They wanna spend a little quality time with MOI. (If you’re a Grinch fan, you’ll know that quote. If you’re not a Grinch fan, you can just leave.)
I’m kidding! Welcome to my stop on the Let’s Get Acquainted Blog Hop!
First, I’ll tell you a little about me. Then I’ll share a quick tip on how to more efficiently mark your half-square triangles. Don’t call it a tutorial because that will embarrass me. It’s a tip and nothing more!
How long have you been quilting:
Since May of 2010
Favorite quilting tip:
Calculate 81,567 times, order fabric once.
Favorite blogging tips:
Be yourself. Don’t blog to impress others. Have fun. Don’t force it.
Favorite fabrics (or wish list fabrics):
Summerlove, Pat Bravo
Garden Party, Anna Maria Horner (alas, I missed out on this one)
Alpine Wonderland, Sheri Berry Designs
Modern Whimsy, Laurie Wisbrun
Newest favorite: Field Study, Anna Maria Horner
Favorite craft book:
The Practical Guide to Patchwork by Elizabeth Hartman. I learned so much and refer to it often.
Favorite books:
Frankenstein, Mary Shelley
Cat’s Cradle, Kurt Vonnegut
The Stand, Stephen King (still reading, but I’m certain it’ll remain as awesome as it’s been so far)
Favorite children’s book:
That’s easy. The Harry Potter series (obviously not just for children –matter of fact, I’m listening to Prisoner of Azkaban on audiobook as we speak).
Favorite quilting tool:
Microsoft Excel. I love all the math involved in quilting.
Favorite music to listen to while quilting:
Upbeat, new-agey, dancey stuff (Phoenix, Empire of the Sun, Miike Snow), and classic rock.
Favorite TV show while hand stitching:
Downton Abbey
Binding – by hand or by machine?
Depends on how much time I have, and on the season. I tend to hand stitch more during colder months because it’s a great time to get cozy and snuggle up on the couch.
If I’d only known (before I started my blog):
How much my obsessive compulsive nature would kick in during my blog design process (which I should’ve seen coming from a mile away).
NOW FOR THE TIP.
If you don’t already know, quilting is a very involved craft. Quilters are constantly looking for ways to cut corners (literally and figuratively), save time, and do multiple things at once. With that in mind, I’m going to show you how to complete the tedious task of marking sewing lines on your half-square triangles in less time.
(1) Grab a few of your squares and line their corners up with a single line on your cutting mat like so:
(2) Line up the 1/4″ mark of your ruler with that same center line and draw a line down all your squares.
(3) Next, carefully shift your ruler to the left and line up your ruler one quarter inch from your center line (I use my ruler’s 3/4″ mark lined up with the solid grid line to the left of my center as my reference point to make sure it’s perfectly straight –on my cutting mat, I find that easier than trying to line up my ruler with the little dots between the solid grid lines).
(4) Mark that line down all your squares.
Bada BING! You’ve just marked a bunch of HST’s (or however many you can fit along the length of your ruler) at once! Beats grabbing them individually, lining up your ruler for every single one, and marking them 1,847,888 times, yes?
If you are reading this and don’t know what to do next to make a half-square triangle, or you’re scratching your head and wondering what the heck a half-square triangle even is, check this page out for a quick learning experience.
That’s all I’ve got! But before you get back to living your life, check out my fellow blog hop babes sharing their talents this week!
Marion from My Quilt Diet
Ginny from Fish Creek Studio
May from Confessions of a Fabraholic
That was a good tip, thank you! Why didn’t I think of it myself…
This is a good tip Marta! I love Anna Maria Horner too. And the Grinch!
Marta!!!! Hi! I love your post :) Elizabeth Hartman is my hero too! That was my first quilting book and my inspiration :)
Ps- I have a grinch fat quarter bundle begging to be cut into!
Nice to meet you! I LOVE your backyard baby quilt!!
That’s a great TIP!!! Nice to meet you!
That’s a great tip! It will for sure come in handy in the very near future:)
Great tip! I read Harry Potter too
Lovely post! You have a great tone in your writing. Off to explore your blog a bit more!
I love this tip! (Also, I’m kicking myself a bit for not thinking of it!) Thanks for sharing. It was nice to meet you! :)
Hi Marta, nice to meet you. That is a great tip. I’m starting a quilt with half-square triangles and I’m sure I will use you method .
Cool tip! I HATE marking HSTs!
Hi Marta, so nice to “meet” you! Thanks for the tip, seems so obvious, but most of us have never thought of it before :) Your blog looks great, and I can’t wait to see more from you.
Amanda
Hi Marta. Nice to get to know you and thanks for the tip. Marking the lines is the part of half square triangles that I don’t like doing so this will help. I looked around your blog…you take great photos and Colorado is beautiful!!
Hi Marta, I’m visiting from the blog hop. Lovely to meet you and great triangle tute :)
Hi Marta – that’s really useful, thanks! Great to meet you through the hop – love the pictures of your garden, and the funny quilting mistake story on your quilts page!
This is great tip! Don’t you just love those Frixon pens! :)
Great post and great tip! I enjoyed reading it and learning more about you! I hand stitched my first binding while watching Dowton Abbey earlier this year.
Hi Marta. So nice to meet you. Where in Colorado are you? I’m from Colorado too and live in Louisville. I’ll have to give your HST idea a try. I use those blocks a lot so this just might come in handy.
Fab tip, thanks! Your sense of humour obviously comes across too :)
Hi Marta! “Nice to meet you!” Thanks for the tip! Great pics of Colorado, looks awesome!
Love the tip – it definitely beats lining them all up individually! :)
That is a sweet tip! Lovely getting to know you, and I love your blog design, very clean and elegant.
Now I need to get myself a longer ruler – Thanks for the tip!
Oh good tip – I don’t know why I’ve always marked the HSTs individually – takes so long! Much better idea!
I enjoyed reading your post! :)
Great to meet you, Marta! Nice tip too. I love your favorite fabric lines — so many beautiful collections, so little time!
Great to meet you on our blog hop and the tip will be soooo useful :)
Just stopping by on the blog hop – thanks for the snappy tip!
That’s a great tip!!!
Very good tip – thanks!
Why don’t you only mark the center and then sew 1/4″ on either side of the marked line? That way, you only have to mark once instead of twice. :)