Tothill

Please ensure the technique you are using for the HST blocks does not have outer bias edges (the 4 at a time ones do). I like the Magic 8 technique and trim as I go.

Why avoid the bias edges? I made a quilt with bias edged blocks, trimmed carefully, then set the beautifully trimmed pressed blocks aside for 6 months. They grew in storage and I had to re-trim them all. I lost points and the beautiful secondary pattern is a mess.

I am looking at making two quilts this summer and one will be HST blocks, but finish at 8 inches, so not nearly as many as you will be making.

JustAbitCrazy

Starch (heavy) will be your best friend to prevent fraying.

sandy l

I'm a big fan of Karla Alexander. I have several of her books and have made lots of quilts using her method.

Tartan

​I followed Laura's idea from Sew Very Easy to make a custom box for my Scrap Crazy ruler pieces. You could make a box to fit your triangle pieces exactly. My Scrap Crazy pieces I am cutting and adding to my box as I get scraps and it will probably take me a year to get enough for a quilt.[ATTACH=CONFIG]614442[/ATTACH]

juliasb

I have done a number of larger quilts that are all HST's. I have got into the habit of storing them squared up and pressed in baggies according to size. They have usually ended up as extras because they were not squaring up to start with so I thought to myself why not do them as I intended and put them aside. They are always ready for use this way. When I am ready to make a scrappy quilt like the depression block quilt, all I have to do is pull them out and put them together. Of course I find many uses along the way for some of the left over HST's I have put away. Always ready to go, bagged so there is little to no fraying. It may take me a couple years to collect the number of HST's need for such a quilt. I also have this other little quirk. When I feel like I want to be quilty and not in the mood to make a full top I just make HST's out of different pieces and put them away for another time. One never knows when a HST will be needed. This Depression Block quilt is all left over HST's. Nice queen size quilt.

Iceblossom

Tartan, if you like your ruler set, you would like those books by Karla Alexander. Same concept but from before rulers, you draw out your own grid.

One of the ladies in my Tuesday group brings HST to work on, she has been using up her tiniest scraps. I think the concept is to have tiny little 1" HST in the center and gradually work bigger up to about 2.5" around the outer edges. I think she is nuts! Week after week for two hours at group she trims them down. She has some interesting square tall acrylic boxes in various sizes and once the block is trimmed it is put in the box stack. She doesn't have boxes for all her sizes but I have to admit, it's lovely storage for a long term project.

Missi

Don’t forget the leader and ender trick. Always start and stop your sewing with the HST, you don’t have to go down both sides. I try and do this instead of using a scrap piece or kite as some people call it. It’s a bit more work with HST but it’s amazing how many you get done. All while working on another project!

quilterpurpledog

Standing organized is the key! I think a plastic bag is the answer to all things to be stored! In order to make them re-useable, I write my labels on small pieces of paper and stick them inside the bag. I would certainly trim and press them as I went along. I can't imagine doing that boring job all at once when I wanted to use them.

citruscountyquilter

I'm a big fan of making things in 10's. Easy to count and also gives me some variety of tasks. I store my completed squares in baggies, each with 10 in them. If you want to make 8 like HST at a time not a problem just put them in different baggies. Don't obsess over having things evenly distributed. When the quilt is put together you won't be able to tell anyway and it will save you a lot of angst in the process.
I have also used a process to make HST called Triangulations from Bear Paw. It is a computer program (simple) that you print out pages of triangles that you use the lines to sew on. Very simple and easy to use and the size of the triangle is spot on so trimming is not necessary. You just sew and cut on the lines. You do end up with like HST squares so if you are aiming for every square to be different this would not be the way to go. You can tear the paper off as you go or wait until you're ready to put the squares in a quilt. I used newsprint paper that I got at Amazon for cheap but you can also check with your local newspaper as they sell the ends of their rolls for next to nothing (at least our local newspaper does) With that you have to cut the paper to 8.5x11 so it fits through your printer. The paper I got on Amazon came that size. Both tear away very easily and much less expensive than the foundation paper you can get.

leighway

I'm a Big fan of Triangulations, especially since you get straight of grain on both sides. I've been trying to figure out how to use it for scrappy and one compromise is to print out the 8x11 sheet on the computer and then cut it into strips of say 3 blocks each, depending on the finished size of the blocks, then just use those 3 and find enough fabric to work with, etc. This is greek to those who don't know Triangulations. But if you have the program you'll understand. Anybody else come up with good ideas for scrappy using the T. program?