It's Happy Half-Square Triangle Week!

This week we are going to make 52 each 4-1/2" x 4-1/2" half square tringle blocks (HST). There are several ways to make this block.

Remember my oopsie daisy with cutting? Well enter the Easy Angle Ruler. The rectangle size left on 4 of my 10" layer cake squares was 4-1/2" x 10". With the Easy Angle Ruler I was able to save the day and still get my 4-1/2" squares out of my piece of 4-1/2" wide fabric strip.

I laid a 4-1/2"x10" strip of my feature color strip down and layered a 4-1/2"x10" strip of background right sides together. Like this:

Ok so stack them don't spray them, but you know what I mean right?

Enter the Easy Angle Ruler and lay on your stacked fabrics like this:

Notice the little black triangle is off of the fabric at the top, that is what you want (it will hang off a quarter of an inch). Cut on the angle line. Flip our ruler over like this:

Notice the black triangle of the ruler is now hanging off of the bottom. Now cut on the straight edge of the ruler. repeat until your strip is finished. By cutting carefully (ignore that stray clipping there), I was able to get 4 background and feature fabric triangles out of my 10" length of fabric. With that little black triangle hanging off of the edge of the fabric you can easily feed the set thru the machine like this:

See how nicely it butts up against the set ahead of it? No jams of pointed corners as you chain piece the units. Now separate your chained pieces and press open. and when you square up you should have this if you used a 1/4" seam allowance:

Well look at that 4-1/2" square pretty close to "on the money" wouldn't you agree?

If you need a bit more instruction than I have given, Bonnie Hunter has a YouTube video you can watch that may help you use the ruler. (Click here Bonnie Hunter Easy Angle Video). Please note in her tutorial she is using 2", for our quilt we need 4-1/2". But let me tell you it makes fast work of 2-1/2" jelly roll half square triangles WITHOUT WASTE!

Now if you prefer you can take a 5"x5" square, draw a line from corner to corner. Stitch 1/4" from that center line. Cut on the line, press and trim down to 4-1/2" squares. I thought I had taken pictures of that, but clearly I didn't. 

Option 2 that I do have pictures of is using 5"x10" rectangles.

Mark the center line of your lighter fabric (in this case it was my background fabric). I like to fold it in half like this:

Then draw a line on that fold mark (this should be the 5" mark of the rectangle. Using a ruler of some sort (I used a Deb Tucker Magic Wand, but any ruler can do it. Fons & Porter has a half inch wide ruler to do this with too, but my Magic Wand is pink, and well, I find that FUN!) mark 1/4" sewing lines from the center to the lower opposite corner:

and

Place 5"x10" feature fabric and 5"x10" background fabric right sides together and stitch just inside each side of the two lines about a needles width (you need to allow for your marking pen width.): 

Cut the rectangle in half so that you have 2 each 5"x5" squares. 

Then cut BETWEEN the 2 stitch lines.

Open, press, and then square up to 4-1/2" x 4-1/2" squares.

On this project, it doesn't really matter which way you press the seams, so press to the dark side as you normally might. 

Now wasn't using that Easy Angle Ruler easier? I didn't pick up a marking pen once to make perfect 4-1/2" x 4-1/2" squares. Like anything else in quilting, you do what is easiest for you...bottom line? You will need 52 each 4-1/2"x 4-1/2" half square triangles using your feature fabrics and your background fabric(s) for this quilt. Use an assortment of your feature fabrics, the end product quilt will be more fun! 

Oh so you noticed that this week's photo samples aren't the same colors as last week...yes, well I am trying to up the MYSTERY game by switching out my fabrics for the photos...tee hee! There may be one or two of you trying to figure out where I am going with this project, and being sneaky makes it fun. Hint for next week: You will need to have your Deb Tucker V-Block ruler!

See you next Wednesday!

Click here for Stoney's Crew Mystery Quilt fabric and tool requirements.

Fabric & Tools

Click here for Stoney's Crew Mystery Quilt Week 1 Clue

Week 1 Clue

Let's Play with Our Fabric!

My rotary cutter has a sharp, new blade. My bobbins are full. My sewing machine has a new needle. (Yes, I heard a happy sigh from her when I put in a new needle.) If you don't remember the last time you gave your girl a new needle, then it is definitely time to do it! Let's get our mystery started.

We are going to start with easy, peasy 2 patches. Yeah, right...more on that later. (Note you won't need any background fabric(s) this week.)

