Big Love for a Small Quilt

Tiny Half-Square Triangles

Poor planning led to this adorable mini-quilt made from one-inch half-square triangle blocks!

Last year I made Annabelle, a half-square triangle quilt stitched from an assortment of prints and solids from my stash. I changed my mind about the overall design about a third of the way into the project, and I ended up with lots of blocks that didn’t belong in that quilt anymore.

I felt so bad about having a whole stack of blocks I couldn’t use that I made a mini bonus quilt, and I love it. I cut the original blocks into two small blocks using the Clearly Perfect Slotted Trimmer.

I make lots of triangle units and rely on these slotted trimmers. They are accurate, easy to use, and the ability to trim off the dog ears while you’re at it is a bonus. The set I purchased has one tool for blocks that finish from 1 to 6 inches and one for blocks that finish from 1.5 inches to 6.5 inches. I am not an Amazon affiliate and don’t earn any commission, but I like this tool and use it a lot. It’s a time saver!

Progress Shots

Here are progress shots of the front and back. I used a scant quarter-inch seam allowance and ironed all the seams open. Slow sewing and attention to detail helped me maintain accuracy. I added a 1-inch border to all sides and quilted diagonally through the squares. After successfully cutting, trimming, and stitching, I made a dumb mistake on the binding and had to rip out bits of the stitches at the corners and fix them.

Thoughts on the Process

This was a challenging project. At one point, I stuffed the trimmed-down mini-blocks in a zip lock bag, where they sat for months. When I found them again, I knew I had to finish it up, or it would be bound for the scrap bag. The little triangles fell into place in a very satisfactory manner, and it was fun making tiny decisions about what went where. Mostly, I was pleased that it came together with decent points and straight lines.

Fabrics are Kona Solids and assorted prints from my stash. Thread is all-purpose Coats & Clark. Quilted with 50-weight Aurifill.

Now, On to bigger things!