June 26, 2026

My First Quilt with Maude MacDonald

It's the last Friday in June, which means school is out and we officially have no children in high school anymore. That just blows my mind! Nathan says it hasn't really hit him because right now it just feels like any other last day of school. September will feel different for all of us, though, with him heading off to university and leaving just the two of us here at home.

It being the last Friday of the month also means it's time for another My First Quilt interview! This month my fellow Canadian, Maude MacDonald is sharing the story of her first quilt.
My First Quilt with Maude MacDonald | DevotedQuilter.com
Maude MacDonald is a quilter, author, and designer who creates quilts and patterns, teaches people to trust their taste, and helps creative businesses find a look and voice that actually feels like them. She loves bold colour, old things, and doing things her own way - and believes perfection is vastly overrated while making things meant to be used, shared, and remembered.

You can connect with Maude at her website and on Instagram.

And now, here's Maude's first quilt! It's the first time we've featured someone whose first quilt was a t-shirt quilt!
My First Quilt with Maude MacDonald | DevotedQuilter.com

What year did you make your first quilt? What prompted you to make it?


Winter 2018 - I needed a Christmas gift for my Dad & didn’t have a lot of money to spend.

What techniques were used in that first quilt? Did you quilt it yourself?


I guess it was traditional patchwork- I made my Dad a t shirt quilt with scissors, about 5 safety pins, no clue about interfacing or the process of quilting. I literally just went for it.

Who taught you to make the quilt?


Me and a hope and a dream lol

Are the colours you chose for your first quilt ones you would still choose today?


Oh no! This was a t shirt quilt made of mostly my Dad’s old NASCAR shirts. 

My First Quilt with Maude MacDonald | DevotedQuilter.com

Did you fall in love with quilting right away? Or was there a gap between making the first quilt and the next one?


Well after this one I decided my stepmom needed a quilt for Christmas too, and that led me to the fabric store. After that my mom requested her own quilt and insisted I use a pattern which was a trip around the world, and with the combination of these three quilts I was hooked.

Where is the quilt now?


My Dad still uses it in the winter. It has wool batting so it’s really warm (I wasn’t aware at the time it was wool batting!) 

Is there anything you wish you could go back and tell yourself as you made that first quilt?


Maybe a few structural things, like how to baste or even use a dang rotary cutter! But no- I went for it and completely discovered quilting accidentally and on my own and I think that’s how it was meant for me.

Anything else you want to share about your first quilt?


The first one, third, tenth even wasn’t perfect, but I had fun making every quilt I’ve made and they all are loved and used.


Thanks for sharing the story of your first quilt with us, Maude!

June 24, 2026

Lazy Summer Quilt Camp Challenge

You're invited! Come join me and some amazing quilty friends for the Lazy Summer Quilt Camp photo challenge!
Lazy Summer Quilt Camp photo challenge | DevotedQuilter.com
Lazy Summer Quilt Camp is a month-long photo challenge on social media taking place in July, giving us all a new opportunity to share our quilts and build our quilting community. The online quilting community is amazing, so of course we want to meet more of the quilters hanging out there!

I teamed up with some of my quilt pattern designer friends to create the photo challenge. I'll be serving as the host of the challenge (because needing to tag 6 accounts in your posts is crazy), but it has been a collaborative effort and you'll see the others participating and cheering you on all through the month. So let's give a round of applause (and a follow!) to my Lazy Summer Quilt Camp teammates:

Staci of Crafty Staci - Instagram | Facebook
Monika of Penny Spool Quilts - Instagram | Facebook
Lauren of Palm Creations - Instagram | Facebook
Bobbie of Geeky Bobbin - Instagram | Facebook
Eva of Gingerly Quilt Co - Instagram | Facebook
(and come follow me, too, if you don't already, Devoted Quilter - Instagram | Facebook)

You'll notice we called it Lazy Summer Quilt Camp. There's a reason for that! Summer can be busy (beach days, hiking, BBQs, ice cream stops, soccer practice, baseball practice...oh, and all the regular stuff like laundry and work and figuring out yet again what you should eat today) and we wanted to create a challenge that would be fun and easy.

You don't have to make anything new.
You don't have to write a whole blog post.
You don't even have to take a new picture.

Look at the daily prompts (more on that in a minute), look through the dozens or hundreds of quilt pictures already on your phone (I know I'm not the only one ๐Ÿ˜…) and share the ones that fit that day's prompt. A quick caption to tell the story of your quilts and you're done. 

