Scraps and Tools: Monday Mess Making

Name:  Rotation
Author: Sandra Clemons
Source:  McCalls Quick Quilts Dec/Jan 2016
Also found here.

The first 2024 meeting of Loving Stitches found me working from home.  Mid January dove Colorado into dangerously frigid temperatures, and getting out--even to quilt--was not a wise move.  I texted back and forth with the ladies at the church who braved the elements and kept them abreast of my progress.  A few days before the meeting I finished all the squares for this quilt, so I spent most of Saturday assembling the top.  This pattern was difficult and taught me new skills, but I am so proud of how it turned out.  At some point, I may consider making this one again with a different color scheme.

 

Pattern information unknown.

The rest of the weekend was spent finishing up this quilt and the pillowcases that went with both. This was a kit cut and put together by Miss Pam, so piecing it was simple.  I've also improved on my pillowcase making skills.

Months ago, I purchased this triangle ruler.  I'd seen something like this used in a YouTube video.  Though it wasn't the exact same ruler, I thought that they pretty much worked the same way.

They don't.

The half square triangles I made had to be cut three different times to be close to correct.  Ok, so this doesn't simplify anything.  First off, the printed instructions that came with the ruler were insanely confusing.  I scoured the internet to find some intelligible directions.  I found this on YouTube:

My first attempt with the adapted instructions.

OK.  Before I go into this, hear me out.  I'm well aware that as a novice quilter, my ignorance may be hurting my technique.  In other words, I may just be too dumb to use this tool correctly.  With that being said, though the instructor's directions were much clearer than those that came with the ruler, when I followed her, I ended up with a rectangle that was 4 x 3.5 inches.  So, I ended up having to cut the square again to get the right measurements, plus the placement of the diagonal seam wasn't quite right.  I tried moving the ruler to the 3.5 inch mark.  That seemed to work much better.

Yes, some of the placement is still a bit cattywampus, however, adapting the directions simplified the process tremendously.  I just need more practice.  This is a scrap project, so I'll work on it as I finish other projects.

Speaking of scraps: I have a box full of unused partial skeins of yarn from previous projects.  My goal this year is to use up those scraps before starting any new large projects.  This preemie blanket is the first large project I've finished out of that stash.

Well, see you at the next mess.