>>>>

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Taming of the Triangles!

Cabin_Jan2014 099
Boy do those bags hold A LOT!

I have been sorting and trimming triangles all afternoon!

There were some in a bag marked 2.5” – but they WEREN’T 2.5. 

They were cut right, but the seam on them was just too wide, and they were somewhere between 2 1/4” and 2 3/8” ---

It’s all about getting that 1/4” a bit scanter than you think because where we fold the fabric to press to the dark comes from OFF the other side of the thread….What we think of as the 1/4” seam line….really needs to be where the FOLD LINE is…so the stitching is just shy of that.

Cabin_Jan2014 092

Cut right, but sewn with too wide of a seam.

The only thing I can do to save this one is to trim it down to the next usable size…2”

Cabin_Jan2014 093

The stitching is in white.

Can you see that the stitching falls above the marked seam line on the ruler?  You might have to look close to see it.  This shows that the seam allowance is too wide and will not give the right result.

Where the stitching needs to fall is BELOW the marked seam line on the ruler, so the seam line becomes the FOLD line where we press over to the dark so our triangle squares will be the size the need to be.

Cabin_Jan2014 094

Lining up with the Easy Angle Ruler to trim to the next size down!

I have placed the black 1/4” dotted line just above the stitching on the diagonal..and slid the 2” line to the top of the unit….This way the square will open where it needs to.

Cabin_Jan2014 095

One cut!

Cabin_Jan2014 096

Perfect 2” square! 

Cabin_Jan2014 100

This little lunch box came packed with already sewn bonus triangles ready to be trimmed.

But there must be 1,000 in here!

Cabin_Jan2014 101

I’ve been watching “Damages” season 5 on Netflix and trimming, trimming trimming.

After this morning’s post a comment was made that it takes just as much time to trim them down the road as it would to trim them as I go so it really wouldn’t matter.  Maybe so…..but to me saving baggies ((or even cute little lunch boxes)) of untrimmed triangles is like letting the dirty dishes pile up for a year before you decide it’s time to wash them.  Are you going to really WANT to tackle that pile after a year? I don’t think so….

Having these ready is going to be SO NICE for when the right project comes along….and I’ve got some ideas already!

But I’ve got to get to the bottom of the lunch box first…..

Steaks are on the grill, the baked potatoes are nearly done, and salads have been made.

A quiet night is planned at the cabin, where the temps never got above 25 today.

Maybe things will thaw tomorrow --- or maybe they won’t.  It doesn’t matter, I’m happy where I am!


Click Here to like our Quiltville Friends Page on Facebook for more fun!

You do not need a Facebook account to read the Facebook posts - They are viewable to all! Feel free to read & quilt along with us!

15 comments:

  1. Anonymous7:32 PM EST

    Jen here.....no school again tomorrow! And I was supposed to be in a class myself, but that's been cancelled too! WOOHOO! Guess what's on my agenda for tomorrow! So will you trim ALL of those triangles down to 2" or just the ones that are off by the skosh?

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a good idea. Never thought to do it that way. I am of to do some trimming.

    ReplyDelete
  3. hey Bonnie, I have a box labeled "Bonnie Hunter parts"... it's extra or rejected parts from mystery quilts - sometimes I just changed my mind about color combinations - but if you are ever missing any of "your parts" - they are at my house!!!!They await "the right project!...

    ReplyDelete
  4. I agree with you! I used to think that things will get done later, and later never comes! So I have adopted your way of doing things and find myself automatically trimming up as I go! Now I know those will get used in a leader/ender project and not nag at me every time I see a box or bag full of scraps!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I've got quit a collection of bonus triangle from Celtic mystery, and lots of reject parts, thanks for the inspiration not to throw them out. Would be great if you did a quilt with bonus triangles and left overs etc . But maybe you already have . Have a great night. Wendy ON,Ca

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh I need to do what you are doing too.
    Enjoy your stay at quiltvilla. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  7. I agree with you! Time wise it is probably a wash...but a few dishes to clean up is nothing compared to the whole sink! Love the analogy! Thanks for the inspiration....time to sew!

    ReplyDelete
  8. MB Tyner10:09 PM EST

    I don't even quilt, but I cannot wait to read your Quiltville Quips & Snips every night!!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hey Bonnie, love the idea of trimming as you go.i have lots of bonus triangles form all of my Bonnie projects, guess I should do this trimming thing too. I have a suspicion these might end up in next years mystery quilt! I better get to trimming... Stay warm and keep off those icy roads chains or not they are dangerous... Aren't you glad no travel for you thru the frozen Atlanta!

    ReplyDelete
  10. That is a great tip for trimming the HSTs before pressing.. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I read this post before I went to bed last night. Big mistake! I woke up in the middle of the night thinking about cutting triangles. In your post about how you size bonus triangles (with the cut-up business card), it shows that the triangles have both dog ears intact. But in this post, when you are sizing them with the Easy Angle ruler, it shows one of the dog ears gone. I understand that that it has to be that way in order to use the ruler correctly. But how do you trim it off before opening up the HST? How do you know where to cut? I'm probably being dense, but it just isn't coming together for me!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I'm going to try that way of trimming! I do it the "other" way. This looks a lot quicker... Thanks Bonnie!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Why does it only take 2 days for my sink to fill up and you get to go for a year???? Not fair, whines me! Right now waiting for son to do his dishes he had in his bedroom-both sides of the sink full of cups and bowls!!! He ignores house rules about taking them to his room, so he has to do them by hand when he brings them down! Maybe if I don't open the little box with the 2" Hst's in it, they will magically go away! Or, I could just empty them into a baggie and gift them to a friend who likes little pieces! Time will tell! :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. I have a friend who collects all the cut off triangles from all the bee's and retreats and free tables. So she spends every Tuesday trimming them up. After many Tuesdays she has 4 quilts that are just wonderful.
    Dorothy

    ReplyDelete
  15. Just starting done this triangle road. Have a pile made but now I am trying to figure out if they are the right size...

    ReplyDelete

If you are commenting as "anonymous" please leave your name at the end of your comment.

Did you know that ad space on this blog provides for all of the free patterns and free mysteries and challenges at no cost to you? Without ads, this blog would not be possible.

Thank you for understanding the many hours that go into this blog 6 days a week, 52 weeks a year. :)