Then, maybe while sitting on the deck with your morning coffee or tea, scroll through the posts of your fellow campers using the hashtag #lazysummerquiltcamp and bask in the quilty inspiration. You might even find some new quilting friends to follow and discover a new pattern you just have to make.

The Daily Prompts


Each day in July there will be a new photo prompt. There's no pressure to post everyday, so join in as often as you want (remember, we're going for fun and easy, not pressured and stressed). Here are the prompts so you can start thinking about which of your quilts you might want to share.
Lazy Summer Quilt Camp photo challenge | DevotedQuilter.com
To make it even easier to participate, I'll be sending out daily email reminders with the prompt for the next day. It'll be your gentle nudge to take a few minutes for yourself and think about which of your beautiful quilts you'd like to share for that prompt.

Sign up for the daily reminders here

 

I'm excited for Lazy Summer Quilt Camp (I've already been thinking about which of my quilts to share) and I hope you'll join us!

June 18, 2026

7 Truths About Scrap Quilting

It's no secret around here that I love scrappy quilts! I even created a membership for quilters who love scrappy and stash-friendly patterns as much as I do (join us, if that's you!). After making many (many!) scrap quilts in my almost 30 years of quilting (now I feel old), here are some things I've noticed about scrap quilts, along with some scrap quilt eye candy. And yes, all of the quilt patterns are available in my shop along with a lot more๐Ÿ˜Š
Blooming Beautiful quilt | DevotedQuilter.com
Blooming Beautiful

It takes longer to cut everything for a scrap quilt


When you're cutting 40 2 ½" squares from yardage, you can quickly cut a few WOF strips and then cut them down into the squares you need. It only takes a handful of minutes. When you're cutting those same 40 squares from 40 different fabrics, it takes longer. There are ways to speed it up a little, like stacking the scraps so you're cutting more than one at a time or using a die cutting machine, but it's still not going to be as fast as cutting from yardage. That's not necessarily a bad thing, since it also means you get to admire all those fabrics as you go, but it is something to take into account if you're making the quilt on a deadline.
Ombre Twirl quilt | DevotedQuilter.com
Ombre Twirl

Scrap quilts are a great walk down memory lane


Not only do you get to admire all those fabrics as you're cutting them, you're also reminded where they came from and what projects you've already used them in. Digging through my scraps is always accompanied by an internal monologue of 'I made a skirt with that,' 'Sandrine gave me this one,' 'I used this for Brandan's quilt,' 'that's the fabric Aiden bought me for Christmas,' and on and on and on. It's kind of like taking out the Christmas decorations and remembering the story behind each one, except it isn't confined to one part of the year.
Scraps Take Flight quilt | DevotedQuilter.com
Scraps Take Flight

Every scrap quilt is unique


Even if you use the same pattern and the same colours, you still won't make two identical scrap quilts. You might be using only blues for the nine patch blocks, but you'll still use a different combination of fabrics each time, giving the quilts a slightly different look. That means you can use the same pattern over and over, but not get bored because every quilt will feel new. It also means basic patterns, like simple patchwork squares, can feel fresh each time because the fabric combination keeps you engaged.
Framed Pinwheels | DevotedQuilter.com
Framed Pinwheels

They never empty the scrap bins


I swear the scraps multiply as soon as we turn our backs! It doesn't seem to matter how many scrap quilts I make, the scrap bins are never empty. Considering how much I love scrappy quilts, I'm not complaining, but it is mind boggling.

If you're starting a scrap quilt thinking it's going to use all of your scraps, you're going to end up disappointed. But if you're starting that quilt thinking it's an opportunity to play with some favourite fabrics, create something beautiful without needing to buy a bunch of new fabric, and create a little space in the scrap bins at the same time, then you're right on track.
Pinwheel Irish Chain quilt | DevotedQuilter.com
Pinwheel Irish Chain

They can look chaotic if you're not careful


Some people are perfectly happy to throw absolutely everything into a quilt willy-nilly and they're thrilled with the results. Other people look at those quilts and shudder because there's no cohesion. Personally, I've done both. These days, I prefer to use a single fabric for the background, especially a solid or blender, which tames the chaos a little and makes the whole quilt feel calmer.

