Friday, February 28, 2020

Grab N' Go :: HSTs to the Rescue!

Back in early October I spent a good bit of time making Half Square Triangles.  Mass producing HSTs! (Mass Production :: HSTs)  I think some people thought I was stark raving mad, while others thought that it was a great idea.  

My thought process was to make a huge batch and when the mood strikes, I could grab my suitcase full of HSTs and go hog wild!  Which is exactly what I did!  I basically just wanted to make something and had no other projects in the works.



My suitcase has the untrimmed HST's and...



...my box has the trimmed and sorted HSTs for my favorite baby quilt version.


This is the baby version.  Pinned and ready to quilt.  I was still in limbo on starting anything new, so I decided I may as well make a lap quilt with the untrimmed batch of HSTs.


This is where I always land when I grab my suitcase of treasures.  I love the grouping of the six colors!  Adding the frame in the form of borders, is how I like to finish off this baby quilt.  It just hits me in the right way and I see no reason to change this design up. 



I grabbed half my suitcase stash and began the trimming phase.  Some people don't care for this part, but I love it.  I enjoy the process, time invested and always love the results.  Of course, having a Bloc-Loc ruler helps a lot!  Have you ever used one?  I seriously doubt I'd be so enthusiastic about trimming if I didn't have one!



Once I got the HSTs trimmed, I arranged the color groupings, added the centers and sewed the four blocks together.  While the goal is to have color groupings in the center blocks, I try not to have like colors when the blocks of four are sewn together.  If that makes any sense at all!

I debated whether or not I should add borders to the lap quilt.  I wanted to add a more length and width without having to make more blocks and I wanted that frame look like the baby quilt.  In the end I settled on adding one 3" grey border.  

I apologize for the awful photo!  It's from my phone!  I promise the actual quilt is quite bright and bold.  When I finish quilting it you can be sure I'll get better pictures! 


LINKING:

14 comments :

  1. I must admit I have a couple block lock rulers and tend to forget that I have them and they are lost in piles of stuff - I now one just doesn't seem to work for me and the other is small and like I say I forget I have it. I need to watch a video or something that shows how to use them so I might use them more. I love your quilt and say a piece that someone showed that might have been yours at Quilt Con?

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  2. Hi Jayne! Preeti shared a photo of your quilt at QuiltCon! How cool is that - are you feeling on top of the world knowing that thousands of quilter got to enjoy your piece?!! {{Hugs}}. I, too, swear by the Bloc-Loc ruler. I love using them to trim HSTs. They make the whole process so perfect - just what my OCD-ish self needs. LOVE this project and that gray border just makes all the color pop, pop, pop. Thanks for linking up for TGIFF. ~smile~ Roseanne

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  3. Keeping a stash of mass produced HSTs is such a great idea. I love your color placement.

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    1. I sometimes get a bit crazy when I make a batch of HST’s, but in the end it’s so worth it. I can grab and go whenever the mood strikes!

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  4. Wow, another bright and bold quilt (even if you said it's more than that in real ;) ), love your layout process. Thanks for the tip about the ruler.

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  5. OOoh, I really like the idea of mass producing HSTs.

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    1. It’s nice to have a stash of them in a size and colors I use all the time. When the mood strikes…I can just grab and go!

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  6. Clever girl, you - mass producing HSTs. I'm not a huge fan of the trimming stage, and I do have a BlocLoc. However, lately I have a love affair with my Creative Grids ruler for trimming. Not sure why; maybe it's just a phase. Ha! Anyway, I love that bright, bold, happy quilt!

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  7. I love both of your bright, bold quilts. So striking! And what a clever way to sew sooo many HSTs! That's a great idea to have a bunch waiting for inspiration to strike! I have a new ruler for trimming HSTs. I should give it a go.

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  8. I love the dimension, like those perspective drawings we did in school! So cool.

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  9. I confess I thought you were stark raving mad. ;-) I wish I liked making HSTs half as much as you do! I love what you make with them!

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  10. Stunning quilts. Love that pattern. I went back to read your HST post. I don't think I could do that - but whatever works!

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  11. That looks so great!! And making them when you have the time is so great!!

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  12. I really like the larger size. I don't think the colors are any different - but I think I like the look of more blocks. What can I say, scrappy makes me happy!

    Great job getting them to the quilting stage. And thanks for sharing with Oh Scrap!

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