Love those Half Square Triangles

OK, so I've been obsessively looking through Flickr and many, many blogs finding all the wonderful HST pillows and quilts people were working on. I don't know what it is about them that I like so much, maybe it's how many layout options there are and how different each quilt can look depending on which direction you put the triangles. I dove right in and I am currently working on this quilt


I just can't move much farther because my rotary cutter blades are too dull for all the necessary trimming and new ones are still somewhere in FedEx delivery truck, hopefully coming my way soon.

What I also found was that although I LOVE the way these quilts look, I absolutely HATE trimming those squares to be the exact size. I thought I would just somehow finish this quilt and my love affair with Half Square Triangles would have to be over. Very sad!!!

But then I started seeing fabric Go! cutters all over the web and I knew this was the answer to my problem. A machine that cuts fabric quickly, precisely, no rotary cutters, no trimming. As luck would have it, my birthday is coming up soon, so I asked my husband to get it for my birthday. And he did. How great is that? Here it is, sitting on my kitchen table.


Of course I had to try it out right away. I took out my fabric and in just a few minutes I had enough triangles to make a pillow cover to match the quilt I'm working on.

HST pillow front

HST pillow back
I did some simple zig - zag quilting and I used Rachel 's tutorial for invisible zipper. She gave great instructions and lots of pictures to help along. Even though my zipper isn't as "invisible" as it could be, I still am very happy with how this pillow turned out. And thanks to my new Go! cutter I see lots of HST projects in my future.

Oh, and  so I don't forget, I'm in no way, shape, or form associated with Accuquilt (makers of Go! cutters). I just love how easy to use and convenient it is, so I wanted to share it with you.

Have a wonderful long weekend.

Svetlana