Many quilters love to make quilt blocks larger than needed then square them up. I'm not a big fan of this technique. To me it wastes valuable time. In my mind it's better to take the time to learn why your blocks are not finishing at the correct size. Three things happen before a block is complete. If your blocks are not finishing at the right size then something is wrong in one or all of these three things.
Thing 1- Cutting fabrics
Thing 2- Piecing fabrics
Thing 3- Pressing fabrics
For the most part I believe I have mastered all three Things. As with anything in life there are exceptions and gray areas. The Hourglass block is the exception to my never square up rule. I almost always make this unit larger then square it up. Can I make this unit without squaring it up? Who knows, I never tried. Isn't that strange? Well that's a challenge for another day when time is plentiful. Right now I need to find a fast and accurate way to square up (24) 8.5" Hourglass blocks. These are the alternating block in the Christmas Joy quilt, you can read more about it here.
Thirty years of quilting and I don't own an 8.5" square up ruler. I could use a larger ruler but I've found it's a little tricky with the 45 degree angles. So I decided to use the freezer paper method. If you don't know how to do this here's a tutorial by The Crafty quilter. It's a different block but the idea is the same. It's also very time consuming. I'm a woman on a mission with a self imposed deadline and wouldn't you know it I need to run some errands. While I'm in town I'll make a quick trip to Joann's for a 8.5" square up ruler.
Joann's had about 5 different 8.5" rulers. The June Tailor Get Squared was the only one with an X. I'm not a big fan of this brand and I don't fussy cut very often but it has the X needed for perfect squaring up. And if I'm going to buy a new gadget it's nice when it can do more than one job. Joann's is also having a sale as always. Do they ever NOT have coupons or sales? So this ruler was about $7 with my coupon, that's a pretty good deal I think.
Since I own a few June Tailor rulers I know the first thing I need to do is add some gripping power. These rulers are buffed to the highest shine and are slicker than a wet noodle. So I grab my handy dandy Nexcare tape to fix the slippery backside.
This is also a great time to use a rotating cutting mat. If you don't have a rotating mat a smaller cutting mat works just just fine. I bought mine on impulse without thinking things through. It really is one of the silliest overpriced gadgets I own. Seriously how hard is it to turn a small mat? But if you love yours I'm not judging. I can almost bet someone out there is thinking I could have used the X on this mat. Yes I could have but the ruler seemed quicker and easier.
One down and 20 more blocks to go. Do I like this ruler? Yes, it was worth the $7. I've no buyers remorse. It saved time and has more than one use. The only real dislike is the slick backside, but it was easy to fix. Maybe later in the year I'll try my hand at a fussy cutting quilt. You just never know when and what will inspired your next creative adventure.
#squaringupquiltblocks
#hourglassquiltblock
#christmasjoyquilt
#christmasquilt
#junetaylorruler
#getsquredruler
#freequiltpattern
thanks for the ideas!
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