A new quilt shop & step 2

Well, not exactly a new shop, but it sure looked like it. Sawdust And Stitches, the quilt shop in our little town is in a very old building.  They have needed new light fixtures in that store since day one.  They finally got them over the holidays. What a huge difference! (Yes, it's been that long since I have been there.)  I always enjoyed that store before.  Now I'm afraid with the new lights I'll enjoy it more!  (read: spend more)  Wish me luck. Actually, I was pretty good when I was there the other day.  I went in for some thread and only picked up 3 half yards to go with it.

My scrap box of A, B. and C triangles was stuffed. These are the triangles I use for my Thirtysomething technique.  So I sorted through all the pieces to see if I could come up with anything I could use to make a few more blocks.  I guess this was just for fun, because I have no use for these blocks. They were added to the pile of orphan blocks. Oh yeah, I remember why I went through that box. I was preparing for a class, and made the 6 inch blocks with the equilateral triangles. I call them the Fancy X block.  I made 3 of those and 4 other blocks.

Before I put the new orphan blocks away, I dug out a few other 12 inch blocks and placed the Fancy X over their centers to see if I could come up with some ideas for some new blocks.  What do you think?


 I put another quilt on the frame and I was sure I had enough thread on the spool.  I was really surprised when at the end of the 2nd row, I ran out of that thread so I had to place an order and have been waiting for it all week. So, while I have been waiting I made myself an apron using my favorite chicken fabric, and a new tote bag.  I made the bag I have been using all these years about 25 years ago. It's my favorite and I still have the pattern. So I made another one. And the apron has only been on my to do list for over 10 years. So I'm feeling pretty good about that

Now to begin sewing the Thirtysomething Mystery.

Step 1.  Sew a light triangle to a medium or dark triangle. Press the seam away from the light triangle. Make 24 half-square triangle units.



 I'm going to bet that won't take you long at all, so here's the next step.


Step 2. Make 12 Square-in-a-Square units. There are several ways to get the pieces lined up correctly for sewing. hopefully these pictures show that. One is to finger-press a crease at the center of the edges to be joined. Then match the creases, and sew. Another way would be to trim the pointy seam allowances using a trimming template. This should make the triangles fit the squares perfectly.

A 3rd way would be to center the triangle and make the little mouse ears sticking out the same size.  This is easier to see when the triangle is on the bottom.


Either way, sew a medium or dark triangle to opposite sides of a 4 3/4" light square; press away from the center.  Sew triangles to the opposite sides; press. Repeat to make 12 Square-in-a-Square units. They should measure 6 1/2" square.

I'm curious. Would any of you  rather make these units with over-sized triangles that are trimmed to size after sewing? Would you rather see directions telling you that? IF so, how much bigger?

Take care and sew long,