TNT - The Bee Block Version

I love being a part of Bee's!!!  Each month they challenge me and I almost always get to try something new!!!  I highly recommend trying one out if you haven't done so already.    This month had me trying new things with each block.  (And yes, I am just finishing my bee blocks with a whole 2 days to spare :)

First, Cherie requested a Carpenters Star block.  This is a stunning block and Cherie has so many beautiful color combo's for it!!  She wrote up a fabulous little tutorial for it here in case you want to do your own :)  I love these blocks that are all about perfectly precise points.

The new thing I tried with this block was making larger HST's for trimming.  When I was ready to trim these I had to check the directions 3 times to make sure I wasn't trimming them to small.  I kept thinking there was way more fabric than normal.  And that is because there was.  Cherie's directions had us make our squares 3/4" larger then the HST size instead of 1/2" larger.  And I have to say, I really liked it!!!  I found trimming when much faster because I didn't have to be so precise and most of all, it made me feel like I was actually trimming for a reason.  I think I might be doing my HST's with the 3/4" give in the future :)

The second bee block I put together was for Lindsay and she requested a Polaroid block.  This was such a fun block to put together!!!  You chain sash everything so it goes together super quick.  I used this fabulous tutorial  to put it together.

My favorite part of this block was picking the "pictures" to fussy cut.  And while I was fussy cutting I decided to try something new.  I was getting frustrated trying to make sure my images were centered and having to constantly keep checking the measurements.  And then I saw the masking tape I use when basting and WhaLa.  2 tape marks along the edge of my designated measurement, no more centering headaches.  Perfect!!!

So . . . That is what I have been trying new this week :)  2 little tricks to speed up your cutting :)  So what have you been trying new this week??  Link on up!!