Yes, I use it for all sizes up to 6.5”. If you bought the largest ruler, which is 12.5” then you could square HSTs from 1” (or even smaller I suppose, but that’d just be nuts, lol) all the way up to 12.5”. The rulers have 1/8” increments. The downside to buying a ruler that large would be the cost and cumbersome nature of having such a large ruler if you’re only doing small HSTs. Personally, I’ve found the 6.5” ruler to be sufficient, but I don’t do a lot of HSTs.
Didn’t you make your own bloc-loc ruler a few years ago with AliExpress rulers?
I did, (you have an excellent memory!) and tbh I haven’t used it much. It’s kinda cumbersome. I think I’ll try 3d printing one-once I learn how- and see if I’ll use it. I am given to falling for new shiny things
I dislike this wanderers wife pattern intensely-but love the quilt. This is the most egregiously stupid instruction. Firstly 7/8” of inches FFS. And cut two but only use one, with no suggestion that the other is going to be used anywhere else. I’m prepared for someone to tell me, “Edel, you’re just being dense, this is why” but right now, it’s stupid
Love your scrappy start. I’ve always been intrigued by this pattern, but I am so bad at following patterns due to 1. Not reading them fully and 2. Dyslexia. If it can be put together wrong, I will do it…twice!
Lol, I remembered all about your crafted bloc-loc and Immaculata’s Farmer’s Wife Sampler, yet somehow manage to forget about half of my own fabrics and projects .
You now have me curious on that pattern as well. What’s the point of cutting two if you’re only going to use one? My mom had purchased some quilt pattern from Facebook and it also used that same ‘logic’ of instructing that you cut out more than you’d actually use. It doesn’t make sense to me.
@marionberries, your quilt is out of this world! Seriously, I love all the star blocks and the configuration that you came up with. Beautiful work!
@AIMR, your blue and white quilt is looking great! I love the two tone approach.
@jellybean, it sounds like you deserve an adulting award! Kudos to you for getting all the yard work done. My big problem with crafting is that once I get seriously involved in creating, the rest of the stuff (as in housework) falls to the wayside. I have this mentality of I just need to finish this (whatever craft) and then I can get all the stuff around the house done. In the meantime, the piles and piles of laundry (at least clean, just not put away) become bigger and bigger mountains to climb and the clutter everywhere else starts to accumulate into what feel like insurmountable masses. And then I finish my craft, only for another ‘I just need to get it done’ project to come up .
This sounds like a good idea! Especially if it makes the project more enjoyable for you.
@MistressJennie, I’m glad your hand motion and strength are improving! Good luck on your class next week.
@Immaculata, I’m excited that you’re going to become an aunt. I’m looking forward to seeing your baby quilt. I had forgotten about your hexie quilt. Do you plan binding by hand? It will be glorious once it’s finished!
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I like your approach better than mine…I tend to reward myself after doing an adulting task with doing a crafting project.
@AudiobookLover Yeah, I am completely discombobulated about where the year has gone. It feels like everyone has spiky, tiring stuff going on. I am glad we have this space to share quilty chat and support each other. I haven’t been checking in as much as I wanted as I have been exhausted and having dumb tech problems*.
@MistressJennie good luck with the teaching. I agree with @AIMR that it’s important not to get hung up on perfection when you’re learning; that’s a trap I’ve fallen into and it is hard to get out of. It’s stopped me learning new blocks for months now.
My tip is to make notes to help yourself. I have an atrocious working memory so I write down the size of the current piece I’m cutting, to try to minimise the chance of me cutting it wrong. And if I do, I try to be kind to myself and think of it as a useful piece of fabric for a future project, rather than the worst mistake ever.
When I stop sewing for the night, I often write down what the next step is going to be, so I can pick up easily the next time I get time.
I also rewrite instructions in a way that makes sense for me and keep a craft room bullet journal with project notes so I don’t have to try to remember what a project entailed.