Other ways to tame the chaos include using all solids, using a limited colour palette, and keeping all the scraps of one colour close in value.
Stand Out Starburst quilt | DevotedQuilter.com
Stand Out Starburst

Any quilt pattern can become a scrap quilt pattern


A pattern's fabric requirements might say it needs one fabric, but that doesn't mean we can't use an abundance of scraps instead. One of my Stash Artists members recently dug into her stash of dark purple fabrics in place of a single purple I had used for the background of a sampler quilt. Her version looked fabulous!

Prairie Points Pinwheel quilt | DevotedQuilter.com
Prairie Points Pinwheel

They can be addictive


Once you start combining all those leftover bits of fabric to make a quilt, it's hard to stop. There are so many possibilities and it's so fun to rummage through the scraps to find the perfect ones. And of course, we all know there are always more scraps just waiting to be used. These days almost all of my quilts are scrap quilts and I'm not mad about it!
8 Point Meadow quilt pattern | DevotedQuilter.com
8 Point Meadow

Did I miss anything? Are there more truths about scrap quilting that people need to know? Share them in the comments!

June 03, 2026

All Booked Up Quilted Bookmarks

In the Stash Artists membership, I'm sharing a mini quilt pattern each month of 2026. This month, I really embraced the mini and designed the All Booked Up quilted bookmarks. Aren't they cute?
All Booked Up quilted bookmarks | DevotedQuilter.com
The bookmarks finish at 2" x 6", not including the ribbon. Since they're so mini, I went for simple, scrappy piecing with a bit of reading-themed text. There are three piecing designs and three text designs, which can be mixed and matched for 9 different bookmarks. They're so quick to make, you could easily make one for all your reading friends! (And if you're not a Stash Artists member yet, join us now to get access to the All Booked Up pattern right away.)

I made my first set with hand embroidery. I did simple backstitching using Aurifil 12 wt thread (one bookmark also has a handful of french knots), and did it all while traveling for the h+h trade show. It was a great travel project. 
All Booked Up quilted bookmarks | DevotedQuilter.com
Bonus points if you can identify the book I used for a background!
I really love the addition of the hand embroidery! Tip, if your backstitched lines aren't as smooth as you'd like, make your stitches smaller. Larger stitches tend to make choppy lines, whereas small stitches make lines look nice and smooth.
All Booked Up quilted bookmarks | DevotedQuilter.com
Then, since not everyone is into hand embroidery, I made a second set using fabric markers. I used the fine tip end of my Ohuhu fabric markers.
All Booked Up quilted bookmarks | DevotedQuilter.com
I wasn't sure the fine tip of my fabric markers would be fine enough, so I was pleasantly surprised to find it was exactly right and worked perfectly for the small text. And no, these aren't freehanded! My writing is nowhere near that neat! The text template is included in the pattern and can be used for either embroidery or fabric markers.
All Booked Up quilted bookmarks | DevotedQuilter.com
All Booked Up quilted bookmarks | DevotedQuilter.com
Here are both of my Bookworm bookmarks. I love that there are endless possibilities for making unique bookmarks, with the different piecing and text options, and then incorporating all your favourite scraps and different ribbon colours, too.
All Booked Up quilted bookmarks | DevotedQuilter.com
I opted for simple quilting after assembling the bookmarks, using white Aurifil 50 wt thread to outline the piecing.
All Booked Up quilted bookmarks | DevotedQuilter.com
I kind of expected the flying geese design to be my favourite bookmark, but the horizontal stripes with the teal embroidered Bookworm ended up being my favourite of them all. Which one is your favourite?
All Booked Up quilted bookmarks | DevotedQuilter.com
If you love mini quilts, stash-friendly and scrappy patterns, and virtual sewing sessions with friends, then come join us in the Stash Artists membership! Once you join, you'll get access to the All Booked Up pattern and more. We're an international group and we'd love to welcome you, too ๐Ÿ˜Š 

May 29, 2026

My First Quilt with Karen Neary

This has been a crazy busy month, with the h+h trade show, Nathan's high school graduation (and family visiting for it), and then us traveling for Zachary's university convocation. With all of that, the last Friday of the month really snuck up on me and I almost forgot about the My First Quilt interview. Thankfully, I remembered late last night and was able to get the post ready this afternoon. Whew! This month Karen Neary is sharing the story of her first quilt.
My First Quilt with Karen Neary | DevotedQuilter.com
From her home in Amherst, Nova Scotia, Karen Neary has been obsessively designing quilts full time for more years than she cares to admit. Her work has appeared in books and magazines, and her quilts displayed in shows around the world, including France and Japan.  Karen even designed and made a quilt presented to Sir Paul McCartney to mark his visit to Nova Scotia in 2009. She takes great joy in making, and teaching. Her particular love is New York Beauty quilts. Karen is a Canadian retailer for Aurifil threads and has a well-stocked online shop of threads plus her books and patterns.

