I haven’t drawn diagonal lines since I got the 1/4" tape, but I feel your pain! 
Didn’t the pattern suggest using it to make all of those? At least you got to ponder life’s mysteries…ha ha ha
3 Likes
I bought this laser specifically to avoid that…and have yet to use it. But that’s only because I haven’t done many HSTs lately. I saw the laser being demonstrated at a quilt show and was pretty impressed by it!
2 Likes
I also saw a demo on this and was going to figure out if I was going to do enough HSTs to justify it. The tape method is working well for me, but not if you do two at a time…a laser would be best for that so you could sew 1/4 inch on each side of the laser, so maybe that would be another consideration.
2 Likes
I’ve drawn a bunch of lines lately for my niece’s quilt and I don’t mind it that much. I sit at my desk with a ruler and a pencil and turn on some series on my laptop that’s easy to follow.
I also saved the cut-off triangles and I’m sewing these into pinwheel blocks right now. I’m surprised at how easy it was even though they’re cut on the bias. They ended up a bit more irregular so lots of trimming involved, but again, sit at desk, episode of something, and you’re done in no time at all.
I should really have double stitched them like you did (I think?) but my brain cells were already at full capacity putting together the star blocks, I was afraid I was going to use the wrong HSTs, so I just set aside the triangles to piece them later.
2 Likes
The tape doesn’t work for me because of the placement of my bobbin case in my machine. It’s a drop-in, placed on top, right in front of the presser foot, with a clear plastic cover so you can see when your bobbin is running low. In essence I would be taping my bobbin door closed.
I have tried drawing the lines while watching tv at night, on my little tv tray table, but I find the lines are less accurate than if I stand at my cutting table, and use the lines on my cutting mat to align them. I don’t usually mind, but I also don’t usually make so many HST’s or Snowball so many corners at once. The 25 heart blocks each require 6 diagonal seams.
The first 50 were the bigger 4.5” squares, which were easier somehow than the 100 fiddly little 2” ones. Oh well. All drawn. I’m hoping to sew the 2” squares this afternoon. 
1 Like
You know, I was thinking about this last night. I, for one, am more interested in the process than the speed of the process. There actually is something to be said about taking the time out for ourselves to do repetitive tasks at a slower pace to calm the world around us.
You find ways to get your quilting and crafting done, and that process of finding the time is also good for you.
Seriously, sometimes I think a lot of these hacks and ideas of shortcutting everything takes the joy out of the process. I sometimes want to fast craft, but for the most part, I craft because I want to escape the fastness of the world!
3 Likes
I set up my laptop on my cutting table! I don’t mind doing repetitive crafts, but I also like watching mindless series sometimes. The two of them make an especially great combination on days I’m not feeling fantastic.
3 Likes
My husband bought me a large monitor and a laptop stand for my studio. I can play a show or videos on the bigger screen to watch while I work. But it was still a long time standing hunched over a table. I’m glad to be done with that portion of the quilt, so now I can enjoy the sewing and quilting portions. 
5 Likes
Can I nominate the Memory Star as one of our 2026 BOM’s?
5 Likes
Great choice! The funny thing is, I was going to nominate a super similar block:
6 Likes
Progress… I have all the heart blocks stitched to this point, but I’m only halfway through pressing them. When I learned to quilt as a kid, the practice was to press seams open, but obviously nowadays we generally press to one side (usually the dark). This pattern calls for certain seams to be pressed open. I forgot how fiddly that is!
8 Likes
That pinkish background is very cool! It blends nicely with all the colors. It is nice in itself without taking away from the prints. Looking good!
3 Likes
The 2026 Quiltalong is now up and running!
6 Likes