*I use the Microsoft SwiftKey keyboard app but on my iPad, it covers most of the text input box, and then when I switch to the default keyboard, the cursor jumps up and down and the thread is scrolling underneath the semi-transparent keyboard. I have just figured out that going back to the Home Screen and back into the web browser fixes it. And on my android phone, the way the text aligns round the images in portrait mode makes titles hard to read. Basically a burnout overwhelm has made my tolerance of tech glitches minimal. But I might have figured it out.
One reason I’ve been putting it off is I don’t really want to think about how to bind this monster ….
I usually machine bind using that amazing tutorial by @MareMare . This whole quilt was handstitched, so binding by hand would be more appropriate. But is it me or is binding by hand not as durable? I’ve done it before but the stitching often seems to come loose. I guess that’s where you pull when you use the quilt and machine stitches are sturdier? So I guess I’m going to cheat and use the machine. But machine binding isn’t going to be easy either. My sewing table is quite small, when sewing bigger projects I pull it away from the wall so the bit I’ve sewed can hang between the desk and the wall. But my hexie project is so big and heavy it might topple my machine. I think I’ll need to clear out the dining table, set up the machine in the corner and lay out the quilt over the whole table. Just making the binding itself would be quite a lot of work, I’ll need around 10 yards! I’ll have quite a long break over Christmas, so it’s on the list for then.
I recognize your way of crafting! We’re still in the middle of that endless renovation project and we’re always in the middle of some big thing. And there are always mountains of clutter and housework and tools piling up while we’re trying to finish the latest thing. Right now I haven’t been able to craft for weeks because we’re working on the bedroom and all the stuff is piled up everywhere. The endless mess is the main reason why I’ve been focused on sock knitting and cross stitch for the last couple of years. I keep those in a small project bag on the couch by the TV.
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I certainly have reduced the size of most of my projects as I’ve gotten older. It is too unwieldly to move around or support a large project. I don’t have the strength or the energy. I also am reducing a lot of crafts that take a lot of supplies that I have to keep pulling out and putting away.
That being said, I am going to cut out and make binding for three or four of the quilts I have in progress. Winter seems to be the best time for me to quilt. I’ll still do a bunch of smaller quilty things like blocks and pouches, placemats, mug rugs, etc.
Fourth Quarter Challenge:
Quilt something using your favorite fabric (this can be your favorite of the fabrics you have in stash or maybe you can use this as your reason for purchasing your ultimate ‘gotta have it’ fabric). If you have multiple favorites, you have more options. If you don’t have a favorite, then just use a fabric that you really like. The basic point of this challenge is to “Use the good stuff,” as Edel would say.
Goal List:
There’s still plenty of time to complete your end of year goals! If you haven’t already, feel free to share your quarterly goals with us. Remember, you earn a point toward a prize for every goal you complete. If you’ve already shared your goals, don’t forget you’re welcome to add to your list any time you come up with a new goal you’d like to complete!
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(Linda -In the year 2025, I am happy to be alive! :us:)
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Is there a way to make those blocks 12 inch blocks?
I could not find that specific block in 12", but I did find a different Arrowhead block with instructions on how to make a 12" version. I will update the BOM with the new block.
I like that block. I’ve been working on a stained glass piece for the last couple of days. It’s from glass that I bought nearly 40 years ago, as scrap. And the piecing it together really reminded me of improv piecing
It’s my basement quilt. That was like. 12 years ago. Good remembering.
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(Linda -In the year 2025, I am happy to be alive! :us:)
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I loved making blocks for you. You had the best colors and blocks and challenged me to think outside of the “traditional” style of quilting. The words quilt was another favorite. I have a box somewhere of all those past blocks patterns all of us swapped. Fond memories!
Me just now: “I wish I knew how to quit you” I keep adding more fabric on to the edges of bits so I can get another bookmark out of them. I’ve got 16 in the basket.
I think I’m not allowed to get any more scraps out of my stash… or I’ll be here forever
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Seriously, I love all the star blocks and the configuration that you came up with. Beautiful work!
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I keep adding more fabric on to the edges of bits so I can get another bookmark out of them. I’ve got 16 in the basket.