Spring is in the air

Spring is finally here! It sure has been a long hard winter. I have definitely been spoiled over the last few years because we have been having very mild winters. That was good in one respect because I didn't have to be confined to the house, but in other ways bad because a mild winter means more bugs in the summer. Every summer my husband Mike swears that we will be moving to North Dakota or Wyoming for cooler summers because he hates being hot and really hates bugs (they love him)!

I would like to introduce my newest tool today called Cutting Corners. I know we are all guilty of buying tools and templates that we think we will use and then they sit in a box or drawer never to be seen again. Well, I wanted to design a template set that can be a multi-purpose tool. One that can be used for a variety of projects and is not confined to one particular type or size of pattern.

I originally designed the template set because I got tired of drawing lines on the backs of squares for Snowball blocks, Flying Geese and other patches that called for triangles on the ends.

 

 

Look at all of the patches and sizes it can make! Half-square triangles from finished sizes 1-1/2" to 4", Quarter-square triangles from finished sizes 3" to 8", Flying Geese from finished sizes 1-1/2" x 3" to 4" x 8", and Square-in-a-Square finished sizes 3" to 8". And that is just some of the things it can do! It can also trim bias seams for bindings and borders, make Snowball blocks and Bowtie blocks, and the most important function is, it eliminates the need to draw diagonal lines on the backs of the square!

 So you are probably asking how does it do all of these things! There are two templates in this set. A triangle that can be used to "cut corners" and make half-square triangles. This is the triangle template. It has marks on it for the different size half-square triangles. The marks are the finished size. The strips are cut 1/2" larger than the finished size.

 This is the square template. It is used for making quarter-square triangles, like for the center of the Flying Geese unit. The strips again are cut 1/2" larger than the finished size.

It can also be used for the center square in a Square-in-a-Square block.
 

The corresponding half-square triangles are cut to fit around the center square using the same markings as the square. See how nice the triangles fit the square. No more matching centers before sewing.

 

 Don't want to draw that line on the backs of the squares for Flying Geese units? Cut the rectangle and squares as indicated in the pattern.

 

Place the squares on the ends of the rectangles and trim the corner with the triangle template, lining up the template as shown.

Sew, then repeat with the other side of the rectangle. Perfect Flying Geese each time!

The possibilities are endless! You can do the same thing with Snowball blocks as you did with the squares on the Flying Geese blocks.

Pretty cool huh? Well the are available on my website. All of the measurements and instructions for use are included in the set. Check them out: Cutting Corners

Got to get this out. Please share with your quilting friends. As always, do what you love and love what you do. Toby