SueSew

NJ, I totally agree with you on the scraps! you are the first poster I've heard say that you leave them be. So do I! Who knows what bit or piece will be just right when the time comes! Good luck with the "double-trouble" star

Holice

Your post sounds like you don't need the special rulers. I believe you are doing ok without a lot of fancy tools.

tessagin

I love making the flying geese the way I learned on YouTube "Dutchman's Puzzle Block" flying geese. No special ruler needed. We'd go broke starting out if we bought every ruler and template there is. I try to find a way so I don't have to put money out and then not like it. I do have rulers to help square up that is important.

JustAbitCrazy

Ok, how do you make your HST? Inquiring minds want to know!

peaceandjoy

Bonnie suggests these rulers, but they are by no means required to do her quilts. She will tell you to use whatever method you want to use, as long as you end up with the necessary size units. Her quilts are time consuming in that they have many pieces, but they are quite doable. There is a large and active Yahoo group devoted to chatting about all things Quiltville. You might consider joining, as there will be many folks who will share their hints for success as the mystery unfolds. It is called Quiltville chat and you can find it by going to Yahoo groups. You do need to request permission to join.

As far as catching quiltcam - they are now available through Youtube, so if you can't watch them as they are live, you can always go there to watch when you are able.

I'm a huge fan of Bonnie's. If you haven't seen her website and blog, I think they are well worth a visit; there is a lot of free information and scads of free patterns. (www.quiltville.com, which will also have a link to her blog).

BuzzinBumble

All the fancy rulers sort of scare me - and some of those techniques seem like a lot more work. You should use whatever way makes you happy and your shapes accurate. I love HST papers and how quickly you can produce large numbers of HSTs with them. You can find printable downloads for free by googling for them.

quiltmom04

I have to admit, I'm a sucker for a new ruler, but I have never purchased the Bonnie Hunter rulers. I've been so pleased with my Deb Tucker rulers; they work for most all the piecing situations I have come across. I admire anyone who can devise a new ruler, patterns, and marketing plan to go with it - that's what it's about, after all. I'd love to have that initiative! I would imagine there were discussions many years ago of " do we really need a big plastic ruler and a pizza cutter for fabric? I can just trace the templates and cut them out!" I'd say do whatever works for you!

KathyKat

I'm not re-newing my Fons and Porter mag because of the use of special rulers for a lot of their patterns. I also don't want to spend money on too many special rulers. I think you can make tons of blocks and patterns without special rukers.

maviskw

[QUOTE=mpeters1200;6362495]I've always done patterns that include the measurements for the sew and flip method. I think I'm going to have to research it and make up a golden rule or something that tells me what size squares and rectangles and such to use. Maybe if I have it written down on something I can use it for reference and make the pieces according to sew and flip but assemble the quilt according to her methods. [QUOTE]

Just this last week, I found a site which gives sizes for each type of FG. There is a chart by the first three methods showing what size the finished goose will be, and the size to cut pieces for large and small triangles. Sizes are from 1"X2" to 4"X8". Maybe someone can find the site. I will try to look also.

Traditional: All triangles are cut and sewn together; small to large. Works fine if you like working with really small pieces and they are stiff as paper. All seams are bias edges.

Flip, Flip, Finish: Small squares are laid on rectangle, sewn on bias seam line, and corner is trimmed off. All those little triangle waste pieces cause a problem for some of us. We just have to use them somewhere else. LOL

Fast and Furious: Two small squares are placed on corners of larger square. Mark; sew; cut; press. Then two more small squares are placed on these pieces, and repeat the mark; sew; cut; press. Also called the No Waste method.

Paper-Pieced Geese: This method is not shown here, but a site to find the directions is here.

Eleanore Burns Method: This method is not even listed. There is a little waste, but they are very accurate after trimming.

I like the no-waste method myself.

maviskw

I would like to know, also. I surmise it is sewing rectangles RST to get two HST. I have done that. and it's easier to figure out how big to make the rectangles because they are as high as your unfinished HST. The width would be about 1/2" wider, but I'm not real sure about that.