Spin Spin

After Ringo Pie finished last round, I decided it was time to take a break from online quilting bees. The stress and cost of postage was getting to me. So I sat on the sidelines for the first half of 2012. I missed the camaraderie and chatter though. I missed the chance to try new things and explore piecing techniques. With that in mind, I decided to organize a small Australian bee with gals whose fabric stashes mirror my own. They are lovers of quirky Japanese text prints, hints of retro and those fun bold designers like Anna Maria Horner. With that in mind, eight of us are setting off in the must.stash bee.

We're going to make traditional style blocks that celebrate our fabric collections. I love this! Leah is going to be first off the mark in August, but I took an early jump on her blocks.

Leah requested 6" hourglass blocks using Ayumi's tutorial.

I had an a-ha moment. I realized that hourglasses look quite different depending how they initial triangles are cut. I made Leah's using the (quarter square triangles) method that Ayumi describes which effectively works with quarter square triangles (QSTs). And I made a dozen or two smaller ones for a cushion using half square triangles (HSTs) cut from my sizzix. To me, they look worlds apart.

If you scroll between the two images, you'll see you get very different effects with striped and directional prints. Using QSTs, the prints run parallel and perpendicular to the edge of the print. Using HSTs, the prints radiate diagonally from the center. Which is better? That's personal choice! I like the dynamic spinning look gained with HSTs, but those blocks result in bias edges on the side of the blocks which make them much more challenging to press and sew.

I hope Leah likes her blocks. I might have gone a little too "green" with them, but I suspect the others will balance out the color wheel in August when the bee officially kicks off. You can follow along and see the other blocks we're making in a must.stash flickr group.  (I'm afraid the group membership is closed, but you can still see the blocks and photos being added to the group without being a member.)