Monday, March 28, 2011

How many?

The weekend involved much of what I had anticipated  - lots of sewing - although working my way through these little units was in fact more work than I had initally estimated.


A whole lot of repetition; stitching small batches of squares at a time, cutting, pressing and ...



... a whole lot of trimming.  Grit. Your. Teeth. And just get it done!

I am a fastidious trimmer and make oversize patchwork units/block and trim each and every one back to the exact correct size.  Patchwork piecing is so much more enjoyable when blocks and quilt tops come together without the stress and frustration of different size blocks.  The smaller the block the less margin for error, and these are particularly small blocks.  It is how I prefer to work whenever possible.

How many Half Square Triangles?  In excess of 600.  Call me a little crazy, I don't mind.

Rita

49 comments:

  1. OK ... you're a little crazy
    ;-)

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  2. Your a lot crazy but that why we love you.
    And your pretty mess.

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  3. Love all those little HST's!!

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  4. Holy moly, woman - please just sit down for half a second while I make you a cup of tea?

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  5. Do you have any plans for those off-cuts? A friend of mine used to collect cut off threads because then they were all bunched together and placed behind a sheer fabric to make a lovely pattern. You could do something similar....

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  6. Wow! Is it solids only? I can't wait to see it!

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  7. So many HST! You have lots of patience and a high boredom thresh-hold. Looking forward to seeing what you make with these.

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  8. It has taken me about five years of patchwork to learn the lesson of trimming back. Great lesson learned at last, and my patchwork is so much nicer for it!

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  9. Wow! You much be crazy! Wink, wink. But your quilts always come out looking amazing~!!! So I guess its just a small price to pay. Can't wait to see the finished quilt!

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  10. No way your crazy! When I do small stuff and trim I find it almost meditative with it's consistent repetition. Looks great!

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  11. Cute little HST blocks - can't wait to see the whole quilt. I do love the offcuts though!

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  12. Wow!! Can't wait to see the finished quilt!!

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  13. Not crazy just extremely motivated. Your hard work will pay off. I can't wait to see the quilt when it is finished.

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  14. I put scraps I have trimmed outside and found that the birds used them to build into their nests. It was so much fun to watch the fabric and colors come alive again.

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  15. your trimmings look like a pile of noodles!:D love those colours though....what will the end product be like, I wonder?

    Nicky

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  16. it might be a lot of pieces but it will be gorgeous when done. I too tend to make my units larger than needed and then square up - I can not make a perfect block if my life depended on it.
    Karen
    http://karensquilting.com/blog/

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  17. I agree that the smaller the square the more accurate the size and cutting needs to be. I'm currently doing some HST that are 2" before sewing. Those are some small squares and will have a lot of sewing and cutting in my future! It's definitely a long-term project for me!

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  18. Those scraps look so lovely! And so do your squares - look forward to seeing the end product!

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  19. ah, trimming! can't stand doing it, but i should start. seems like your quilts are so much more squared than mine!

    happy sewing!

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  20. love the HST's.. and the lil trimmings.

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  21. Wow, 600 is an impressive number! I agree with you - trimming is tedious, but well worth the effort!

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  22. Can't wait to see what comes of all those trimmings. I love the color. As always, I am interested to see what you create. :)

    www.ellisonlane.blogspot.com

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  23. Whew! Over 600...and I've been wondering what to do with the measly 200 I have!

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  24. Yeah, you're crazy! :-)
    The one HST quilt I made a year ago was enough for me! And I have no idea how many blocks I used but nowhere near 600, to be sure!

    They're really lovely, and I look forward to seeing the top done! You're a machine! hehe

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  25. Crazy Crazy like a fox! Can't wait to see them sewn together :)

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  26. Oh, I can't wait to see the product of your insanity ;)

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  27. winderfull are your modern Quilts, so funny and lucky they look, excuse my englisch
    Frauke of North germany

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  28. Actually, sounds so wonderfully restful, the repetition especially! I think I need another tiny patchwork project...

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  29. I was wondering if you had a great tip or trick to cutting your squares accurately to the size you want? That would be so very helpful!!

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  30. That is what I was doing last night, I took mine and made them into pin wheels. They were all leftover triangles from a quilt along I just finished that had tons of flying geese in all the blocks.

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  31. Oh boy I can't wait to see these made up and you are NOT crazy. Just a perfectionist and there is nothing wrong with that. And neat too. I LOVE neat.

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  32. Oh I love how the little trimmings look!! Even though it is a lot of work, so worth it!! :D I think as soon as you accept that it's going to take a long time, it becomes more enjoyable!! At least for me!!

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  33. The precision in your quilting has awed and amazed me not to mention how fast you are at it.
    Your little comment about making the pieces bigger and cutting them down to the exact size makes so much sense to me - something I probably would never have thought of on my own. Thank you.

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  34. So that is why your points always look so perfect, trimming! That is one of the many things I enjoy about seeing your quilts. Thanks for all you share with us.

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  35. It may have required teeth-gritting, but the results look like a party (streamers and confetti).

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  36. Crazy YES! Do you need a therapist? I do however look forward to seeing what it all turns in to.

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  37. 600! Wow, you must have had some GOOD music on.

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  38. Crazy? No -more of a perfectionist! and my lovely giveaway arrived safely yesterday. Thank you!

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  39. Beautiful work, Rita! I can't wait to see the finished quilt!

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  40. I'm not calling you anything but...inspiring!

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  41. Exactly how I like to do HSTs... make them big then trim to size. :) You're not crazy at all ;)
    Love your pictures, you even make the trimmings look exciting :) Very inspiring!

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  42. Love the dish of fabric spaghetti!

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  43. Love reading your blog.
    Love the coloured spaghetti!

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  44. Learned the trimming lesson the hard way... I just finished my first triangle/square quilt top for my little sister and man was it a pain. Let's just say that each teeny tiny piece was NOT the same exact size.

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  45. What a beautiful process. So bright and cheery. Makes me want spring to come...

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  46. I taught quilting for 20 years and I always had my students make their half square triangles too big and then trim down. I learned that the hard way, too.
    Lisa

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  47. Once I made an entire quilt (about 80x85) of 1" finished half square triangles. It took forever! I used triangles on the roll (you know, the paper that you sew on?). I would cut them and throw them into the spaghetti pot and then have my 6 & 8 year olds "tear" the paper off of each tiny unit while they were watching PBS. It was a beautiful quilt! Triangles can be tedious, but are always worth it... I love reading your blog, thanks for sharing!

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  48. You're a lot crazy, but a lot creative! Love the sprout fabric and can't wait until new colors come out. Maybe I'll get a lot crazy & creative, too :)

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