Stretching Is Good

That HST block that I showed a little while ago has really been a good exercise for getting me out of my traditional colour ruts and trying something new. And, it's now joined two other blocks to become a table runner that is ready to quilt.

The colours in this piece are a real mix but I'm lovin' how they all play together - red, green, blue, brown, grey and citron with a hint of cream.

I've got a thing for citron fabrics but haven't seemed to really do anything with them so this was a good move. There's a second citron project mulling around in my head, but first things first.

I started making HSTs with 5" squares but realized fairly quickly that unless this runner was to be used by giants I had some trimming to do. It was the perfect excuse to crack open my new Martelli circular rotating cutting mat. LOVE it! I had seen Lynn from Sew'n Wild Oaks use one in her videos and, after much stewing (and finding a great online deal), decided to treat myself for my birthday last month.

Now, we grew up in a 'waste not, want not' kind of home so there was a fair bit of angst about trimming almost a half an inch off of each block, but in the end I decided that it was the only thing to do. That said, I think the original block size would be great if it were for a quilt top. You can see the difference in size the trimming made, and this is before everything was sewn together.

I think it's going to get quilted with simple vertical lines but it needs to sit on the design wall for a little bit longer before the final decision is in....M