Tuesday, May 13, 2008

One of many suggestions from Bonnie

Amanda, one of my faithful daily UK blog readers, questioned about ....

"Tell me - do you double stitch when you are cutting off triangular corners so that you've already got dinky half-square triangles? I've started doing that since Bonnie's suggestion."

The half-triangles pictured here (which I am using in my Scrappy Basket (see below) block from Bonnie's pattern (see her instructions)) are all "bonuses" made from double-sewing my Oklahoma Backroads bricks.















In fact, it's quite commical how I never batted an eye in the past to throw out the clippings. Now-----Heaven forbid!!! However, to make the sashings for Grandpa's Stars and Stripes, I need to clip off the little pieces. I truly debated whether to double-sew the pieces or not----but eventually decided NOT to. The unfinished pieces I needed to sew were 1.5", so by the time I sewed the diagonal, and then double sewed, I realistically would have had a teeeeeeny half-triangle square left. SO teeny, that by the time I sewed it to anthing else, there MAYBE would be 1/4" square viewable!!!

So, YES! I double-sew! Look at all those bonuses I created just from what normally would have been clipped and thrown away. In fact, I've looked a some of my recent Quilting publications, and I cringe at the waste the patterns create.

4 comments:

scraphappy said...

I'm a double sewer too. I have a huge bag from a stretched star quilt that I have SLOWLY been turning into depression block. I keep looking at them thinking they would make adorable baby doll quilts...
The only problem with "bonus" quilts is that they never seem to end. Every quilt creates a new one from the scraps and the cycle continues.

BitnByAQuiltingBug said...

I love your basket! Just wonderful.

Amanda said...

Bonnie has SO much to answer for! I've been turning some of my bonus triangles into weeny flying duck blocks, no plan in mind, just something to do with them. But I like the idea of the baskets, so might make a few of those. I have the same problem as scraphappy with changing my machine needle - I keep thinking 'at the end of this project', but there never is an end.

Cornfield Quilter said...

I also am a double sewer. I am getting quite a collection of small half square triangles and the basket block you are working on is the perfect project! Great job!