"Colours on the Wind" It's all part of the colourful quilting journey with half square triangles!

In search of perfection? excellence? the perfect point? - nesting Half Square Triangles

A little while ago, early February infact, I did a blog on a particular block. This one actually!

The other day I used it in a quilt design and have started sewing it out. Well it's an interesting one.

The first test block did not go too well, and yes it is nesting those points!

So I am on a mission to find out why, and for this quilt, how to get the best nested blocks I can, given the fabric I am using - and you guessed it, the fabric is the key here.

The pattern I am doing is this one, and I am calling it "Colours on the Wind".

I have 7 different colours, very similar to what is shown in the design, my background is a dark grey.

The coloured fabrics are all from one fabric family, the grey is from a different brand. Sometimes that matters. In this case, they are very similar in weave and stretch, and generally play well together.

Both fabrics have what I would call a looser weave and more stretch on the bias, but both feel very similar, which is good.

As my blocks are 9 1/2" unfinished and my HST's are 3 1/2 unfinished, I used a starting square of 8". I do prefer to use 8 1/2", but did not have enough background fabric, so went with 8". (you can use either for this size HST, it just means that you have a little more room to play and trim when you use 8 1/2" rather than 8". The 8" is very very close to exact, which gives you very little room for error).

This is the fabric I am using:

A colourful collection of fabric, which will look amazing as half square triangles in the North Wind block.

I made the first "test" block.

I'm not that happy with it. As you can see the points don't match that well.

When I make a HST, I use the Easy 8 Method whenever possible; I trim using my HST triangle trimmer; I press my seams open; I align as I sew, without pins, I press my larger seams open.

The alignment is off, as is the measurements! what is the problem........ or problems........

I am on a journey to find out.........

I have made two more blocks today, with interesting outcomes.

Things that I tried and things that I found.

1. I was using my triangle trimmer and found that the HST was not exactly 3 1/2 unfinished when pressed with the seams open. Unusual, as I have used this trimmer many, many, times.

2. I pressed to the dark side for all block seams (not inner HST seams) and found that the overall block is 1/4" shorter than I expected. Was this the ironing? inconsistent sewing? the fabric?

3. I pressed before trimming as a different approach and used a 3 1/2" squaring template to trim - it took off the corner "bits" and it gave a very neat finish before sewing the blocks together - which of course made it easier to align.

4. I pressed to the dark side on the individual rows and then on the row joins. I did not mind the individual rows, as it made nesting easier, but not the joining rows - the block did not lay flat enough.

5. I pressed to the dark side on the individual rows and pressed open on the joining rows and felt that the block sat better and certainly flatter (important for quilting later).

6. The finished block was 9 1/4" not 9 1/2"...... where did the 1/4" go I wonder.

Out of all of this, what I have learnt for this pattern and the fabric I am using.........

1. I will probably trim after pressing using the 3 1/2" squaring template - this seems to give me the neatest squares to sew with.

2. I will check each square for exactness (3 1/2") before sewing and discard any that are even the slightest bit too small...... and I mean 1/16" ..... even a slither may be important with this block.

3. I may (but not totally convinced as yet) press to the dark side when creating each row - although nesting the rows makes it important to press in different directions - top to the left; middle to the right; bottom to the left....... - this gives me the neatest rows and well nested blocks.

4. I will press the longer rows open - firstly to keep the block flat and secondly to migate any issues of nesting when I sew all the blocks together.

5. I will be checking each block carefully for the issue of the missing 1/4" overall to see where it has gone.......

6. Sewing these blocks is going to take a bit longer than usual.... I have done many HST blocks, so they are not new to me, but...... I feel that the points on these blocks are going to be very obvious if they are misaligned and I'm following a thread here and it is leading me to prefer a neatly aligned point (I don't really like the word perfect!).

Stay posted........ I have a feeling there will be another blog on this topic shortly...... 🙂

Happy quilting,

with a smile,

Brenda Marie