Pinwheels keep on rolling.-Step 3

Making two hundred of anything can seem a little daunting when first approached. However, good instructions and a little time made quick work of the required two hundred half square triangles needed for this step. To those of you doing the king size, you have my admiration.What a lot of HST you need!

What kind of winter is this anyway?

Snow, cold temps, freezing rain, and general yuckiness resulted in all errand running being left for the weekend. That meant  groceries, haircut, gas in the car, some shopping and Christmas card writing led to postponed sewing. It was crazy out there! I did not even start cutting until after dinner.

I planned to use the Easy Angle ruler. I was positive I not only had one, but that I had put it in the bin that holds all my Mystery Quilt fabric. As luck would have it I could not find it. I considered using my old tried and true method. I don't know what it's called, but you cut a large square, draw a line down the middle, corner to corner, sew a scant 1/4 inch on each side, cut them apart. You have two half square triangles.

Since I am always up for learning something new I decided to try the rotary cutting directions Bonnie included in her step. She said cut 2-3/8" squares. I am not totally confident in my "scant seams", so I chose to cut 2-4/8 squares. I mean can 1/8" make that much difference?  It turns out I probably could have just followed the directions (I have trouble with following some directions) as I have had to trim all the squares. That is okay, as I would rather my pinwheels be a little large, than too small.

I decided to string piece my HST and could not believe how fast they went together. Of course I still need to clip some apart and press them. It was very satisfying to see that long string completed.

open, press to the orange, ready to assemble...

As I began to build the pinwheels I basically tossed my HST on the table and picked up pieces to sew together. Bonnie suggested "spinning' the back seam when pressing. I am not consistently adequate at this skill. A few turned out okay. I'll need to remind my long arm quilter to watch out for those centers. Overall the pinwheels are coming together just fine. I love the various combinations. And I amazed at the variations in orange and yellow fabrics I see in others' projects. There is lots of gorgeous fabric out there!

Pinwheels are probably one of my favorite blocks. I used them on several quilts in the past. I love the sense of motion they add to the quilt. Beside that they are just pretty!

samples of pinwheels-still need to be trimmed.

As I look back at this weeks instructions I keep looking at the tiles in Christ Church in Dublin. Wouldn't it be fun if our next step was green rectangles and looked like the tile with the white and black pinwheels. Perhaps a HST could go in each corner?  Surely Bonnie would not give away such a clue...so it probably won't happen. But that sure would be a pretty block, wouldn't it?

Well for now I am wrapping up. I need to clean and straighten the sewing area. I still have two quilts to bind. Christmas is coming..some mug rugs to make too. Happy sewing everyone. Can't wait to see everyone's progress.