A little scrap piecing

I have spent a lot of time thinking about what I want my next big project will be. I heard someone describe this as having a project that takes up a large portion of your mind, as opposed to something that you can basically do in your sleep.

So, while I was waiting and thinking, I knew that it was important to keep my hands busy with some type of fiber work. I looked thru lots of scrap quilt ideas and found Bonnie Hunter’s “Carolina Chain”…..

I liked the sparkle in the quilt and decided to give it a try. I pulled out all of my 2 inch strips and started cutting blocks.

As I put them up on the design wall, I just wasn’t impressed!!!

It didn’t have her sparkle and, frankly, I didn’t have the fabrics that I would need to make it have that special feeling.

SO…..instead of turning it into a Queen size quilt, I decided to make it a smaller Charity quilt.

I did like it better after I added the deep blue setting triangles…..

It needed that dark edge to pull the design back into the center.

But, I think that the addition of the final border made a huge difference…..

I like it much better now, but not enough to keep on making them!!!

If you want to give it a try, it is a simple pattern that you can access on the C&T website

But, there is an upside…..I THINK that I have figured out what my next “full brain” project will be!!!

Stay Tuned……..

Bonnie knows best!!!

You know how it is…..you have done one task in the same way for years and years and years, and someone tells you another way to do it. Your first thought is “nah…that wont work” and so you continue on in your old way. Well, let me tell you my story……

I hate making Half-square triangles, and I have tried EVERY WAY possible. I started out by cutting the squares 7/8” larger than the finished size, cutting thru the diagonal and then trying to sew the triangles together with a correct 1/4 inch seam. The points would jam under the needle, my seam allowance would vary and it NEVER worked!!!!

Then, I started placing two (7/8” larger) squares together, drawing the diagonal line and then sewing 1/4 inch on each side of the line. I would cut them in half, press and behold….they were NEVER the right size.

SO, I joined the ranks of people who would cut the squares too big, sew on the diagonals, cut, press and THEN use a ruler to square-up the patches to the correct size. This process provided for perfect size squares, but it was very time intensive.

Enough history….. move onto current events…..in the last couple of weeks, I have just wanted to sew. It didn’t matter what I was working on, but I just needed to feel the fabric, see the stitches and use my rotary cutter!!! So, I turned to Bonnie Hunter’s website and selected one of her scrap quilt patterns to work on. This is Nine Patch Split…..

Since my plan is to make it much bigger, the first thing that I needed were 500+ half-square triangles. Well, I almost stopped right there!!!! But in Bonnie’s instructions, she told how to use the “Easy Angle II” ruler to make 1/2 square triangles .

Since I had the ruler already, I decided to give it a try…..just to prove to myself that it wouldn’t work!!!!!

These are the steps that you use….

Cut strips of fabric that are the finished block size plus 1/2 inch. Place them face sides together.

Use the Easy Angle to cut one triangle “thingy”……

Then flip the ruler to the other side and cut another…….

Sew the shapes together with a 1/4 inch seam allowance

and….VOILA…..perfect sized 1/2 square triangles (you just have to clip that one point)!!!!!!

I also found that if I was chain piecing and started sewing with the pointed end of the triangle and ended on the cut off point it was easier to start the next triangle.

So, in a very short time I made hundreds of half square triangles!!!!!

THEN, I read in her instructions about keeping the “chains” together until after they were pressed. Again, I thought…..”no, no, no”. But once again the practical side of my brain said “why don’t you give it a try” and once again, BONNIE WAS RIGHT!!!!!

If you place the chains on your ironing board, they line up beautifully for pressing and I found that it was WAY faster and easier to do.

(note here that it is NOT easy to iron with your left hand and take a photo with your right)

So here I say THANK YOU BONNIE for making my life easier and for providing such wonderful hints and instructions!!!!!

Bonnie Hunter was amazing!!!

Yesterday, I visited the Hall County Quilt Guild in Gainesville, Georgia where Bonnie Hunter was speaking. I have followed her blog for almost a year and am also a big fan of her website.

As far as I am concerned, she is the QUEEN of scrap quilting and has a wonderful “scrap saver system” where you cut your scraps into specific sizes of strips, squares and bricks. Then, you can use those scraps to make wonderful quilts….she even gives the FREE patterns on her website!!!

Early in the year, I became interested in trying to clean up my scraps and then make use of them and I have been working on my scraps for about the last 6 months. My basket started out looking like this……