Snowball Blocks + Extras

My guess is that lots of quilters do what I am doing with these snowball blocks. And this, ladies and gentlemen, is how we quilters assure that we will never, ever run out of projects.

For the green 9-patch/snowball quilt I am making, there is a point during the making of the snowball blocks that an additional step can be taken to yield a whole lotta' little HSTs. And yes, I am taking that step.

Here's a little stack of snowball blocks. For those readers who are non-quilters, this block is made with one big square and 4 small squares sewn across each corner of the larger square. The part that is cut off the back is waste. With bigger snowballs, though, that becomes a huge amount of expensive fabric being dumped into the trash can. My snowball blocks are 6.5 inches, so the cut away part is large enough that something could be made from those corners.

And that is what I am doing. In the process I am creating a whole new quilt project that was never, ever on my radar.

The steps are as follows. Picture tutorial begins...

With right sides together, match up the corners of the big and one of the small triangles; sew across the diagonal.

Then run the piece back through the machine, sewing a consistent amount away from the previous stitching; ideally we want a quarter-inch seam, but these are obviously going to be lots smaller.

Cut away the smaller corner. These seam allowances are about half what a normal seam would be.

I like to cut off the tails, so I do that as I go. Even though I am not going to be using these small triangles any time soon, they will be ready for me when I get to them.

Since I need about 40 snowball blocks, I am going to end up with about 160 little cut-away triangles. When chain piecing, it doesn't really add too much additional work to take these few extra steps.

A pile of tails soon builds up; this is much easier for me to throw away than what you see in the next photo!

Not everyone is interested in a stack of little HSTs, but I know I will be able to use these for something. With fabric in the range of $11-$13 per yard, I just can't justify wasting these.

With consistent stitching of the second seam (I just eyeball it), I generally have an HST in the range of 2 inches - often just a scant fraction smaller.

I will be sure to let you all know when I use these HSTs. It might be awhile; it might be next week. One never knows around here. 

How's you Monday going? I have had a hair appointment, and now I need to make a very serious grocery store trip. I have procrastinated doing that for so long that my list is a whopper. Yikes.

Happy Quilting, Friends!