S.W.A.K. Revealed (Piece and Quilt with Precuts Blog Hop)
S.W.A.K. is the 4th quilt in the Piece and Quilt with Precuts book by Christa Watson. I am so happy to finally be able to share my finished quilt after all the sneak peeks on my Instagram!
This quilt uses Charm Packs for the half square triangles (HSTs). So keeping with the spirit of the precuts theme, I decided to use Airmail (quantity 2), Modern Background Ink (quantity 2), and Bella Solid White (less than 1) Charm Packs. Here is the first lesson: Not all Charm Packs are the same size! Seriously. You'd think they should all be 5" square, but with the pinked edges the square is sometimes larger or smaller.
I used my Frixion pen to mark the diagonals on all the lines and centered the two pieces the best I could. However, it didn't help with the finished size of the HST. The pattern calls for 4-5/8" HSTs, but mine were so inconsistent due to the charm pack size that I made the decision to trim them to 4-1/2". So I then started my long process of trimming all 168 HSTs.
I used my design wall to lay out the entire quilt before I made the blocks. I realized with the Red and Blue blocks I could make the fun Xs and Os in different colors.
Because I trimmed my HSTs, the final version of my quilt is slightly smaller than what is listed in the pattern, but it's crucial to have consistently sized HST to have a square quilt! I tried spray basting this quilt for the first time! Christa gave a demo of spray basting in her Start Up Quilting Craftsy class, and I was definitely intrigued. I must say, I think I have fallen in LOVE with spray basting. It makes quilting so much easier without having to take out pins all the time. I followed the square spiral walking foot quilting instructions in the book, and I can only imagine how hard that would have been if there were pins!
So what are my overall thoughts about the pattern and the book? It's a great book that goes from piecing instructions to how to quilt that specific design. Christa has great instructions and great tips throughout the book to help build your skills.
You can purchase a signed copy of the book from Christa's Shop or you can purchase a copy using my Amazon Affiliate link.
Don't forget that the blog hop continues through August 30 so be sure to check out all the other amazing designs and quilters!
Last but not least, since I spent all weekend migrating my blog to be self hosted and now can have Rafflecopter giveaways… Here's a giveaway for an E-copy of Piece and Quilt with Precuts! The giveaway is open until the Midnight CDT on August 31. Good Luck!
I have the Perfect HST & QST ruler by June Tailor and I LOVE it. It makes trimming so much easier!
I love your red, white, and blue version of SWAK! Inconsistency with precuts is frustrating, but that doesn’t stop me from buying them, lol.
I trim my hst’s with the Quilt in a Day triangle trimmer. It works great!
I LOVE precuts! So I am in your same camp of always buying more!
I usually trim just using a straight edge ruler.
I have the new triangle trimmer by Kari Carr, called Clearly Percect Slotted Trimmer.
I love to use loc blocks or just a small square up ruler.
I don’t have a great method for trimming half square triangles, it see there are many great suggestions here! Thanks for sharing the awesome giveaway!!
I use the Bloc Loc or Creative Grids square ruler. Just depends on which one is nearer my hand.
I love your quilt! I bought a bloc loc ruler but haven’t had a project with HSTs to try it yet.
I trim half square triangles by lining up the diagonal seam of the square with the diagonal line on my ruler, trim outside edges, turn 180 degrees to trim remaining edges.
It is rather disappointing to discover your blocks are not all the same size due to the different sizes pre-cuts can be. And, unfortunately, it is often when we have made all our blocks that we realize the difference. But we are usually resourceful enough to find a way around the problem and hope we are wise enough to check measurements of the pre-cuts the next time we use them and before we start to sew.
Alexa – Funny thing is I knew the size different when I started, but there really isn’t much you can do if those are the fabrics you want to use. The best solution is just to trim them down. It would have been different if I were cutting the 5″ squares myself.
I use a creative grids ruler for my HST – tks
Love your SWAK quilt! The blue and red colors really pop! I trim my HST blocks the old fashioned way with a straight edge ruler and rotary cutter.
Any ruler with a 45-degree angle that I can line up along the seam to truly get a square cut works for me!
Using a square ruler .
I use a bloc loc ruler. Makes it so easy and fast
Oh I love this design from the book. I have done something similar but your color choices are gorgeous. Of course grey is my new favorite neutral and seems to be popping into many of my quilts this year.
I hate trimming HST’s so I just muddle thru best as I can…your quilt is gorgeous and I love the color placements!
I usually use a square ruler to clean up.
I use the quilt in a day trimmer for HST’s too. It’s so fast and accurate.
I use a ruler