Let's cut some 2-1/2" strips from our fabric selection. Please, please be generous when cutting your strips. Place that 2-1/2" dot/line marker ON the fabric, not butted up against the fabric edge, but ON THE FABRIC? You will thank me for teaching you to cut this way. I firmly believe that the only reason a quilter needs to master a "scant quarter inch" (whatever that really means) is because they CUT the fabric scanty to begin with.

As you cut the strips of fabric, toss into a bowl. When you cut from Fat Quarters or full width of fabric, sub cut your strips in 10" to 11" lengths to mix it up a bit when you sew.

Now stir your bowl full of fabric up to mix it all up.

What? You prefer shaken, not stirred? OK. Toss them into a big bag, and Shake, Shake, Shake your fabric.  Mix it up, toss it all about. Go ahead do the Hokey Pokey if you want, no judgement here, and it may add steps to your Fitbit for the day.

Choose 2 fabrics out of our bowl (or bag) randomly. Be brave, you can do it! Sew them together lengthwise.

WAIT A MINUTE, that quarter inch seam looks kind of fat. I opened, pressed and measure that first strip. Sure enough my strip set didn't measure 4-1/2"! Dog gone it! People, always do one test drive first. Yep, had I followed my own rule, I wouldn't have gotten the opportunity to commune with my seam ripper.

OK, let's try that again.

Much, much better.

Now that I have created a bunch of strip sets pressed open to 4-1/2" wide, it time to chop, Chop, CHOP! them up! This is where the June Taylor Shape Cutter comes in handy.

See? We will be subcutting the strips in 2-1/2" units. When we are done chopping, you will have lots and lots of 2-1/2" x 4-1/2"  two patch units.

Now if you were really, really wanting to cut up 2-1/2" squares and sewing them into 2-1/2" x 4-1/2" two patch units, you go for it. I'm a bit too lazy today to do that, but I applaud your initiative.

Does it matter which way the strips are pressed? No. Be patient, you will see why in a few weeks.

So how many of these 2-1/2" x 4-1/2" two patch blocks will we need for this project. You would ask that I suppose. This sounds suspiciously like my grade school math nemesis, the Story Problem.

Let's see, if there are a bunch of blocks that each need a bazillion 2 patch units...where is my calculator, my slide rule, or Stoney when I need them?

Well after much cyphering and thinking and rechecking...I multiplied it all by 7 and then took the square root of that to arrive at...… 172 each 2-1/2" x 4-1/2" two patch units.

This is how I keep the units together until assembly time. And just for kicks and giggles, I included in the picture my scrap heap that I generated on this step.

So what was I talking about when I said Yeah, right earlier when cutting my 2-1/2" strips? Remember last week when I told you that if you were are careful cutter you could use a Layer Cake on this project? Yeah, well I was carefully cutting 2-1/2" strips, except on 4 squares I very carefully cut a 3" strip. Next week we will see how we roll with it and get out of that corner I backed myself into.

See you next week!

A Stoney's Crew Mystery...What Will We Find?

I guess you have decided to play along on this mysterious sojourn? That's why you're here, right? Right? If not to actually participate in this adventure, then you are just here to live vicariously thru others OR is it you have always wondered how this ditzy blonde's mind works? Join us as we plow thru this together.

What are the housekeeping details of the who, what, where, and when's of how this will work? The How of this program will be contained in each week's clue. I will tell you that the center of the quilt that I have planned is 60"x60" (ish). I wait until my center fun is together before I decide what kind of borders to add, if any. So depending on how you treat your creation will depend on the final overall size of YOUR quilt.

WHO:

The WHO is YOU! I am not going to tell you what color selections to use in your quilt. I want you to make it YOURS, not a facsimile of mine. This is what I want you to do, go to your fabric stash (or your mom's, or mother-in-law's, or sister's, or aunt's, or friend's, or your local quilt shop) and choose the fabrics that make you smile. {Please note I am not encouraging you to steal from any of these locations, perhaps your friend or family will trade that hideous 1973 Army Green Camo fat quarter for a pink duck 30's? Of course your local quilt shop will trade fat quarters for $$$$.}

Will this work for a 30's reproduction stash? Yes! Will this work for a civil war reproduction stash? Yes! Christmas fabric stash? Yes! What about a modern stash of Kaffe Fassett, solids, Batiks, or a hodge podge of all my stowed away treasure fabrics? Yes, Yes, YES! The secret will be revealed in due time. Choose the fabrics that make YOU happy. The more the merrier.

