Block 1 - The RUBY Star

[Iminei]

Hi there @mudcat ... Thank you for taking the plunge and joining in ...
Can I firstly ask, you are bringing up the instructions to the side of each pic arent you???
Of course you are ... right I will try and answer your questions ... and FYI there are NO stupid questions!

The half square triangles start out as 5 3/4" I believe (2 in background and 2 in color)
But what about the small squares.  Do these start off as 2.5" by 11" ??

The 5 3/4" Background (Bg) and colour (C) sqs become Half Square Triangles (HST's) after the first process and are then sewn again to become Quarter Square Triangles (QST's)

You get TWO HSTs ... from One Bg sq and ONE C sq paired up ... You need FOUR QST for each block hence the need for TWO pairs of Bg and C sqs.

I use Strip piecing as a more accurate way of making FourPatches (4Patch) instead of fiddling around with 2 1/2 sqs you make a strip of two fabrics which you can then cut into the units.

In fact I usually cut my strips a lil wider and longer than the required size so that when I join the units together into the 4patch together I can trim to an extremely accurate size.

As you need FOUR 4patches of Bg and C you need a minimum strip length of 10" (4 x 2.5) hence the requirement for a minimum strip of 11" to take into account cuts, squaring up etc

I never, ever recommend cutting out all the fabrics for a quilt in one hit as ... unless you are Wonderwoman ... you then end up with a mountain of cut pieces (that immediately start to fray) and will get completely overwhelmed by the enormity of the task.

For this project I suggest cutting for one block, maybe using gash fabrics  ... going through the process, getting used to the techniques involved and then, if you are happy, cutting for the rest of the blocks required and chain piecing each section as you go.

When I make a tut I make multiple practice blocks as I get used to putting the block together ... in fact for the next block I have at least FOUR finished practice blocks lying around!!!


I'm not a real quilter so I am not up on these things.  Most of my quilts are either squares, 9-patch or log cabin because they're easy. 

None of us were (or indeed in my case are!) we all started somewhere ... this is why my tuts are always (I hope) so detailed. I try to take you through each step figuring that if you have some experience of a certain step you can breeze through it but if you havent its spelt out for you as simply as I can make it.

I worry that sometimes I or the tuts can come across as patronising, but really I'm not trying to be ... I just want the instructions to be able to be understood by anyone at any level.

I remember very early on in my days of The Dark Arts trying to follow a step in an online tutorial ad screaming at the girl on my laptop as she breezed through a technique obviously assuming I knew something which I had no idea of....

It was completely frustrating and nearly put me off for life!

And lastly, there is absolutely nothing wrong with simple squares or blocks in a quilt ......

[Kenora]

@Iminei - another question. What are "gash fabrics" please?

[mudcat]

@Kenora I think she meant stash not gash!

Thanks @Iminei  for the additional clarification.  I at first didn't see the instructions on the linked tut.  Later I saw if I put my mouse just so they miraculously showed up at the bottom of the screen.

I've made many quilts but I'm not a person who follows some pattern as rule.  I'm just doing this for something different and to use up scraps but I'm not sure that buying three yards for the background color is going to end up in a net reduction in stash.

I've a couple of times made alternating 9-patch and log cabin in the same quilt with coordinating colors.  So mustard/yellow for the log cabins and purple/pink and black for the 9-patch.  But I actually did cut out ALL the squares.  I've never done this strip thing you speak of.  But, I'll give it a try here.  It does seem efficient and possibly fast.

[Iminei]

Nope ... although it could be ...

 'Gash' fabric ... or anything else for that matter ... means spare or going begging.

In this context it means fabrics that are leftover from another project, that you dont particularly care about and probably dont make a great combination with each other ... just stuff you can practice with.

@mudcat ... some of the destructions are quite detailed so might not fit all of it at the bottom of the pic ...

if you can find an i icon, click on that and it will appear to the side of the pic ... but I think that might just be for laptops ...

I know a lot of you girls view TSP on your mobiles so you might have to vie between two pages .. one pic, one text

[Kenora]

Thanks - I'd never come across the term before. 

[mudcat]

nor i.... i thought it was a typo. 

[Kenora]

I looked it up (although it took a bit of digging to find it) - it would appear that the term was originally used by British military personnel, specifically Navy or Royal Marines.

[Iminei]

I first heard it through building ... gash wood .. ie offcuts ... I didnt think it was particularly specialist.

[Kenora]

I suppose it was handed down into general use. My grandfather was a RSM in the Marines but I never heard him use the term. I shall have to work it into my everyday language now.

[Catllar]

Used it when I was flying - gash bags - rubbish bags!

[Lilian]

Made my first one today.  Hope the others are a bit neater.  I went with a light bg fabric. More to make tomorrow   

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[Iminei]

Oh pretty pretty pretty ...

Run along into the MQBOMHOF now ... see if there are any biccies left ... garibaldis anyone ???

[Pearl]

Oh, that is pretty.  I’m looking forward to seeing how your other blocks look with the light background.

Please don’t eat all the biccies.  I’ll be joining you soon.

[Lilian]

Thank you, I was unsure about the lilac colour but think it will work.

Oh @Iminei I couldn't figure out the bit about unpicking to get a super flat block I didn't do that on the trial one, but did it and suddenly realized how it was done. Thank you for that 

[Lowena]

Save me some garibaldis pleeease.....