Half-square Triangles - Tutorial

The other day I found a new way to cut half-squares triangles which I thought was the best! Well, this weekend I tried to remember which way was it and where I had seen it. No clue!!! I am getting disgustingly old... :-(

Anyway, I decided to do what the pattern I was using suggested, and it was pretty easy. So, in case you need a new technique, here is how I did it:

Say you need 3-1/2" half-square triangles. Cut strips of the two fabrics you are using measuring 1/2" more, i.e., 4" wide by the width of fabric. Lay light colored strip over the other strip, right sides together. With a pen (I use FriXion - be sure to always test it in a corner of the fabric first!), draw lines which are 4" apart.

Make sure the strips are pinned so they don't move around as you mark them.

Next, draw diagonal lines connecting the corners.

Next, stitch 1/4" away from the diagonal lines, on both sides of the lines.

Then, cut on all the drawn lines.

There! Except this picture shows the other fabric I was using...

I prefer this method as opposed to first cutting all the squares, then pairing them, then drawing a diagonal line on each pair, then stitching, etc.  Afterward, I squared them all to 3-1/2".

It was quick! Now, as soon as I find the other method I read about I will prepare a tutorial for it, too!

Giveaway Winner!

Geta Grama's idea for this week's blog hop was wonderful! The tips shared by the participating bloggers were very useful: Quilters are a generous bunch when it comes to imparting their knowledge.

Above all, I enjoyed reading and responding to your comments! It is difficult to imagine life without this blog and all the wonderful people I have gotten to know through it. I am so lucky!

Speaking of luck, here is the winner of the giveaways for this blog hop, who will receive directly from Fat Quarter Shop and Riley Blake Designs these two great gifts:

$10 Gift Certificate

and


A Fat Quarter Bundle of Riley Blake's Serenity line

 Without further ado...

 Research Randomizer Results

1 Set of 1 Unique Numbers Per Set
Range: From 1 to 170 -- Unsorted

Set #1: 139

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Julie C.May 11, 2013 at 2:51 PM

Hi Denise! It's great to meet you and I thank you for sharing all of the great tips and information. I'm a fan of Eleanor Burn's books too!
***

Congratulations, Julie C.!!! You will be receiving an email from me shortly to work out the details. To all of you, thanks for participating!

I hope you have time planned for quilting this weekend... As for me, either I will quilt for at least a couple hours or someone will get hurt!!! :-)

Sierra Sewing Center - Reno, Nevada

Last week I stopped at Sierra Sewing Center in Reno, Nevada, on my way to see my grandchild in California. Ohhh... I felt like a child in the candy store!

They carry over 4,000 bolts of beautiful fabric by major manufacturers, tons of patterns, wool, kits, as well as sewing machines by Pfaff, Viking, Baby Lock, and Artisan (industrial sewing machines). Sierra Sewing Center also offers long arm quilting services. With a second location in Carson City, it is clear Linda (the owner) and her family know how to run a successful business!

The store has ample room for roaming and dreaming, is well lit, and the staff is personable and very helpful. When I first came in, they told me about their quilt challenge where the customers who signed up had to use 4 specific fabrics in their projects. Each work (about a dozen) was to be rated on a scale of 1-5 on creativity, workmanship, use of fabrics, and color use. It was so difficult to rate them, as they were expertly made and creatively designed. I asked my mother to start rating them while I walked around the store. 


I found the wool batting I had been looking for, got more Soft and Stable by Annie, could not resist a kit for a wool table topper for Christmas, and got some gorgeous fabric (see it on the cutting table!)...

I wandered to the large classroom and only wished I had time to take classes there. Linda told me the store has been around for over 20 years. When she purchased it five and a half years ago, it was housed in a different location.

Two hours later (!!!) I was ready to vote on the quilt challenge, pay for my purchases, and head to California.

Next time you plan a trip to the Reno, Nevada area, stop by Sierra Sewing Center. You will not be disappointed!

