a new block of the month - perfect half-square triangles

so…i don’t know if i’m worse with buying material of buying quilt patterns…OMG, i have issues.

anyway, after making the week two block for my summer sampler quilt i learned that the block designer had a block of the month quilt called the perfect half-square triangle block of the month quilt that used her paper templates.

so, i bought it - i needed quilt store retail therapy anyway. i paid another visit to my new happy place quilt store, the fabric chic, and proceeded to knock january and february’s blocks out this past weekend.

so, let’s start with the fabric pull, shall we? first, i’m not a solids fan. however, i loved the suggested color scheme suggested in the pattern, so i used it to help me pull my fabrics.

i have to have pattern - i’m trying my hardest to TRY to do a solids quilt, but it is extremely hard for me. i like texture.

you can refer back to my summer sampler week two post for how to use the paper template method. but the stars i’ve completed so far are the ridgeline star for january -

xman (the kiddo) is calling this the “umbrella corporation” block. it took me a minute, but i finally saw the umbrella too. tip - enlarge the picture and then step away - you’ll see it, i promise!

next came february’s - he hasn’t thought up a name for it, but for the quilt, this is the wellington star -

i do have the third block done, but i’ve been sewing late at night and i do NOT have great lighting in my apartment and i’m waiting to shoot over the weekend. however, here’s a sneak peek -

i have learned that i have not been the greatest at lining up the edges of my material when i have been sewing and that’s been a big reason why my blocks are turning out smaller that the patterns say. so, I have really been paying attention to that. also, i’ve been working very hard to square everything when i cut material the first time. both the summer sampler and this block of the month have really made me focus on these two areas for improvement.

one thing i have learned too is i really like my omnigrid ruler for it’s thin lines and that the best way to cut a straight line with the templates is to line up what i’ll call a “right-angle” line. i do this with one of the inch lines so the line carries through the template and i truly am cutting things straight -

using the templates has shown me i don’t have a concept of straight with my naked eye! as with anything else, getting a straight cut takes practice. these blocks, both summer sampler and the perfect half-square triangles are forcing me to slow down and learn. i’m getting a good dose of humility while also expanding my quilting skill set.

hope you all have been having a great week - i’m off to a women’s catholic conference tomorrow and saturday so you’ll see some more quilty goodness soon!