For May, we’re sewing Block 6 of the My Favorite Color is Moda quilt-along. 

If you haven’t joined yet, jump on in the water’s fine!  Check with your local quilt shop for the pattern and any fabric or kits they’ve put together. We’ll be sharing a new block or blocks on the First Tuesday of every month for the rest of 2021.

Oh, and make sure to read to the end for details on a giveaway for one lucky sewist to share their Block 6 in May!

Note: If you’re sewing ahead, check the end of this post for all current pattern corrections.

We’re showing off this month’s block in the Cookie Tin colorway of Bella Solids.  Featuring reds, greens, aquas, and a snowy white, this colorway makes a gorgeous project to finish up at the end of the year for the holidays.

For those who have kept up with the quilt along so far, you might have thought to yourself, “Wow I’m getting pretty good at these half square triangles.”  Or maybe, “If I never see another half square triangle, it’ll be too soon.”  To those who fall into the second camp, I can only apologize because Block 6 features more than a few pesky HST’s.  96 to be precise, but who’s counting?

Half Square Triangles are beautiful and versatile, and in the grand scheme of quilt blocks, easy to make—which is probably why they’re so popular among quilters!  However, if you’re like me, the process of trimming and assembling them in bulk will inevitably leave you cursing their existence at some point.

The good news is, there are plenty of tools to help ease the process, and having a solid toolkit is key to helping the trimming process sail by.

RULERS

It’s hard to beat a good square ruler, in whatever size works best for you.  I have two Omnigrip square rulers: 6.5” (RN65) and 12.5” (RN125), and almost always use the 6.5” unless it’s too small for my block.  Olfa frosted rulers are also quite popular around the Moda offices!  It’s all down to your personal preferences.

I’ll say here, I press my HST’s open, so using a basic square ruler works best.  If you press to one side, you can open up the world of Bloc Loc templates that fit snug over your seam allowance and come in seemingly-endless different sizes.  Why press open?  Firstly, when you’re joining lots of HST’s together, the seams can tend to line up in ways that create bulk in your seam allowances and pressing open distributes that a bit better.  Secondly, I find pressing seams open just helps the quilt top lay a bit flatter and nicer.  Lastly, if you’re piecing a backing like I frequently do, you can end up with a seam in the backing lining up with a bulky seam in the top and it can cause problems for your longarmer and has been known to break needles.

GOOD CUTTING SURFACE

If you’re reading this post, chances are you have a good cutting mat already in your sewing room!  Yay!  Part of what makes trimming a bunch of HST’s such a pain is just that—back pain!  The optimal work table height is counter height, to reduce any bending over to see your cutting.  If, like me, you have limited space and work on a table height surface, taking breaks is key and being efficient in how many times you have to do things like reach to rotate your block.  It sounds like a little thing, but when you’re cutting almost 100 blocks, it really does add up!  A rotating cutting mat helps enormously by saving you reaching quite as far across the table.  I keep a 12” Olfa Spinning Mat (RM 12S) next to my machine and it’s a life saver.

KAI ROTARY CUTTER

Moda recently started carrying Kai scissors and their rotary cutter (RS 45) , so I thought this block would be the perfect time to give it a test run and see what all the fuss is about.  Genuinely, I don’t think I’m ever going back!  All of the Kai products are known for their durability, and the rotary blades are no different.  But the truly special features of the Kai cutter come down to the ambidextrous handling and safety guard.

That’s right, ambidextrous.  If you’re a lefty, this is a great cutter for you with no adjustments needed. Mazel!

The real star of this cutter for me is the safety guard, which I appreciate even more having had a few close calls with my finger tips in the past.  Rather than retracting the safety guard, it operates by pressure.  The guard stays in place until you press down enough to make your cut.  There’s of course still a chance you could knick yourself of course, but rather than a fully exposed blade, the cutting surface only extends the hair’s breadth it needs to make the cut.  Not only will it save your fingers, but no more dinging your blade on the corner of your ruler and ruining your blade (and wearing down the corner of your ruler over time)!

GIVEAWAY

 

I loved the Kai rotary cutter so much, that this month, one lucky sewist who posts their Block 6 on Instagram will win one of their very own! 

Enter by posting your Block 6 with the #MyFavoriteColorIsModa hashtag during May 2021, and share any tips or thoughts on Half Square Triangles - cutting tips, frustrations, why you love them, etc. Blocks can be on their own, or already sewn into a finished quilt top or quilt, so long as your post features Block 6.  Each person can enter once, and cutoff for entries is 11:59pm central time on May 31.  

Winner will be announced in June.

Reminder:  The My Favorite Color is Moda Sampler is not a free pattern.  The instructions to make the blocks are in the pattern booklet - PS9900 21.  That is available for purchase at your favorite quilt shop.

For a PDF download of the content of this post - My Favorite Color is Moda - Block 6

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MFCIM Pattern Correction Notes:

BLOCK 17: In the ‘Piecing’ section, the third block pairing reads correctly that you should use Fabric 1 & 6 to make HST.  However, the thumbnail image for the HST shows the incorrect fabrics, they should be the Green and Pink for Fabrics 1 and 6.  All of the cutting instructions are correct for the block.

BLOCK 18: In the ‘Piecing’ section, the thumbnail images for the block components are correct, but the fabrics listed for each are wrong.  The first thumbnail needs Fabric 1 & 9, and the second thumbnail need Fabric 8 & 1.  All of the cutting instructions are correct for the block.                

We will continue to list any pattern corrections in these blog posts for your reference.

If you have missed any of the prior My Favorite Color is Moda posts:

• Blocks 4 and 5
• Blocks 2 and 3
• Block 1
• Fabric & Cutting
• Introduction