In the meantime, be sure to read my previous post about the Learning and Sharing blog hop, and giveaway with prizes courtesy of Fat Quarter Shop and Riley Blake Designs. You have until Thursday at 5pm to enter!

Learning and Sharing plus Giveaway

Geta Grama from Geta's Quilting Studio is hosting a blog hop this week, so we can share with each other tips we learned in our quilting journey. I am always amazed at quilters' willingness to share what they know with one another (why reinvent the wheel, right?).

What is a blog hop without a giveaway?  I have two gifts for a lucky quilter:

$10 Gift Certificate from my favorite online source for fabrics, courtesy of Fat Quarter Shop!

and


A Fat Quarter Bundle of Riley Blake's Serenity line, courtesy of Riley Blake!

The details:

1. Leave a comment on this post.

Note: If you are a no-reply blogger - or you are not sure - you may want to include your e-mail address on your comment, using words such as 'at' and 'dot' in place of the usual symbols (this way you will not get spam email, and I will be able to reach you in case you are the winner!)

2. Bonus: leave me another comment telling me you are a follower, for an extra entry!

This giveaway will close May 16 at 5 pm. The randomly chosen winner will be announced on Friday, May 17, here at this blog. I will ship internationally, too!

You may want to create a file to record the tidbits you will collect as you visit all the creative blogs. Thanks, Geta, for your idea and for hosting this blog hop!

So, here is my contribution. I am pairing it down to 10 points, for your convenience.

1. A few of my favorite notions:  bodkin, seam ripper, 4" x 12" ruler, embroidery scissors.

2. For successful color schemes on your projects, take the time to learn about the color wheel, color values, and the advantages of playing with fabric texture. Value can make or break your designs, and fabric texture adds an extra dimension to your quilt.

3. About threads: purchase the best quality you can afford, even for piecing! If you use low-quality thread for piecing thinking the seams will be hidden anyway, you might be shortchanging yourself: tons of lint will accumulate in the gears of your sewing machine, causing thread breakage and other problems; thick threads will affect the overall size of your block; threads might endlessly break, and your project will take longer and be less enjoyable.

As for fabrics: you are spending soooo much time piecing and quilting your wonderful project, so why would you use anything but high-quality fabrics on your quilt??? Enough said...

4. For easy piecing, try the assembly line method: instead of piecing one whole block at a time (unless it is a sampler quilt), stitch each section of all blocks at once, then move on to the next, and so on. Use strong thin thread (such as Aurifil, my favorite!), clean and oil your machine before each project, and always start with a new needle. These few tips will ensure smooth piecing...

5. Art quilts are an alternative if you don't enjoy patchwork. You can create amazing landscapes or abstract designs using paint, thread, and embellishments. Sometimes, that is all I want to do: play with fabric. Have you tried it?

6. As for quilting your own quilts: don't spend hours on end practicing. Make a small wall hanging and start quilting it! Your lines will become smoother, you will quilt with more confidence, and soon you will venture into larger projects. Take advantage of different marking tools (for intricate designs, Golden Thread paper is my favorite tool, or use FriXion pen to design your own lines [be sure to test the pen on a scrap piece of the fabric before using it liberally - it may leave white marks on darker fabrics!]). Shorten your stitches when quilting lots of curves or custom patterns. When stitching in the ditch or around applique motifs, always work with monofilament!

7. Check out the tutorials on my blog by clicking here. Lots of cool techniques and projects!

8. Sewing Machine thoughts: for straight stitch, any machine which is in good repair will do. If you are planning on buying a machine, listen to your friends' experience with their own, then go to a store and take the machines for a 'test drive'. However, make sure whatever you buy has the 'needle down' feature and, if possible, that bar on the right side which allows you to lift the presser foot with your knee - it makes life so much easier! As for me, my Bernina is heaven!

9. Quilting books: they are the best! Eleanor Burns' Quilt in a Day series are fabulous books for beginners and seasoned quilters alike. Also, check out the books I have reviewed (click here) for insight on many great possible additions to your library.