You can connect with Karen at her website, her blog, on Instagram, on Facebook, and on Pinterest.

And now, here's Karen's first quilt!
My First Quilt with Karen Neary | DevotedQuilter.com

What year did you make your first quilt? What prompted you to make it?


My first quilted project was when I was around 8 years old and made a Dresden Plate potholder, hand pieced and hand quilted. It proudly hung in my grandmother's kitchen for many years.  My first big quilt was a very traditional log cabin made for my eldest son's first bed, well over 30 years ago. 

What techniques were used in that first quilt? Did you quilt it yourself?


The quilt was pieced in red, blue and white scraps which included some of his baby clothes. The blocks were put together in a "barn raising" setting. Having no rotary cutter (and no patience for scissors) I tore the fabrics into 3" strips and sewed them together by machine using the 5/8" seam allowance I had learned from garment sewing. The squares mostly finished to around 12" and the quilt fit a double bed. After joining the blocks, I "birthed" the quilt by sewing it right sides together with the backing and turning it to the right side.  I then machine quilted it just in the ditch between the blocks. It's a wonder it held together at all. The batting used was "Mountain Mist" polyester, a popular choice at the time. 

Who taught you to make the quilt?


My grandmother Myrtle Davis was an avid quilter who taught quilt-making in her community, and I learned from her...although I sure could have used her help making that first one. I wish I had paid more attention to her instruction. 

Are the colours you chose for your first quilt ones you would still choose today?


I absolutely love the red, blue and white palette and use it often still. I get why so many world flags use this combination as the colours work so well together.
My First Quilt with Karen Neary | DevotedQuilter.com

Did you fall in love with quilting right away? Or was there a gap between making the first quilt and the next one?


I was hooked from the moment that quilt hit the bed.  As awful as it was, it made me feel so good to think that I had made it.  All these many years later, I've never lost that feeling with each new quilt. 


Where is the quilt now?


Honestly, I was unsure this quilt still existed, but a search unearthed it shoved in the back of a closet.  Not only did this quilt spend many years on the bed, it was dragged around the house, attended many sleepovers, and always went to Cub and Scout outings.  It has many holes, some from wear, others from sparks from sitting too close to campfires. When it came time for this first son to head off to university, there was no way that raggy old quilt was going with him, so I made a newer version - same barn raising setting, same colours.  By a strange coincidence, the new school colours were red, blue and white. It was meant to be! This time I cut my fabrics more precisely with a rotary cutter and used 1/4" seams.
My First Quilt with Karen Neary | DevotedQuilter.com
After only a few blocks in, I realized the quilt was going to be HUGE so I set those blocks aside and started again with 2-1/2" strips. It came out to a much more reasonable size, and got finished up with free motion quilting and an actual binding on the edges. Sadly, it did not survive the dorm room experience.  A year or so later, I found the larger blocks I had set aside and decided to make enough to do a table cover for quilt fairs.  I still use that one today;  nothing went to waste!
My First Quilt with Karen Neary | DevotedQuilter.com

Is there anything you wish you could go back and tell yourself as you made that first quilt?


I think I would just whisper in my ear that this quilt would be the beginning of a journey that would bring great joy and creativity to my life. I have been so blessed to be able to pursue quilting as a career.  (And also I would say, pay closer attention to the seam allowance!)


Thanks for sharing your first quilt with us, Karen!

May 15, 2026

My Trip to h+h Americas 2026

I spent last week in Chicago for the h+h Americas trade show. It's like Quilt Market, but it's not exclusively for quilting businesses. There were yarn companies, garment pattern designers, embroidery kit makers, and more. There were also A LOT of quilting companies - fabric companies, pattern designers, scissors makers, sewing machine brands, notions companies, and on and on. There were gorgeous quilts everywhere and so many people I recognized from online. 

