I understand the concept of stack and whack or one block wonder quilts, so I decided to just give it a go and figure it out as I go. I haven't read the book or watched tutorials ( not so great at following directions). But I'm wondering a couple of things that those of you who have done a lot might have opinions on --

-- do you press your seams open or together? I'm doing some each way to see which I prefer. The jury is still out.

-- do you chain piece your triangles when making hexagons? Or do you think it's better to complete one set of triangles / hexagon at a time?

-- how big do you prefer to make each triangle unit? or is that a function of the repeats in the fabric? Is there a range of sizes that seems most pleasing to you?

Is the center point, where all six triangles meet, lumpy and problematic when you go to quilt?

I have the most hideous fabric I am using for this experiment -- and I'm so pleased at how pretty the blocks end up being. I seriously think I could win an "Ugliest fabric ever" contest :D

RST

I have never made the OBW, but with stack and whack I press seams open to reduce bulk.
I chain piece everything, but it depends on your comfort level.

I am working on a quilt right now that I did the same thing. I had, well not exactly ugly fabric, but something I didn't think I'd use. It was probably 20 years old. But I just had to try, and ended up falling in love with the blocks. You can make them any size you want. From 4 sections to 8, even more if you want to cut them that small. When I sewed mine together, I made sure the seams all went in the same circular direction. The very center won't be that bulky that way. I didn't chain mine. Even though I do that alot in other quilts. I think it might get a bit confusing. So I just did one at a time. And I've found that I don't think that there is any fabric to ugle to do this. It still turns out very pretty.

Once I did my stack and whack's I ended up trying other things with this quilt I hadn't done before. So my "just playing" is turning out to be a really neat, very pretty quilt. So I can't wait to get it done.

Thanks -- here's what I've got going so far:

http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-94820-1.htm

You will want to press your seams open. As you sew the triangles together, it helps to line them up.

I separated the triangles, each stack that I cut, went on it's own paper plate. I then played with the stack, getting the layout I liked best.

Then I sewed two together, another two together, then add on more to each pair. Keep these halves on the plate and go onto the next stack.

If you get these mixed up, it would take forever to get them all straightend out again LOL The paper plates stack nicely, and they easily go from the machine to the ironing board and then to the design wall :D:D:D

I vote for doing one set at a time too - chain piecing is usually my preference, but I'd have to spend as much time labelling so I could keep them straight as I'd save by chain-piecing.

Paper plates is a great idea. I've just been putting the halves directly on my design wall, so I can admire them while I sew more, but I can see where having them on plates would save time.

RST