TINY HSTs: Trim Technique with BlocLoc Ruler

First, please let me explain why I have been MIA for six days. It has been my birthday week with lots of celebrations and doings. . . now we return you to our regularly scheduled blogging. . . lol

Ruler on pink fabric so you can see it better

Have you tried the relatively new BlocLoc rulers? They are really amazing. Love the accuracy! A short demo vid to watch is HERE.  Sew tonight I was making little 1.5 inch HST and thought I'd share a few photos with you:

Align 'frosted' grove on diagonal seam - trim first two sides

Rotate ruler, slide down to desired size - final trim of last two sides

better with print center... or...

is it better with the Pink center???

Last Wednesday morning as I took a quick leap into the front yard to grab my newspaper -- I was still in my jammies -- up pulled the FedEx truck with a box. The most delightful little Orchid planted in a pink polka-dot latte cup was inside! Surprise. So fun. You know who you are... and thank you again very much!

Until next time. . . I will be printing shapes on fabric with Inklingo and working on the COTSG Mystery. What are YOU up to?

Check out what others are doing: linking to Connie at Free Motion by the River.

Quilty Hugs,

WHICH CENTER LOOKS BEST???

Finished FP-PPing the Twirly Dresden. Now it needs a center. Which one do you like best... the black or the mottled color?? BTW, I noticed something when taking the pics: by just rotating the color circle in the center, the whole thing looks different. Color and how it works just amazes me!

 

Just an FYI: if you ever tear your FP while you are working, don't despair. Tear off some bits of FP from scraps and press them on... works just like tape except better. Tape can gunk up one's iron.

Thanks again to Vicki for sharing her drawing. Please CLICK HERE to see Vicki's post and view her great drawing! Which, btw, she is kindly offering as a FREE download. Thanks, Vicki!

That's all for tonight. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you'll leave a comment about which circle you like best... I'm having trouble making up my mind and would appreciate your opinion. Thank you.  Until next time. . .

Quilty Hugs,

RAINBOW SCRAPPY SATURDAY13 - PURPLE!

Purple is a great color, don't cha think? I love it but must confess that I don't use it very often. Hmmm, I wonder why? Do you have colors that you like but don't seem to use? Maybe I have gotten too comfy with certain colors and have painted myself into a limited 'color box'. Sorry 'bout the pun; couldn't help it. lol

This block is PP'd using the FP-on-top method... one of my faves. I have some odd bits of batik in purple and black - hope I don't run out before the block is finished. The pic below shows the shape this block will take when complete. Vicki, of Quilting Lodge fame, is generously sharing her drawing with everyone. Check out Vicki's blog HERE to get your own copy. Thank you so much, Vicki!

Linky Party:  To see what others are up to with Purple this month,  have a visit with SoScrappy. Thank you, Angela for hosting this fun Challenge again this year!

Until next time. . . hope you enjoyed your little visit here and will return soon and often.  Now I'm off to bed for as Scarlett said,  "..tomorrow is another day."  Meanwhile... what are YOU up to this weekend?

Quilty Hugs,

GIVE-A-WAY & A Nifty Corner Technique

Today I'd like to share with you one of the ways I snowball a square: I use my B-60 C-Thru Ruler b/c it is thin and a drawn line is more accurate. I lay the ruler exactly point-2-point diagonally across the smaller square and draw a line with a .005 Micron Pen. The tip of this pen is very fine but "off sets" the line by a tiny smidge. This smidge is important.  Now just stitch "right ON the line" you drew and your corner will be perfect... NO fudging is needed.  I use this technique when accuracy is really important, otherwise I give the little square a casual finger press and sew next to the pressed line.

Marking diagonal line to snowball a square

 

After stitching, press seam flat to set the stitches and fold over to create the perfect corner - both grainlines will remain true. Trim excess 1/4" away from stitching line.  But, unless I am in a big hurry, I usually stitch a second time 1/2" away from the first line to create tiny HSTs to throw into my Crumb Box.

This technique produces a square corner

Now it's back to the machine to snowball a few more squares for a placemat project.

A new Give-A-Way is happening over at the Quilting Lodge blog. Go have a look see and check out the great quilt Vickie just quilted on her LA. Good luck, everyone!

 Vickie asked what our favorite notion is and although I have more than just one, a current fave is absolutely hands-down the Clover Needle Threader. It makes easy work out of threading a size11 needle and sure helps these old eyes.  What's your fave notion???

Needle Threader by Clover - great notion!

Until next time. . . what are YOU working on today???

Quilty Hugs,

YO-YO HEARTS 4 MINI

A little bling never hurts, so I'm making a few YoYo hearts for the Friendship Mini. I hadn't made these in so long I had to get out the directions.

Fabric and Heart Maker Tool by Clover ArtNo.8704

Stitching completed - popped out of disc/plate

First heart - just pull up the stitching thread and ease into shape

2nd Heart: secure thread by taking a small tuck to improve shape. Not a part of package instructions, but improv is always good, eh?

2nd Heart - this one has a little tuck in the back, then secure thread end

You be the judge: do you like Heart #1 or Heart #2 better? Does it really matter? Do they both look like hearts? There might be tiny little beads in the center of the hearts when I stitch them on the quilt - the washable kind.

So, this is what I am working on today. Hope to finish it by tonight. Until next time. . . . what are you making today?

Quilty Hugs,