I am in awe! I thought the original fabric was hideous and your turned it into a real beauty. I am amazed by your skills. 
3 Likes
Ha! It really was horrible. I mean in the 90s when I bought it, it was lovely, but fabric really dates.
3 Likes
Have any of you guys used the bloc lock ruler? I saw a post online raving about it for HST and fancied buying a 6.5*6.5 one, until I saw the price on Amazon over here. Approx $69 for one ruler 
I assume they’re not that expensive in the US, but are they any good?
1 Like
Wow! The transformation of the fabric is amazing.
Now I see how you got so many quilts done last year! It was only three days ago that you posted the uncut fabric and said you were thinking of doing a one block wonder - three days from consideration to quilt top completion!!
I have a 6.5” BlocLoc ruler. I have never made HSTs without it, so I can’t say much on if it makes things easier or anything, but I imagine it does (though it takes me forever to trim HSTs, even with the ruler). We did a lot of HSTs for the Morewood Mystery Quilt and the host of the QAL posted this helpful video. It has a helpful hint for pressing the HSTs as well as a part about the BlocLoc ruler (I imagine Amazon saw quite the spike after she shared the video).
1 Like
Do you have a feel for if it’s significantly better than a standard 6.5" square? People (on Reddit) were saying that the blocLoc with a rotary cutting mat makes HST a breeze.
That is so fantastical & wondrous!!!
I think it is probably significantly better. Instead of the ruler laying on top of the seam in a way where it can rock back and forth, the middle part of the ruler is notched and it locks onto the seam. The notch also makes it easy to slide the ruler along the seam as needed to trim everything.
I checked on Etsy and found this listing, which would cost $40.75 with shopping to Ireland.
4 Likes
Thanks for that, that’s the best price I’ve seen so far
1 Like
Haven’t used it but couldn’t you just glue a piece of clear acrylic on half of the ruler to make the non-seam allowance side higher than the other one so the seam doesn’t cause that rocking?
That’s a really good idea. I’m not sure I can bring myself to spend over $40 on a ruler, because it would be liable for customs charges of another$20 or so, if it got stopped by customs. (Insane i know!) I’m thinking if I got two identical cheap ones from AliExpress, I could cut one in half and create a high and low side. Worth a try right?
And as it happens, I discovered the other day, I have three identical 15cm sq (about 6") rulers. Time to dig out the trusty Dremel tomorrow and have a go!
3 Likes
I couldn’t spend like that either, I mean, each ruler is only good for ONE block! LOL, no. You can buy acrylic sheets and cut them yourself, easy enough to epoxy a half sheet to one side and scratch/scribble on some measurements I’d think.
I’m wondering if I could just cut out a groove in an existing one with the Dremel. The blocLoc has just a groove right? Not one complete side thinner than the other?
I can buy a 6" ruler on AliExpress (metric dimension, but a bit of tape would delineate the inches I needed) for about 2$
It’s midnight, I am not getting out of bed now to play with my Dremel.
4 Likes
So glue a piece along both sides, 1cm between them to make it perfect. I can do that, I’ll try it out.
1 Like
I’m the one building a larger home this spring. We moved across Canada in August and are living in our 160 sq. ft. cabin until we build.
That’s also why I haven’t been ‘feeling’ this quilt. The next pieces I have to cut are larger than my craft space so I have to be creative in how to cut them. I’m not complaining though, we moved here to be closer to our kids and grand kids and there’s very little restrictions on our island province so we see them lots.
5 Likes
Yes, it’s called Black Tie Affair by Margie Ullery. I got it from a QuiltMaker Magazine in 2014. Margie owns The Ribbon Candy Quilt Company and I’ve made many of her Skinnie Quilts but didn’t make the connection to this pattern until this week when I was looking it over again. I can’t see it for sale on her website so maybe it was exclusive to the magazine. I’ve made the original black and white version and thought it would make a beautiful quilt with Christmas fabrics.
3 Likes
Thank you so much! I tried to find pix of the cross section online, but couldn’t, that’s really really helpful x
1 Like
Did you only get 4 hours sleep??
I received five 1/4-inch quilting feet from Amazon - I only ordered one.
So if anyone needs a 1/4-inch foot, I have 4 extra. I am happy to share.
3 Likes