I arrived in Chicago Monday morning and Laura of Slice of Pi Quilts arrived that afternoon. We've been friends online for almost 10 years, but when she arrived at the hotel to pick me up for supper that was the first time we'd ever met in person. It was so good to finally get to spend time together without a screen between us! Here we are in front of her booth.
With Laura of Slice of Pi Quilts | DevotedQuilter.com
Tuesday was set-up day for everyone with booths. I chose not to have a booth for my first time attending, so that was h+h University day for me. There were classes and small group sessions and a tour of the show floor (which was still a work in progress, with booths being put together). When I got my badge that morning, it was a bit surreal to look around at the other people in the room and see so many faces I recognized from social media.

Wednesday-Friday was the actual show and I loved wandering and looking at all the booths. So many beautiful quilts, gorgeous yarn, threads of all kinds, and kits for so many fun things. I don't crochet, but had to take a picture of this kit for making Tairn and Andarna from Fourth Wing. I've always loved dragons and I love Fourth Wing, so this is almost enough to make me want to start crocheting!
Tairn and Andarna | DevotedQuilter.com
Even with the dragons and the amazing quilts, the people were my favourite part of the week. I didn't think to take pictures with everyone I met, but I did remember to get some. Here's Laura in her booth.
Laura of Slice of Pi Quilts | DevotedQuilter.com
And Terri of Lizard Creek Quilting, who was right next to Laura.
Terri of Lizard Creek Quilting | DevotedQuilter.com
I got to meet Brandy from the Quilter on Fire podcast. Did you listen to my conversation with her on the podcast?
Brandy of Quilter on Fire | DevotedQuilter.com
Hilary of By Hilary Jordan was just as lovely as I thought she would be! She was also dressed in beautiful handmade clothes every day!
Hilary of By Hilary Jordan | DevotedQuilter.com
I did demos in the Oliso booth on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons, sharing about colouring quilts with crayons. I had my brand new In Full Bloom quilt with me, along with my Grateful table runner, so I could show shop owners examples of quilts coloured with crayons. The technique has been around for a long time, but a lot of the people I talked with had never heard of it, so it was fun to share with them. If you've never tried it, either, I have a tutorial for it here - it's a lot of fun and really easy to do!

I spent time late in the day Thursday and on Friday taking special notice (and notes and pictures) of how different quilt pattern designers had put their booths together. How were they hanging quilts on the walls? How were they displaying quilts not on the walls? What else did they have in the booth? I'm dreaming and scheming for how I can display my own quilts in a booth someday (next year?). Since I have to fly to get to the show, I paid special attention to display ideas that could be packed in a suitcase, like this stand in the Sassafrass Lane booth that was made of PVC pipe and could be disassembled for transport.
PVC pipe quilt stand | DevotedQuilter.com
I also loved how Kori of Olive and Grace Studios used embroidery hoops to hang some of her quilts.
Quilt hanging on embroidery hoop | DevotedQuilter.com
After years of dreaming about going to Quilt Market, it was so fun to finally make the dream come true (slightly altered to be h+h Americas instead). Now to see if I can make it work to go again next year and maybe have a booth of my own!

April 30, 2026

In Full Bloom Mini Quilt Pattern

I'm excited to share a new mini quilt pattern with you today for TGIFF! This one was brewing for a long time before all the various elements came together and I really love how it turned out. Meet In Full Bloom!
In Full Bloom mini quilt pattern | DevotedQuilter.com
Ever since I made my Grateful table runner, I've been wanting to design another texty pattern with the words coloured with crayon but I couldn't come up with the phrase I wanted to use. I've also been admiring the various home dรฉcor things I've seen with circles or partial circles with flowers and/or leaves along part of the circle. I wanted to translate that style into a quilt, but couldn't get beyond the basic concept.

Then last September we were in St. John's to move Zach back into his dorm for another year of university and the Airbnb we stayed in had a mug with the phrase 'Live life in full bloom' on it. I can't remember anything about what the mug looked like - what the font was, what colour the words were, even if there were flowers on it (though I assume there must have been) - I just remember reading the phrase and thinking, "That would be perfect inside a circle on a quilt!"

I design my quilts in EQ8, but the options for text in the program are really limited. I started playing in Canva instead, where there are a lot more font options and it's so much easier to manipulate the blocks of text. It took a while to settle on the combination of fonts, colours, and the angle of the words, but eventually the wordy part of the design was exactly what I wanted. I created the partial circle as part of the Canva block, too, then I could import that whole piece into EQ8 to add the flower appliquรฉs. 

