What did I do wrong?

Kim,

You might check this page:

A quick calculation makes me believe that the standard sizes they give are for finished blocks, and 62 is there, so you should be able to use their numbers right off.

There is also an explanation for how to work it out.

I think the instructions you found might not be for setting blocks on point, but rather for straight forward blocks made of triangles? Sewing

2 QST together to make a block of "finished size x", is what I mean.

HTH, Hanne in London

If you're like me, you probably did nothing wrong. I have tried and tried and tried many times to use the formulas for cutting HST & QST and they are **always** a tad too small! VBS! Now what I do is totally different. I usually draw a full size block diagram on graph paper to determine the diagonal measurement(s) needed for my HST & QST pieces. Once I have determined the size needed, I usually cut my squares about

1/2" bigger than needed, make my diagonal cuts and then trim my HST & QST pieces to fit! For whatever reason, I am totally incapable of cutting any HST or QST to the proper size right off the bat -- LOLOL! CiaoMeow >^;;^<

My math-challenged method: Using your 24" ruler, measure along the diagonal line of your cutting mat twice the length of the square blocks, i.e. 13". Go up to the next intersecting vertical line and see what size square that is, which would be 10" according to my mat and ruler. Make the QSTs from this size square. The thing to remember is that the short sides of the QSTs have to be at least as long as the sides of your blocks!

To fix your current problem, what about sew>I'm setting blocks on point. I've done this several times but always

Roberta,

I _love_ your idea for a fix - I also think that the corners would float, particularly if the strips + borders are a solid/near-solid. Very cool!

Hanne in London

Roberta wrote:

Kim, have you learned your lesson? Am I going to have to come yell at you about not testing? What were you thinking? Especially since you were running short of fabric. Test, Kim. TEST ! I'm thinking you need some chocolate. Polly

But we'd better test it first... ;-)

Hanne - thanks for that link. I'm bookmarking that one! According to that site there is an extra calculation (for lack of a better term) that needs to be included of which I wasn't aware. Now I'll just have to see if I have enough of another fabric from the quilt to make the sides/corners or if it's more buying.

I'd add the strips as Roberta suggests but I'm out of matching fabric and this is so monochromatic (by design) that I just don't think I'd get the desired effect.

What a pain this quilt has been! Thankfully I gave myself 2 yrs. to get it done. Have a little over 12 months to finish piecing and hand quilting.

Kim in NJ

Yes - I've learned my lesson well! Chocolate is definitely in order! Went out shopping for some today fortunately. Chocolate may not be quite enough. This may also require stronger liquid that the unsweetened iced tea I'm currently drinking!

Kim in NJ

Kim, as others have said, the measurements you used are right for making HSTs and QSTs for blocks, or parts of blocks. But not right for setting triangles. For setting triangles I generally go old fashioned low tech... lay the block on point on the cutting mat. Measure from top corner to bottom corner. Add about half an inch (or so... remember you already have some extra seam allowance here because you are measuring the raw edge to raw edge size. ) This will give you the size square to cut into quarters for side setting triangles. (for a 6 1/2" block, unfinished size, this works out to about 9 1/2"-10". You could also go back to math class and use the classic Pythagorean theorem. which is: a squared plus b squared = c squared. Where a and b are the short legs of the triangle and c is the hypotenuse (long side) of the triangle. For right triangles that works out that the size of square you need for the setting triangles is the square root of 2 (approximately 1.4___) times the side of the block. (for six inch blocks this would be 6x1.4=8.4 add seam allowance of 7/8" or so, and you get roughly 9 1/2"-10" or thereabouts. I always cut a bit on the larger size, because I can either trim the finished top down, or float the points of the blocks a bit in from the edge/border/whatever.

Have fun, Pati, > I'm setting blocks on point. I've done this several times but always