10. My last advice: if you are planning on giving quilts away to friends and family members, DO IT NOW! Let them enjoy them, sleep under them, use them as they please. If needed, replace the gift after wear and tear. Quilts can be heirlooms, but they are to be enjoyed and not be folded and stashed away in a closet... If you want it to be carefully kept, give it to them inside frame and glass, but give it to them now. Watch them enjoy the gift...

Above all else, treasure the process of quilting!!!

Green Thumb?

Under the tutelage of my friend Sue, I planted seeds and have been nursing these plants for the last several weeks. My makeshift 'green house': I carefully covered my sideboard under the dining room window, collected a bunch of lamps which were not being used and placed them strategically over the plants. I water them three times a day, and when the weather is warm, I place them outside on the deck so they can start getting strong.

The first batch of seedlings has gone the way of all the earth... These pictured at right have survived my novice care. Sue also gave me other tiny plants, which I've managed to keep alive: green bell peppers, Roma tomatoes, celery, and basil.

Since I cannot plant a regular garden, mine will be in pots and boxes on the deck. The million dollar question is: how can I fit all the pots on the deck and still have room to walk around the furniture or access the grill?

The BILLION dollar question is: will these plants be alive by the time I return from my trip to California? I have enlisted the help of my son Ryan, who agreed to water them for $5.00/day. My husband agreed to supervise him but wants $10/day, as he claims the supervisory job demands more responsibility... Outright extortion! I threatened not to let him eat any tomatoes come Summer!

Speaking of Summer, it is quite possible that some of my friends will end up with potted herbs and tomato plants as gifts.

Anyway, I guess I was really anxious to see if I could finally 'grow' something without killing it in its early stages of life... so I planted more than I had room for. Oh, well. I am looking forward to fresh tomatoes for sandwiches and to make marmalade, peppers for jam, two types of basil, celery...

Yummy!

Colorful pineapple blocks

I've been working on a fun quilt with [real] pineapple blocks. Using mostly batiks, I started assembling a square with strips from various fabrics, then ironed fusible web on the back, cut it, and machine appliqued it onto the mottled cream background.

The leaves were supposed to be cut individually from different green fabrics. However, due to all the colors I had already used on the fruit, I decided to use the guide for leaf placement in place of many leaves, and chose a single green batik. I liked it better.

There are nine 10.5" x 16.5" blocks in total. I am trying to decide whether I should add sashing or not. The border will likely be different than the one on the pattern, too (!), as I am seriously considering paper-piecing. What do you think? I will consider my options while I travel, and hope to finish it when I return.

Working with all these colors made me feel so good inside!

Bundle of Joy

 

This is Nicholas, my first grandchild. He will be three weeks old this coming Sunday. He is a calm, alert, gorgeous baby. Yesterday, he rode 12 hours to his new home on the outskirts of San Francisco, CA. I am driving to California on Monday and will stay there for one week to help his mom and dad settle in their new place, and to get some more time with Nicholas.

I found out I can easily calm him down when he is tired, singing Brazilian lullabies and gently rocking him. He has very long fingers - will he be a pianist when he grows up? His hair is black and his skin has the beautiful tan from his Peruvian mother.

My quilting friends have been so generous, showering him with gifts. They are happy WITH me for this new addition to our family. Many of them live away from their grandchildren, so they have been supportive, reminding me that San Fran is just a stone's throw away from Utah. My husband has been kind enough to rearrange his schedule in order to take care of our boys so I can go see my grandbaby, along with my mom who is visiting from Brazil.

For sure I will organize a 'shop hop', stopping by as many quilt stores as I can find on my way to and fro San Francisco. Fun!!!

I am filled with gratitude to Heavenly Father for my family, for sending Nicholas to our midst, for loving friends who put up graciously with my crazy ways. Blessings to no end...

Happy Friday!