To Trim or Not to Trim??

*** NOTE - If you are looking for the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway you can find it here :)

So do you remember when I showed this picture of HST's the other day??  I always like to cut my squares for HST's 1/2" larger than the finish size. (Instead of the exact 3/8 size)  I mostly do this because I just can't seem to sew those diagonals as straight as I would like :)  Because of this I "get" to trim.

I spent the other day (and honestly, it felt like the whole day) trimming up this "little" pile.  here is what I ended up with.  (Side note . . .  Maybe I am weird, but I just love scrappy piles like this, I think they are cute looking :)

While in the middle of trimming I often found myself thinking, "Wow, this is a ton of work to trim off less than 1/8" ish off each side of the square, I wonder if it really makes a difference."  As soon as I was done I looked over at my perfect HST squares and thought, "Oh, they are so pretty and I am glad I did that, even though I can't feel my hand anymore :)".   Now that I am sewing with them I am constantly thinking, "Oh, I am so glad I took the time to trim them, their points are so perfect."

So this week I made the realization that for me (and I only speak for myself here) it is worth my time to trim those teeny tiny edges.  So now I am wondering . . . .  what do you prefer???  

Do you spend hours trimming for perfect HST's?

Do you move right on to sewing and adjust seams as necessary??

Do you cut your blocks 3/8" difference instead and eliminate the need altogether?

  This inquiring mind wants to know ;)

Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day

GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED

It's Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day!!!!!  Welcome to all my visitors old and new.  I know you have lots of giveaways to get to so we will make this quick.  Up for grabs, a  Freebird Charm Pack by MoMo !!!! 

Don't you just love these prints!!!!

How to enter . . . Simple!!  Be a follower of Happy Quilting, or become one,

 and leave a comment!!!  

That's it, Easy :)  Just click the follow button on the top of the blog and then leave me any old comment.  It doesnt' have to say "I follow your blog", (aren't you getting tired of that?), it can say anything!  (but ya know, keep it clean :)  

One entry per person, Please :)  International Entries Welcome.  Giveaway will close on Thrusday May 28th at 5:00 EST.  Mr. Random.Org will choose a winner.  I will notify the winner and announce it here on Friday Morning :)

Thanks for visiting!! Ya all come back now, ya hear!!! 

 Here is a quick link back to Sew Mama Sew :)

And The Winner Is . . .

Thank you to everyone that entered into the Intrepid Thread Sponsored Giveaway for the Fat Quarter set of Aviary 2 prints :)  I am sorry that I did not respond to all of the comments like I usually do, things are a little chaotic around here :)  So . .  Let's get to the part you want to hear about.

The Winner Is . . . . .

Peach Rainbow 110said...

Subscribed to Newsletter!

May 16, 2011 10:28 AM 

Congrats to Peach Rainbow!!!  I have sent you an email.

And if you didn't win today, there is always Monday :)  You know I can't miss Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day :)  

What's on My Cutting Table :)

Note **  Today is the last day to enter the Aviary 2 Fat Quarter Giveaway.  You can find it here :)


So these are the 2 new sets of prints on my cutting table right now :)

First off, these adorable 30's prints.  Aren't they just so fun in all of their cuteness :)

And yes, some amazing Strawberry Fields.  Don't you just love this line!!!!!  It is so beautiful!!!

I know you probably would like more details but this is all I am going to show or say about them , for the moment.  I know, me and all of my sneak peeks and then nothing more.  I am a stinker.  But you won't have to wait to long to find out more :)  You will see the first in the beginning of June and the second at the end .

And since you don't have to wait to long, I better get back to my cutting table to make sure I have them done in time :)  Have a Happy Quilting weekend :)

Blogger's Quilt Festival

I am so excited for Blogger's Quilt Festival.  It provides hours and hours of amazing eye candy and I always find the most amazing quilting blogs.  This particular festival was great for me because it was the perfect motivation to finish up a project that I was almost embarrassed to say was sitting in the closet.   

Way back on Feb 1st I introduced the Happy Quilting Quilt-A-Long.  This was my first time hosting a quilt-a-long and my oh my did I have a blast.  By Mid-March we had finished up and my top was complete, and then it was sadly put in the closet as I had some other projects needing attention.  (How sad is that, I am the host of the quilt-a-long and don't even finish the quilt, le sigh)  So now we find it is May and I am wondering what quilt to show for Blogger's Quilt Festival when suddenly I remember my Happy Quilting Quilt-A-Long top sitting in the closet just waiting to be quilted and bound.  So out she came :)

I spent some time on hands and knees basting, and then it was off to the dining room table to quilt it up :)  I love the flowers in this line so I decided to try and do a free motion design that was similar.  This is what I came up with.  Loops and Flowers with adorable little centers.  Aren't they cute :)

I am so excited to have this quilt all finished up and ready to be snuggled and loved.  It was so much fun to host a quilt-a-long and you can bet, there will be another one in the future!!!  (Probably after the little peanut arrives though :)  

My absolute favorite part about hosting the quilt-a-long was watching the progress of everyone else.  I can't believe how many people joined in on the fun.  It blew me away!!!  Quilting experience ranged from a first quilt to quilting for 40 years. It was even several participants first quilt-a-long.  How fun is that!!!  Here are some of the completed tops and there are even more in the processing stage.  You can check them all out at our Flickr Group :)  Isnt' it just so fun to see the same pattern done so many different ways!!!!  Thanks again to everyone that joined me on this quilt-a-long and made it such a wonderful experience :)

1. Pure II, 2. Quilt Top for Quilt-A-Long.jpg, 3. Completed top, 4. by Terri in BC, 5. Finished Top, 6. Happy Quilting Quilt-A-Long, 7. You Are My Sunshine, 8. Happy Quilting Quilt-A-Long 2011, 9. March 2011 002, 10. Tribal, 11. QuiltAlongTop, 12. Happy Quilting Quilt-A-Long, 13. Quilt along complete, 14. DSCN0851, 15. HQQA-Top Completed, 16. Happy Quilting QAL

Here is a quick way to get back to seeing other Blogger's Quilts :)  Thanks for stopping by and I would love to have you back to visit :)  There is always fun stuff happening around here :)