WHAT (you will need):

Choosing Your Fabric:

A selection of assorted cottons. Some pieces will be 2-1/2", in my case that happens to be the size I use for bindings...and there is always some left over. It is also well known that I am the Princess of Precuts. Translate that moniker to Jelly Roll Junkie with a healthy dose of Layer Cake Lollygagging and Fat Quarter Flavor madness thrown in. How much of any of it? Well...remember we are flying by the seat of my pants, so exact measurements of each fabric and how many different fabrics is totally up to you. This is a stash-buster event. I can tell you that if you have a Jelly Roll and a Layer Cake that play well together you can use them and you will have leftovers, by some standards A LOT of leftovers. Do you have a Layer Cake that you love the fabrics, but you haven't figured out how to use? It may work for this IF all 40 or 42 pieces (every brand of cake is different) of the 10" squares stand out from the color of background that you choose and you are a careful and thrifty fabric cutter. What does THAT mean? Here is an example. You have a large variety of 30's fabrics in addition to your 30's inspired Layer Cake. They play nice together, so you can integrate some of your stash scraps into each week's clue. Remember a Layer Cake isn't just 10" squares, it is about 2-1/2 yards of fabric. If you choose to use Fat Quarters exclusively, 10-12 Fat Quarters will be more than ample fabric. I personally am going to use a Layer Cake augmented with scraps in my stash and 2-3 Fat Quarters integrated, but then I love scrappy looking quilts.

Can this quilt be a two-color quilt? If by 2-color you mean an assortment of fabrics within the same color wave, then yes, it could be.

Like this.

If you mean a SOLID color and a SOLID background, that would mean a whole lot of unnecessary cutting and sewing and a lot less fun along the way.

Background Fabric:

Here is where the mystery magic happens. You will need a total of 2-1/2 to 3 yards of background fabric. This fabric needs to stand out from the colors you choose. Back to the 30's example, if one of the prints in your Layer Cake is a white background, it will not show up against a white background fabric, so you may want to rethink that square OR rethink your background fabric choice.

Does the background fabric need to be a full 2-1/2 to 3 yards of the same fabric?
No. Background fabrics can make your quilt twinkle. And if we want to truly bust your stash, use what you have within a color range or type of fabric. Background Fabric Doesn't Have to be a Solid. It can be, but have some fun.

Mix and match from your scrap stash of tone-on-tone prints, grunge, batiks, or small scale prints. Just keep the overall color within the same family of color.

Will any special tools or rulers be needed?

Yes and no...it depends on what you have in your Ruler Toolbox. During the Bonnie Hunter mystery that I participated in, I had said on several occasions that I was not going to buy another ruler. Well, I bought another ruler during that mystery. So these are the rulers I recommend for this event:

• EZ Quilting (Simplicity) EASY ANGLE RULER (this is the one I bought during the BH mystery)
• Deb Tucker (Studio 180 Design) V-BLOCK RULER
• June Taylor Shape Cutter

Your standard fabric cutting rulers and squares that you are comfortable using to cut and square up your units.

The EZ Angle Ruler is to make half square triangles (HST), and is not required. I will show you several ways to make HST units, but you may want to check them out when we get to that step. I have seen these rulers at quilt shops, JoAnn's and WalMart.

The June Taylor Shape Cutter will make fast work of subcutting some of the units that we will be making, but is not required. I got mine at JoAnn's years ago with a coupon. Many quilt shops also carry them.

The Deb Tucker V-Block Ruler, is the only way I will show you how to make the V-Block (also known as Peaks & Spikes) units that we will be making. Are there other rulers that will do this? Yes; however, this ruler is a ONE piece ruler with all of the measurements on it. You do the cutting and the square up using this ONE ruler. All of the others on the market are 2 piece units. The smaller piece I was always misplacing. I will give you the size of unit to make using other rulers, but make your life easier. Get Deb Tucker's ruler! I have only seen these in Quilt Shops (support your local quilt shop when you can) and was introduced to this line of rulers at Calico Point in Goshen. Last resort for you folks that can't find it, is Amazon, but please, please support your local quilt shops when you can.

Where and When

Ok, I know that this was a hugely, annoyingly, long post, but now you can gather your materials and get ready to start next Wednesday, May 22 for the first clue. I will post a new clue every week, until there are no more!

A Stoney’s Crew Mystery is Coming Soon!

It has been a while...ok let’s be honest years since I penned anything for your reading pleasure (? ok so maybe that is a bit optimistic) consumption...so hang in there a couple of days while I get my dust bunnies organized and figure out what’s what and where what’s at now that I have decided to partake in this mystery crazy idea I had.  I’ll be back soon!