a “berry” cute bee block + a tip and tutorial for tuesday!
afton, over at quilting mod, was a late addition to our quilting bee group, but we totally welcomed her with loving arms. now i’m sad to say that the journey has ended, because she was the last person on the list to make a block for. and it was one of my favorite blocks to make, by far. i might even have to make a few for myself! here is the free tutorial if you would like to try your hand at it.
i loved this pink one so much, i almost forgot to make a second block. duh! so it only felt right to make a red one too
i don’t know which one i love more!
but the real star of this post, is a new (to me) tool i discovered…the hera marker!
(that white doohickey next to the seam ripper)
i purchased it from my local joann fabrics store…it’s clover brand, originally $6.99, but i believe it was 40% off, plus an additional 15% off with my educator’s discount. so, a steal!
before i found this tool, i absolutely hated half square triangles. i tried a million ways to get them right, but nothing seemed to be working…just wasting a lot of fabric. i would draw with pen or pencil, but that would leave a dark line on my fabric. i would draw with chalk, but the line would be thick and not as accurate, and sometimes even disappear before i made it to the sewing machine. the final way i had settled on (before buying the hera marker) was to iron my triangles in half, and sew on the indented line.
i think i read about the hera marker in a magazine, immediately knew i needed to get one, and haven’t looked back since. i used to make my hst a whole inch bigger than the final size i needed them to be, just to have enough wiggle room to cut them down. i no longer have to waste so much fabric! it has really been a lifesaver!
here is the official description from joann’s website:
- It can be used for marking and making creases simultaneously
The Hera Marker makes slight creases on fabric that are your sewing guides. Can also be used with carbon paper. Uses no powder, but makes sharp, fine lines.
you can see the perfect creases up close here
and tada!
hst are now a breeze
if it isn’t obvious enough, i highly recommend picking up one of these for yourself!
i’m linking up with stephanie over at late night quilter for tips and tutorials tuesday
❤ xtina
I can’t believe our bee is coming to a close either! Your strawberries look fantastic! Thank you so much for your work on them. I’ve been too skeptical to give the hera marker a try. After all, can creasing make a mark I can see? Based on your recommendation, I think it’s worth giving it a fair shake.
Love your berries. The pink is so sweet. I need one of these Hera markers so badly!!!! Thanks for linking up to me. Guess what’s happening at my house this weekend, my friend. Your belated bee block!! Hopefully my daughter will be all better and my family will give me a couple hours of respite.