Squares and Half Square Triangles - A Quilt Block Tutorial

Do you remember this jacket that I bought for my eldest last autumn?! I wanted to copy that design into a quilt ever since. May is my month in our bee and here is the oppertunity to finally use the design.

I made up this block using only Half Square Triangles (HST) and squares. The plain squares are a 3” size. For the HST I cut 3,5” squares.

I am sure my fellow Sew-Euro-bee-ans know perfectly well how to sew HSTs but I thought I could as well shoot some step-by-step photos.

For those HSTs take two 3,5” squares, place them right sides together and draw a diagonal line from one corner to the opposite one.

Sew next to the marked line, using a 1/4 inch seam allowance. Turn and sew along the other side.

Your square should now look like this:

Cut along the marked line:

Press the seams to one side (you could also press the seams open if you like it better that way. It certainly decreases the amount of bulk in the following steps – but I’m a lazy girl so I pressed the seams to one side (o:). Afterwards square up to 3” size, lining up your 45° mark of your ruler with the centre seam.

Repeat.

Then lay out the HST blocks and the plain squares in a nice mix of values. Afterwards assemble the rows using a 1/4 inch seam allowance

When assembling the rows I never cut the thread so the rows are kept in place by the connecting threads.

Afterwards press the seams to one side – alternating the direction every other row.

Sew the rows together and you are done:

In case you might be wondering about my choice of colours: I always wanted to make a solids-only quilt and I always wanted a quilt that matches our orange couch and the light yellow walls (BTW, I’d never buy an orange couch again…). But I never found something pleasing that matches the exact colours of our room – so being princess bee in May is a wonderful occasion to ask for blocks I can unite in a lovely memory quilt that will be used every day.

Dear Sew-Euro-bee-ans, thank you very much for sewing these blocks for me. They finish at 13” so they are 0,5” bigger than what we stated in our guidelines. But making my master block I realized that it was so much easier to cut 3” squares than 2 7/8”" inch squares… I hope that’s o.k. for you, Ladies!

Have fun and happy sewing!
Christine

Another first…

I finally gave Flying Geese a try! And… well… I am hooked! It was so much fun to play with! My first try at Flying Geese is not done yet (I ran out of fabric for the binding and am still waiting for more). Yet I immediately started a second project.

I’m working as an controller/ accountant IRL and always have a hard time keeping my papers in order and my desk clean-ish. So I got myself a new organizer. One with a 31-days-index. A dull grey one. So I took it home to make a nice cover. A great excuse to use my Charm Pack of bright solids and some dark blue yardage.

I admit that I pretty much enjoyed making those flying geese – even if they are far from perfect. Maybe I should have followed a tutorial instead of making things up on my own?! If someone is able to direct me to a flying geese tutorial please speak up and leave me a comment, I’d appreciate it very much!!!

As I still consider myself a beginner (though slightly advanced and very confident), there are constantly new things that I try – and I was recently directed to Celtic Thistle Stitches’ Linky-Party. On 25th of each month everyone who tried a new technique or craft is invited to share their projects. So if you have tried something new this month, I guess I’ll see you there?!

Happy Sewing!
Christine