Mystery quilt QSTs trimmed

      I am caught up with the guild mystery quilt so far. This month was sewing Quarter Square Triangles (QSTs) into a nine patch star, solid color in middle. The QSTs were a breeze to trim using a Bloc Loc ruler. 

   I don't buy rulers just to buy them- if I think they will help in accuracy and piecing, I will buy them. I usually try them out at vendors at Quilt Shows (remember them?). Can't wait until I can go to a big show again.

 

Seams pressed for less bulk

12 Blocks are made for Mystery Quilt

Cool Kaffe HST asymmetrical

     A while back I got suckered into buying some Kaffe charm packs (MSQC got me again). I made HSTs with Kona Ash Gray. All trimmed with the Bloc Loc ruler. Played around on the wall until I found an asymmetrical design that appealed to me. I had another urgent request for a comfort quilt for a woman whose cancer came back aggressively after a short remission. Her whole family is having a crisis of a time. So, I thought this waiting in the wings quilt would make a good choice. I thought of one friend who always drafts things out, so I used graph paper to get an idea of where I was going because working to work on long diagonals, I needed to know where I was when rolling the quilt. All the Kaffe prints got the same curved ruler treatment. 
    I did use a lot of ruler work and to be honest, I don't like holding those circle and oval templates down. It gives me neck fatigue and sore shoulders. I need to find something to be grippier on the bottoms or forgo rulers. I was very happy with the quilting. The first photo is before washing and the others are after. I always wash my quilts after quilting before giving them away. They get packed in a nice tote bag with a book and card and pocket quilt. This package went out Sunday.

Unwashed

Washed, more texture

Back after washing

The diagram plan

Rainbows on the Wall

    I got nabbed by a rainbow color jelly roll recently on MSQC and thought I would use it to make the Cutting Corners quilt by MSQC. I sewed strip sets, warm and cool, five strips to a set. They were then trimmed into 10" blocks. White 10" blocks were layered on them, right sides together, and they were sewn all around the perimeter. Then they were cut diagonally and ironed opened. I trimmed all of them the same size with the Bloc Loc ruler (love it). 

This is the 10" square strip set of 5, sewn all around

Front of the sandwich- a white 10" square

Sliced diagonally

Opened out- two blocks with strips parallel to center line,
2 with strips perpendicular to center line

Trimming with Bloc Loc

Trimmed blocks with scrap trimmings-
those little bits mean a lot in fitting

   When I put them on the wall, it did not look right as the colors were so different and it did not make a cohesive looking, block by block, quilt. I removed them and tried the Starburst Quilt, MSQC, and it did not read as a cohesive design due to all the colors. 

Design does not cohere together due to fractured colors

     I looked through my files that I keep in Evernote of quilts I like and their tutorials. I found one that I modified. There are two kinds of blocks in these sets- ones with the strips parallel to the HST angle, and another where the strips are perpendicular to the angle. I played with that idea and grouped them accordingly in the secondary design.

Main block arrangement, cool colors

First try, whoops, one center diamond strips at top is not oriented right, and whoops, two blocks short, have to make another set

Everything oriented right, extra blocks made and added.
Love the look! Now it is off the wall,
clipped by column ready to web sew