So Apparently You Can Teach an Old Dog New Tricks

So I needed a 12.5 inch square ruler to square up my MSBHQAL blocks, but didn't have one. I thought that, like always, I would make do and try to square up using what I had. I even asked Molli how to do it, if it was possible, without the square ruler. He was so sweet and sent me a tutorial that he worked out. But then I started to worry about it. A lot. So I caved. I checked around and priced them in lots of different places. And I ended up buying one at my LQS.  And this is what I learned:

 This is one of my "squares" before trimming. I tried to line it up within the 13 inch lines. It was very wonky. I had thought it looked square, but it was an illusion.

 See how it goes off the edge here?

 ...and here?

 ...and not very straight here either.

 Then, I apply the 12.5 inch square ruler. One of the things it does is to flatten out the block so you can see it in its true form.

 Look at all that wonky overhang! It's certainly not even on any side.

 This side looks kinda even doesn't it? But not really so. Check out the next picture.

 I hope you can see how much skinnier the bottom of this string is than the top. Many of my trimmings ended up that way.

 And here it is, all crisp and trimmed up.  All 30 of them are now done. They look awesome, even if I do say so myself. I guess I should have gotten the ruler long ago. I have struggled for so long with this issue. Some things are definitely worth having. I know I will get lots of use out of this.

 Here are the first three sewn together. I am loving the way they look!!

 Here is the layout for the whole thing. Each corner has a completely green block in it. This is going to be a great quilt.

Here is inspector O'Malley, making sure everything is okay. He approves. He will be happier when it is quilted and he can curl up on it.

Surprise! I'm Starting a New Project!

You know that moment when you see something new and you think "I wonder if I can fit this in to my to do list?" And then you know you can't really, but you do it anyway because it's something you want to do really, really bad! Yup...that's what I did. I joined the Molli Sparkles Broken Herringbone Quilt Along. What we affectionately refer to as MSBHQAL.

Here is where I began:

I had this lovely half yard bundle of Annalee by Jane Dixon for Andover Fabrics. The grey is Kona, I think medium grey. But then I decided I wanted to make enough blocks for my bed sized quilt. That's 30 blocks and while my math isn't great, I don't think this is enough.  So back to my stash for more, but keeping these six.

Now I have 18 fabrics. The light isn't great because it's cloudy and going to rain today, but trust me, they are lovely together.  And now, may I present, my first block:

I am apparently going to get my workout by running back and forth to the computer and then the sewing room until I get this one down. I love it though, and can't wait to make more. Today is the first day, so there's still time to join up. There is a flickr group too. C'mon, you know you want to.
Talk to you soon.
Linking up to Freshly Pieced WIP Wednesday.