While sorting bins of stuff (minimizing!) I rediscovered some quilting books (pamphlets, more like) that my aunt wrote. Mom taught me to sew clothes, MaryLou taught me to quilt & embroider. She came from a long line of Missouri quilters & married into our phlegmatic Minnesota Swedish family, and brought a lot of bustling warmth & Southern happiness.
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Oh wow, that is really neat!
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I immediately looked her up and found another booklet on Ebay! Very cool, what a treasure to uncover in your stash.
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Done!
A link to @MistressJennieās helpful HST hints can now be found at the top in the helpful tips & tricks section.
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Iām glad people found it helpful! Itās funny what some of us take for granted as common knowledge can be mind blowingly helpful to other crafters. I love getting to share information with other members, and in return learn so much I never knew from them!
Meanwhile, for those of you who are still having wonky blocks and want to trim all the way around, rather than trim just two sides, I updated my post above with a second (pretty similar) tutorial for that.
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And for everyone who canāt afford one of those cool pop-up irons just yetā¦ You can get a silicone iron rest for about $6. Just leave your iron laying on it, rather than standing up, where it could so easily tip over with pets and kids running around. They come in various colors, for full size irons and mini irons.
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I never knew I needed a pop up iron until nowā¦wowā¦I have a mini one that I just bought because I saw it on a Missouri Quilt videoā¦but, this is a game changer for meā¦need to see if it shuts off automaticallyā¦one of my irrational fears is leaving the iron on and leaving the houseā¦all my irons and appliances have auto shut offsā¦
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Well thatās awesome. I think I need an ironing board firstā¦
Seriously, itās the dark ages over here. 
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What? Donāt you iron your sheets and underwear? 
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The perils of being a metric girl in an imperial world. I feel that.
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Thank you so much for such a clear, and detailed tutorial! I have never been able to wrap my head around this before.
And, my mom has one of those pop-up irons. Every time I use it, I still stand it on its end. Itās a hard habit to break! But, itās a pretty cool feature, albeit a pricey oneā¦ so that silicone mat idea is a good, inexpensive alternative!
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Which mini did you get and do you like it? I have 2 full sized boards and one mini, a very good iron (that still isnāt good enough after using a steam iron at school!) and a mini iron that can barely crease paper, lol. Iām always on the lookout for improvements, pressing well is one of the joys of life, I just love it.
Yes! I want a mini (I have plans to top my craft cart with an ironing mat). Given the size of my crafting space, a mini would fit right in! But seems size may matter hereā¦
I hate ironing. The only thing I press is seams when sewing, I have a high tolerance for wrinkles. If lovely hubby wants ironed shirts, he has to do them himself.
@aimr I was so tempted by those pop up irons, but I couldnāt find them in our 220V mind you I didnāt look too hard
I donāt mind ironing as long as itās one thing at a time. My mother loved ironed pillowcases and guess who actually ironed them? My sister and I. Itās sort of meditative. I told or hang things out of the dryer so not much ironing these daysā¦unless Iām quilting!
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I Marionberries submit this as my March BOM entry.
The gallery
And an attempt at my house, with solar panels, but it isnāt what I was going for, so I am planning another.
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Your March BOM is gorgeous, and I just love how all of your blocks are looking together!
And, I like how you used star (solar) print fabric for your solar panels. But, it does give it more of a window effect (that would be a fabulous view out of some skylights, however!).
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I didnāt know you had solar panels! So cool!
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This is so helpful! Thank you for putting that together for us. Iām excited to try another block with these techniques. I know for sure I was probably stretching things all willy-nilly. May I have corners as crisp and lined up as yours one day! 
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Not yet, installation starts the end of March on the solar panels. But we have all the approvals and permits!
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