Scrappy Celebration

(Click here for the November One Monthly Goal Finish link-up)

My HRT (half-rectangle triangle) scrappy celebration quilt is done!  The quilt measures 72 x 80'' and is composed of 720 HRT blocks all made from Moda Sweetwater fabric scraps and charm packs.

The whole process of assembling the quilt and the FMQing was made more enjoyable when I would rediscover favorite prints.  I love those polka dots!

The quilt was quilted on my domestic machine in a simple meander.  I had 4 yards of the blue fabric in my stash for the backing.

Want to make one of your own?  Check out my tutorial for the half-rectangle triangle block!

I'll be linking up at Brag about Your Beauties,  Freemotion by the River,   WIP Wednesday's,  Let's Bee Social, Midweek Makers.  Needle and Thread Thursdays, Finish it Up Friday and Finished or Not Friday.

Have a wonderful day! Patty

HRT logistics

(Click here for One Monthly Goal October link-up!)

My goal for October is quilt my HRT quilt, made with 720 HRTs of fabric all by Moda Sweetwater.

Typically, I baste a quilt on my kitchen table and use large binder clips to hold things flat.  This works fine for quilts that measure smaller than the length of my table (~ 60").   While I've had occasional success with quilts larger than 60" - including the one pictured below - it can be a real struggle.

My first attempt at basting my HRT quilt on my kitchen table did not go well.  And all the pins had to be removed when I discovered areas where the backing fabric had large wrinkles or gaps on the edges.

So I moved the quilt to the floor.  Since my son is away at school, I could spread the layers out on the floor of his room and not rush myself through the basting process.  The backing fabric was taped down using painters tape and the batting and quilt floated on top.

With the basting done, I've started FMQing.  My plan is to tackle the quilt by working on a small area at a time with the goal of avoiding needing to tie off thread by using something less than a bobbins worth of thread for each section.

Given each HRT measures 2" across, I am quilting a strip down the quilt which is three (3) HRTs wide aka 6''.  This means I will be moving the quilt through the machine 12 times (which seems like a lot!) but it minimizes the side to side movement which usually causes thread breaks.

I've been making great progress this week, just doing a section at a time with a simple meander.  You can see a bit of the quilting on the back.  I was lucky enough to find 4 yards of  a Sweetwater print I forgot I had in my stash and with a little bit more fabric (that fun house print) pieced together the back.

I'll be linking up at Brag about Your Beauties,  Freemotion by the River,   WIP Wednesday's,  Let's Bee Social, Midweek Makers.  Needle and Thread Thursdays, Finish it Up Friday and Finished or Not Friday.

Have a wonderful day! Patty

The HRT pile grows!

My half-rectangle triangle (HRT) quilt is my go-to quilt when I just want to sew without too much thought.  I prep 'kits' - HRTs grouped together to try and avoid any duplicate fabric touching - and then when I find time to sew, I can just sew away..

At my guild sew-in two weeks ago, I sewed together 40 sets of 8-HRTs.   Love looking at this pile!  (Want a HRT tutorial?)

32 HRTs make a 16'' block.  To keep some sanity in my process, I am assembling the blocks in the order shown below - first make a boatload of HRTs, then sew them in pairs, then into groups of 4 and then into groups of 8.   Once I've got everything in groups of 8, I'll press to get my seams going in alternative directions and sew into blocks.

For the quilt size I'm working towards (64 x 80") I need eight (80) of these groups of 8 which will yield the 20 blocks I need for the quilt.

The overall quilt will need 640 HRTs and frankly I got myself lost in how many I had made and got tired of counting them.   With them in groups of 8, I know how many more I need to sew.

40 sets of 8 are together - 40 more to go!

Have a wonderful day! Patty

My scrappy HRT quilt

And the pile grows!

I pulled all the Sweetwater based charm square packs piling up in my stash and am making lots and lots of HRT - half-rectangle triangle blocks.

Each block is trimmed to 2 1/2 x 4 1/2 ''.  (I'll post an overall tutorial for HRTs on Monday!)

I really want lots of variety in this quilt so will work to resist assembling blocks until the HRTs are all done.

How many will I need?  If I go with a small lap sized (48 x 64''), I'll need 384.  Slightly bigger (and more practical) 60 x 72 '' sized would need 540.  If I go big and make a queen size (90 x 108''), I'll need 1,215.  (Yikes!)

I've got 160 so far.   I think I'll keep going until I'm tired of making them or I run out of charm squares and Sweetwater scraps.  And then decide.

I couldn't resist making one block though - this block is 16 1/2 '' square unfinished.

*** Please note - blogger has made changes to how I am notified of new blog comments which is making it difficult to reply via email.  Until another solution is available, I will reply directly to the comment on the blog . ***

Have a wonderful day! Patty