Actually making the mini quilt involved playing with different techniques. First, I coloured the words with crayons. I have a tutorial for doing that here, on another wordy mini quilt.
In Full Bloom mini quilt pattern | DevotedQuilter.com
I love how colouring the fabric brings out the texture of the threads woven together to make it.
In Full Bloom mini quilt pattern | DevotedQuilter.com
After colouring the letters, I used Aurifil 12 wt thread to embroider their outlines with a simple backstitch. I love how it gives extra definition to the letters. It also gives a little texture to the quilt. A simple tip to make your backstitched lines look neat - make the stitches shorter. Longer stitches tend to look more jagged or uneven, while short stitches make a smooth line.
In Full Bloom mini quilt pattern | DevotedQuilter.com
Fusible appliquรฉ flowers were next. As always, I had fun digging through my stash to find just the right fabrics for each flower.
In Full Bloom mini quilt pattern | DevotedQuilter.com
In Full Bloom mini quilt pattern | DevotedQuilter.com
At this point, Paul saw the quilt top on my design wall and suggested we hang it in our entryway when it was finished. We've struggled to find just the right thing for one small wall in the entryway, and he thought In Full Bloom would be perfect. There's something about having someone else look at what I've made and like it enough to want it displayed that just feels amazing. 

Once the flowers were fused to the background, I embroidered the partial circle with a chain stitch. I did that after the flowers were on because I didn't want any embroidery under the flowers, so this way I could stitch right up to the edge of them.

For the quilting, I used Aurifil 50 wt thread and started by stitching around each flower and leaf with matching thread.
In Full Bloom mini quilt pattern | DevotedQuilter.com
I used white thread for the rest of the quilting. I outlined the letters. I was quite proud of myself for stitching very close to the edge of each letter and only catching the embroidery once! I outlined the edge of the embroidered circle, too. Then I quilted a dense stipple in the background.
In Full Bloom mini quilt pattern | DevotedQuilter.com
I even went in and stitched the tiny gaps between the flowers (seen here from the back).
In Full Bloom mini quilt pattern | DevotedQuilter.com
As usual, I love how all the quilting looks on the back.
In Full Bloom mini quilt pattern | DevotedQuilter.com
I especially love the way the letters pop!
In Full Bloom mini quilt pattern | DevotedQuilter.com
In Full Bloom will be traveling to Chicago with me on Monday, for the H+H Americas trade show. I'll be doing demos in the Oliso booth Wednesday and Thursday, showing how to colour quilt blocks with crayon and remove the wax, and showing off the wordy possibilities of the technique with both In Full Bloom and Grateful. It's my first time attending an industry trade show and I'm crazy excited (and nervous). I'm hoping to get my patterns in front of lots of quilt shop owners while I'm there!
In Full Bloom mini quilt pattern | DevotedQuilter.com
The In Full Bloom mini quilt pattern is in my shop now, so you can make your own version to adorn whatever wall in your home is needing a bit of inspiration. It would make a great gift, too!
In Full Bloom mini quilt pattern | DevotedQuilter.com
That's my finish for this week. What have you finished recently? Link it up below and be sure to visit some of the other links to celebrate their finishes, too!




You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

April 29, 2026

How I Make Bonus Half-Square Triangles

While working on the May Stash Artists cover quilt (to be revealed soon!), I made a lot of stitch-and-flip flying geese. Whenever I make stitch-and-flip flying geese, I also make bonus half-square triangles (HSTs), because I hate wasting those corner pieces and I know that if I don't sew them together in the moment, they'll never get done. Aren't they pretty?
Bonus HST tutorial | DevotedQuilter.com
After they were all done, I realized I should have taken pictures so I could share how I make my bonus HSTs, but thankfully my current leaders and enders project is also stitch-and-flip flying geese, so I stitched up one of them for pictures instead.

I have to start by acknowledging that I learned this method on Bonnie Hunter's blog years ago, so she's the genius behind what I'm about to share. This method results in bonus HSTs in sizes to fit with the other common size units we make, making them much more useable.

How big will the bonus HST be?


The size of your bonus HST is determined by the cut size of the squares for your flying geese. The unfinished size of the bonus HST will be 1" smaller than the square.

