Sister's Choice Quilts

My interests are quilting, reading, cooking, family, decorating, and matters of style. I post regular quilting tutorials and book reviews of current fiction.

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Tootsie Pops Progress

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Some progress has been made on my spring table runner.  Aren't those blocks adorable?

I thought I'd talk about the pattern and the block construction in case some of you might want to make this pretty runner for yourselves.

The pattern, Tootsie Pops by Fig Tree, was designed to use those little 2 1/2" precut packs that Moda puts out.  It is a great use of those little guys, but when you use them to make half square triangles, you end up with an unconventional size, 2 1/8".  I had fat quarters, so I cut 2 1/2" strips and used my Easy Angle ruler to make the half square triangles.

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I had forgotten how much I like this little tool.  You cut your strips the size you want your half square triangles, or slightly larger if you want to trim down to a smaller size for better accuracy.  Layer your two fabrics right sides together.  The ruler is angled as you see and you position on the strips as shown and use your rotary cutter to cut out the triangles.  You end up with two layered triangles all ready to sew on the machine.  Flip the ruler and make your next cut:

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I chain pieced my scads of triangles and pressed them out.  I had stacks of 2 1/2" half square triangles.  The size I needed according to the pattern was 2 1/8" half square triangles.  On to the next step.

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I used my  2 1/2" Block Loc ruler to trim the half square triangles down to size.  I don't mind the extra step at all.  I think the perfectly accurate results is well worth the time.

24 responses to “Tootsie Pops Progress”

  1. Yes, the blocks are adorable. Thanks for the refresher on your method. Very helpful!

  2. Yes, the blocks are adorable. Thanks for the refresher on your method. Very helpful!

  3. Yes, the blocks are adorable. Thanks for the refresher on your method. Very helpful!

  4. Love your blocks and I always make my HSTs larger to trim them down. It’s the only method that works for me.

  5. Love your blocks and I always make my HSTs larger to trim them down. It’s the only method that works for me.

  6. Love your blocks and I always make my HSTs larger to trim them down. It’s the only method that works for me.

  16. Thanks for the visual demo of the ruler. It’s a big help to be able to refer to the ‘how to’ use a tool!

  17. Thanks for the visual demo of the ruler. It’s a big help to be able to refer to the ‘how to’ use a tool!

  18. Thanks for the visual demo of the ruler. It’s a big help to be able to refer to the ‘how to’ use a tool!