I have to admit, I’ve had to massage my brain a little more than I would have wanted this week as the hot summer weather begs me to step outside and enjoy outdoor activities. I tend a small garden right outside my front door, and I haven’t finished settling it the way I planned to since May – this too is a work in progress. But as there are several steps in quilting to finish a quilt, so too are there several steps in gardening. Patience is a virtue for those creative souls who endeavor in beautiful things.
For a couple of weeks now, mom and I had been looking at many books, magazines and websites for ideas on quilting patterns for the baby quilts we’d like to have finished by end of July (stop laughing). In two, it’s double the determination and focus! As I always say, quilting, and as in all of the needle arts, isn’t ever a race, but in this case we’re trying to finish these two quilts in time for baby’s arrival.
I had mom choose the pattern this time and she’s fallen in love with the following quilt block from the creative and very practical book 500 quilt blocks by Lynne Goldsworthy and Kerry Green.
Having never made Quarter Square Triangles I thought it best to try it using scrap fabrics and work out the kinks from there. If making Half Square Triangles isn’t hard surely making QST should be just as easy.
This quick sample of the quilt block is also a great way to see color-work before it gets sewn up.
The points matched up nicely, but some of my squares aren’t precise squares? I found an excellent Quarter Square Triangles tutorial from Elaine Theriault’s blog post that helped me sort out a little of my newbie mystery. Here are a couple of things I learned about my first samples of QST:
- Don’t rush QSTs. This one I realized on my own, as I felt rushed when I was cutting the squares, just something in the air.
- Press the HST on the right side to avoid any tuck along the seam! I pressed on the wrong side.
- Make sure the ends are well pressed too – will definitely try this as well.
- I didn’t start with a 1¼ʺ extra in my square and this would have been useful for squaring up the square in the end including ½ʺ for seams.
We also need to decide which fabric to use for the squares and which should be used for making the QSTs. More thoughts on this next week, with squared up QSTs. Wish me luck!
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