I have been quilting for 18 years and I know everything, (right). I am putting together a quilt with hundreds of half square triangles. I've made many thousands of 1/2 squares I can do them in my sleep. After about 100 I got tired and bored of drawing a line, sewing on both sides, cutting apart. Well I have a good eye so I tried a few with just one corner to the next, and It worked, Yea. So I made the rest of them and guess what? When I put them together they don't match. So I wasted, time, fabric and my pride is damaged. So I hope you learn from my bloated ego, and do your 1/2 squares the way you were taught.

oh, the frustration... I'm so sorry. ugh!!!
Love the colors though. Can't wait to see it finished.

Thanks for the reminder to do it the way we were TAIGHT.. verses the way I was going to do them.. just like YOU!

THANK YOU for the reminder!!

This is one of those mistakes you will only make once. (Been there done that - thought to save time.....)

Sorry you have to redo.

Makes you remember why you did it the way you had done it for eons. We all need a reminder now and again. Thanks. Sorry about your quilt.

I must be a major beginner having only been quilting for 13 years or so. But I DO NOT see the problem????

Glad I'm not the only one who gets over-confident. I was putting the binding on my quilt today and I'm thinking: This isn't so hard; why do people hate bindings? Welllll---I was almost done and noticed I sewed it backwards with the fold on the inside!! How could I have not noticed. Thanks for sharing your blooper-makes me feel better LOL.

OH NO!!! Sounds like something I would do!!!! :( I love your fabrics and block, though :)

Opps. Someone else did that a couple of months ago.

Just when we think we know it all - guess what!!

I am so sorry that you "found this out". I thought I was the only one who did this. :(

I (although this is a recent discovery) have found, whenever I think I can go for the short cut, that I am SO wrong. I now measure once, twice then three times, cut and then sew a HST at least 1/4 to 1/2 inch larger than I need so that I can trim it down to size. Ask me why . . . :oops:

I (although this is a recent discovery) have found, whenever I think I can go for the short cut, that I am SO wrong. I now measure once, twice then three times, cut and then sew a HST at least 1/4 to 1/2 inch larger than I need so that I can trim it down to size. Ask me why . . . :oops:[/quote]
I know why, same reason I do it that way

:lol:

If I can save just one quilter!!!!!!

You just did :lol: I swear (holding hand in air) to NEVER do that with 1/2 square triangles!! I have a hard enough time getting them to match when doing it correctly :oops: :oops: :oops:

Thanks for the reminder not to cut corners!

Check out my tutorial for Really Easy Half Square Triangles.

http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-37915-1.htm

I'm sew sorry about your mistake and I promise to do as I was taught no matter how smart I think I am.

your mistake was NOT trying a new method.

if we never experiment, we never learn anything new.

your only error was either (1)changing methods in the middle of a project; or (2) not comparing the HSTs made each way to verify they'd work together.

keep trying new things. there's a whole world of different methods out there waiting to be discovered. ;-)

I guess you can send me a "raspberry" and I will deserve it ... I seem to be the only one who thought your predicament and pictures were amusing. This is because I have exactly been in your shoes; I have gone from being a smug smarty-pants to saying rude things to myself for making errors ... especially unforgiveable when I should have known better!

guess it wasn't "justok" to do this!!LOL Anyway the block is a neat looking block--thanks for sharing G

Woops. Those things do happen. We all want to find shortcuts to get our beautiful quilts done sooner. I do love your fabrics and think it will be a wonderful quilt.

I'm so sorry about your mistake. I promise NEVER to try to do it your way! LOL Good luck if you plan on tearing them all back apart and resewing them. I love the materials and the pattern. Please post pictures when you get it finished.

You know how Amish make one mistake on purpose? If anyone asks, you did it on purpose :)

OH I like that idea, seem so simple compaired to the other way, even the thangle way which I am not real fond of. Thanks for the tutorial. :)

I tried Rhonda's tutorial for half square triangles and it is awesome. I am making 2.5 in. HST right and left like crazy just because it is so easy and perfect. I use Elenor Burns 6 1/2 Triangle Square Up Ruler to cut them out using the 2nd variation of Rhonda's method. I sew the strips on both sides, then cut them out. They are perfect every time. Thank you Rhonda. :thumbup:

Eleanor Burns ruler is a must have no matter what method you use. It saves so much time squaring up but I also like her method for making 8 squares at a time.
Be sure and watch her method at Quilt in a Day.

So sorry! Thanks for the reminder that no matter how long we have been quilting, the rules still apply. I have learned that lesson the hard way before.

I have used this method for all my half square triangles... the trick is in making them 7/8 larger and then trimming for perfect accuracy!!! Thank you to Eleanor Burns for that trick!! And it makes things much easier!!!

I recently saw this article on mass producing half square triangles:
[url]http://quilting.suite101.com/article.cfm/how_to_mass_produce_halfsquare_triangle_blocks[url/]

and here is a close up of her technique

The first big quilt I made had tons of half square blocks. I guess I never knew the right was to do them cause I cut all the triangles first them stitched them together. Maybe I was lucky 'cause I did them all the wrong way cause it came out looking okay

I just hate when the fabric thinks its smarter than us.

nice quilt

Don't you just hate that! I've at times did it my way and after much time spent realized I should have listened to the teacher!

PS: Love your fabric choices!

when I did that... I knew it was time to stop sewing - always mistakes happen when I am in a hurry or tired... lesson learned, but I like the quilt block!

No one answered the woman who didn't see what is wrong. If you will look at the block she posted, the black parts at each corner do not make a straight line where they join. If you look at the green quilt, the lines continue in a straight line around the quilt. Just a slight (even 2 threads) difference will skew the design.

Your 'subject' drew me in! When making a few HST I just press mine lightly at the diagonal and don't bother to draw the line. When making lots, I make the square bigger than is called for and draw the middle line to make 2 HST at once. It really helps to cut the squares a little bigger because you can really adjust the diagonal when you 'square up' your block.

Here are some pictures of the boo, boo 1/2 squares finished. I'm going to put it together as a queen and use it on a bed that is rarely used. What the heck!!

What a dazzling quilt!

It turned out great and only your know it has boo-boos in it. No one else will be the wiser.

Been there done that ha ha....We all make mistakes the thing is do we learn from them...I think you have and with all the info provided here and the two great links one from Rhonda and the other from Grammatjr you will be making HSTs fast and easy from now on.

I like your quilt, it has a great pattern to it and the colors are yummy :thumbup:

Eleanor Burns --- has a section in one of her books where you cut 12x18 inch piece of fabric of dark and light and you draw squares and then diagial lines and you sew 1/4 inch from the line and you come out with alot of 1/2 squared triangles.... I do not remember which one of her books this is in.. and I have seen other do it marsha mclusky uses a different technique but she does alot of 1/2 trangles - which you might want to try if you are doing alot of 1/2 trangles... (Marsha does alot of feathered star with alot of 1/2 trangles) ---- 1/2 trangles are my nemis...but I have found these techiques help if you are doing alot of 1/2 trangles....