Tuesday, March 01, 2011

Sick Day - On Point Blocks

I am almost never sick.  But a couple of weeks ago, I had a nasty cold.  Ugh.  That was no fun. 


((You can skip this section in purple if you are sensitive it may be "too much information"))


Today I woke up with a strange feeling - I was nauseous! I got up and headed to the bathroom,  I knelt down and did my impersonation of Linda Blair in "The Exorcist."   I thought that since we had a storm last night and the weather had changed again, that it was just sinus issues. So I got dressed and went to work.  I got to my desk and put my lunch in the cabinet. I did not have time to sit at my desk.  I had to run to the men's room and --well I had a different symptom - you figure it out.
So I went home for the day.  


I didn't accomplish a lot since I didn't want to stress myself. But I did do a little research on how to set a block on point.  You see I have this little piece that I worked on Sunday night and Monday night. (Sorry no picture yet.)  I want to enlarge it and then maybe add some borders to bring it to lap quilt size.  
What I found was that a whole lot of the math has been done for me (and for you if you need it) at Bonnie Hunter's Quiltville site.  There was one thing I didn't understand. She has "Corner Triangles" and "Side Triangles" listed. 


Okay, so maybe I am a bit dense. I did  a bit more research and found that what I need is Corner Triangles since I am only doing one block.   The Side Triangles are for when you are setting an entire quilt with on point blocks  and you need to fill in the edges to make it square.


Here is a picture of a quilt on point layout for those of you who are visual thinkers. 


The Corner Triangles are black
The Side Triangles are blue. 














However, all I was doing was taking one big block to set on point. 
Like this:
Except the big block in mine is pieced. But those corner triangles were what I needed. 


My block is about 15 1/2 inches square, so looking at Bonnie's chart, I will cut two 11 7/8" squares and cut them diagonally for my triangles. 
That chart has sizes from 3" square up to 16" square.  I am really glad I found it.  I am sure I would have wasted a lot of fabric if I had winged it.  I thought that the 11 7/8" was wrong. Surely it would take more than that. So I checked it using a right triangle calculator on the web. I got the same answer. 
Now if you enjoy doing the math for yourself, here is the formula.
Size of finished block divided by 1.414 then add 7/8 inch to that total. or  X/1.414 + 0.875 (where X is the length of one edge of the block you are setting on point) 


Yeah, I will stick with Bonnie's chart. 


13 comments:

Stray Stitches (Linda G) said...

So sorry to hear that you are sick AGAIN! I hope it doesn't last long. Thanks for sharing the info on the setting triangles. I will skip the math equation you provided and just jump over the Bonnie's chart when the need arises. I look forward to seeing what you have created. Get well!!

Jackie's Stitches said...

I hope you feel better soon! I had the stomach flu the week before Christmas followed by a cold the week after Christmas. It was a miserable two weeks.

luv2quilt2 said...

So sorry to hear that you're sick again. There seems to be a lot (of what you just described) going around. Thank goodness we've been able to avoid it so far. Get well soon.
Thanks for the directions to the chart. I knew it existed, but just didn't know where.

Unknown said...

ewwww sick again, i'm still hacking up lungs and don't have my voice back fully....i hope you feel better soon

Melissa ;-) said...

Thanks, Gene! You should get sick more often! Well, you know what I mean... ;)

Pat said...

Hope you feel better soon. I have the "cough from hell" myself right now and can't seem to kick it. Doing on-point blocks and quilts is fun and using that formula works every time! Can't wait to see your finished project.

Royce said...

The one time I've done an on point I had to have some one figure it out for me - so glad to know about this source for non head scratching cutting sizes.

Tangos Treasures said...

Sorry your sick again & hope your on the mend!
Block looks good!

Unknown said...

I can tell that Bonnie Hunter is going to be a great resource for me too!
It sounds like you may have had a touch of a food bourn illness, Gene. Do you remember eating anything that could have caused it? I hope you are feeling better now!

Anonymous said...

TMI for sure! LOL! Just focusing on the block now...I've never figured out the on point block method. Thanks for the info, but on second thought, as I look at the string of numbers in your last sentence, I think I may pass. I'm totally visual, thus completely math-challenged. ;)

Petit Design Co. said...

yes, the web does come in handy some times doesn't it? I never get the math right so I love it when I find shortcuts :)

GerryART said...

Sick Day turns into time to discover the easy way to side triangles and corner triangles.
Multi-tasking at it's finest.
Hugs,
Gerry

Sarah said...

Oh dear. I had that "problem" typed in purple last month and was miserable for a few days. I hope you are better VERY soon.