For this tutorial, I'm using 2 ½" squares. That means the largest bonus HST I can make is 1 ½" unfinished (1" finished). The flying geese I made for the May Stash Artists pattern used 3 ½" squares, so I could make 2 ½" unfinished (2" finished) HSTs with them. 

What you need

  • your rectangle and squares cut to the sizes needed for your stitch-and-flip flying geese
  • a piece of template plastic, cardboard, or paper
  • a ruler
  • a sharp pencil or a pen
  • scissors for cutting the plastic or cardboard
  • pins
  • rotary cutter
Bonus HST tutorial | DevotedQuilter.com

Make your template


I've made my templates for the bonus HSTs a couple of different ways, so I'll share both here. First is the method Bonnie Hunter calls a 'triangle buddy.' If you have template plastic, or any plastic thin enough to cut neatly with scissors, that's the best thing to use. If you don't have a suitable piece of plastic, a piece of cardboard from a cereal box or something similar will also work, but it will need to be replaced more often as the edge softens with use, making it less accurate.

To make your triangle buddy, draw a square the same size your unfinished bonus HST will be. Remember, that's 1" smaller than the cut square for your flying geese. For this tutorial, I'm making 1 ½" unfinished bonus HSTs, so I draw a 1 ½" square. I don't have any template plastic at the moment, so I used cardboard from a cracker box.
Bonus HST tutorial | DevotedQuilter.com
Now draw a diagonal line from corner to corner.
Bonus HST tutorial | DevotedQuilter.com
Cut out the square, then cut it in half along the diagonal line. You now have two triangle buddies. I usually write 'triangle buddy' on them so I don't throw them out, thinking they're just random bits of cardboard.
Bonus HST tutorial | DevotedQuilter.com
The other way I've made a template was to draw a square on a piece of paper the same size as the square for the flying geese. So for this tutorial, that is a 2 ½" square.
Bonus HST tutorial | DevotedQuilter.com
Along the top of the square, measure 1 ½" (or the unfinished size of your bonus HST) from the right corner and make a mark. Along the right side of the square, measure 1 ½" (or the unfinished size of your bonus HST) down from the top corner and make a mark. Use a ruler to draw a line connecting the marks, extending the line past the square.
Bonus HST tutorial | DevotedQuilter.com

Draw the lines on the squares


Now we're ready to draw the lines on the back of the squares. First, draw the diagonal line from corner to corner. This is the standard line for the stitch-and-flip flying geese.
Bonus HST tutorial | DevotedQuilter.com
Next, draw the line for the bonus HST. If you're using a triangle buddy, place it in the corner, lining up the edges of the template with the edges of the square. 
Bonus HST tutorial | DevotedQuilter.com
Draw a line along the diagonal edge of the template.
Bonus HST tutorial | DevotedQuilter.com
If you're using the square drawn on paper, place your fabric square on top of the template, lining up the edges exactly.
Bonus HST tutorial | DevotedQuilter.com
Line up your ruler with the diagonal line and draw the line.
Bonus HST tutorial | DevotedQuilter.com

Make the flying geese and bonus HST


Just as you normally do for stitch-and-flip flying geese, align a square with one end of the rectangle, with the drawn line as shown. Make sure the second line drawn for the bonus HST is towards the corner. Pin the square in place.
Bonus HST tutorial | DevotedQuilter.com
Stitch directly on both lines. Normally I chain piece these, stitching one line on all the units I'm making and then stitching the second line on all of them.
Bonus HST tutorial | DevotedQuilter.com
Cut ¼" away from the seam for the flying geese.
Bonus HST tutorial | DevotedQuilter.com
Now trim the seam allowance on the bonus HST to ¼" as well.
Bonus HST tutorial | DevotedQuilter.com
Press both units open.
Bonus HST tutorial | DevotedQuilter.com
Repeat with a second square on the other end of the rectangle to give you a finished flying geese unit and two bonus HSTs. Trim the dog ears off the bonus HSTs.
Bonus HST tutorial | DevotedQuilter.com
That's it! Now you're ready to make bonus HSTs whenever you make stitch-and-flip units like flying geese or snowball corners. 

I've been pondering how to use this batch of HSTs and I think they might show up in a future Stash Artists mini quilt pattern. If you love scrappy and stash-friendly quilt patterns and want sew with virtual friends, come join us in Stash Artists!