OMG!! I can't believe how fast you put this together!! It looks fabulous!! When you are sewing the HSTs into rows, do you use glue? pins? crossed fingers? LOL

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JayneMarch 18, 2015 at 5:42 PM

      I decided since this was a queen size I would do 2 panels first. Easier to match seams and points! I use pins in each seam ~ fingers and toes crossed are also needed!

      Delete
  7. Linda @ kokaquiltsMarch 18, 2015 at 5:27 PM

    This is looking great! I too am playing with HST's, just haven't got to the sewing part yet!! It's looking very effective just in all solids! Linda

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JayneMarch 18, 2015 at 5:43 PM

      I love using solids…period! I've great luck with solids. The most time consuming part of HST's has to be trimming!

      Delete
  8. Jess (a.k.a. Rosie)March 19, 2015 at 11:27 AM

    Wowzers!!! That's a LOT of HST's!!!! I've never tried a Bloc-Loc ruler, but they get such great review I may just have to try them out for myself :-)

    ~ Jess ~
    Everything Is Coming Up Rosie

    ReplyDelete
  9. MaryseMarch 20, 2015 at 10:54 AM

    Gorgeous colors, I like where this is heading ... :-)

    ReplyDelete
  10. RamonaMarch 20, 2015 at 10:59 AM

    Your fabrics look like ultra suede! The colors just shine and look so wonderful all together. It is going to be a gorgeous quilt.

    ReplyDelete
  11. AnonymousMarch 20, 2015 at 3:07 PM

    This is looking fantastic!

    ReplyDelete
  12. KittyMarch 20, 2015 at 8:18 PM

    This is looking great! I love the bright colors; your hand dyed fabrics work so well with a project like this!

    ReplyDelete
  13. UnknownMarch 20, 2015 at 9:45 PM

    air jordan 5 uk undefeated West . cheap cursed loudly, air jordan 5 uk stretched out his left hand resting on the shoulders turn the outlet . left shoulder has shifted and air jordan 5 uk cheap leg air jordan 5 uk position, right fist aimed at the cheap crotch, air jordan 5 uk change the speed, agility, cheap nike air jordan 5 shoes reaction, let outlet help scared. outlet pupil a shrink, then showing a hint of a smile, a bit of a withdrawal right, severely hit directly make cheap labeled

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for visiting my blog! I love getting comments, and try to respond to each and every one.

Subscribe to: Post Comments ( Atom )