Half Square Triangles trimmed and ready for the Design Wall

I've been busy working on my almost Random Half Square Triangle Modern quilt. Almost random because I just couldn't resist pairing up fabrics which highlighted each other.

I decided to make the HSTs (abbreviation for half square triangle) by sewing two squares together with the 1/4 inch sewing lines marked on the square of fabric which is the lighter color of the pair.

Omnigrid rulers and Fons & Porter have teamed up to create a great tool to mark the 1/4 seam line on HST blocks. It saves a step by eliminating the need to draw the center diagonal line through the middle of each block.

Omigrid Fons & Porter 1/4 inch marking ruler

In the left photo the ruler is positioned on block for drawing the 1/4 inch sewing lines. (The photo was taken after the fact. If you look closely you'll note the lines have already been sewn). The pointed ends of the ruler can be lined up with the corner of the block. I just make sure the middle line on the ruler intersects each of the corners.

On the right is a block with both lines sewn, ready to be cut apart. The block is cut down the middle, right between the sewing lines. Once opened, you'll have two completed HST blocks.

The photo below shows the opened block ready to be trimmed square. Note the 45 degree line on the ruler is lined up with the center seam of the block.

I used quite a few modern fabrics in these blocks. Several of them cost over $10 a yard so I wanted to squeeze as much as possible out of the fat quarters I had purchased. The fat quarters were 21 inches wide after I trimmed off the selvage so it worked out best if I cut the squares at 6 7/8 x 6 7/8 inches.

Traditionally HST blocks cut at 6 7/8 inches are trimmed to 6 inches square.
I found I was able to trim the blocks at 6 1/4 inches. This creates a quirky 5 3/4 inch finished block. Since I'm not working from a pattern, that is fine. I'm delighted to be able to use every possible bit of these beautiful fabrics.

Here are the trimmings from the 90 HST blocks in this project. The look like they might make some sort of a nice monster stuffed toy! (Actually I save them and they go to a cotton recycling program).

I'm off to the Design Wall to see how these blocks look best together. I'm thinking about adding a surprise block to the quilt. We will see if that happens or not!