Lil Twister

My holidays have been a mix of quiet and busy - just as I like it. I found a few minutes here and there to do some hand and machine stitching. On the machine I completed my Lil Twister quilt top made of 2 charm packs and some extra yardage.

You start out piecing the 5" squares into a grid and adding a 3" border-

Every time I use these-  Tag-a-Quilt by Quilt Dance I think I should share them with you. They help me keep my blocks in the correct order.

Use the Lil Twister ruler to cut out little squares by matching the lines on the ruler to the intersections of the stitched squares. There are lots of tutorials online, but I have a few non-quilters who read my blog so I wanted to show a few steps. This is one of those tricks available to quilters where it is easier to do than it looks.

After cutting out two squares, tilt them to the right, match up, and stitch. Then go to the next two and so on.

I think I'm going to use this ruler again to make a baby quilt for my nephew's baby. It'll be pinks and greys.

I have two observations to share. When using this ruler make sure you keep the rotary cutter as perpendicular to the cutting surface as possible. The ruler has feet that grips the fabric, but they also raise the ruler just a smidge off the fabric. I found some of my cuts weren't as straight as they could have been because my blade was finding space below the ruler. Also, as with many of these specialty rulers, it wastes a lot of fabric. Here is what I have left over-

enough for a little quilt.  80 -2 1/2" squares.

The week before Christmas I helped my niece get started on a t-shirt quilt. We have a big family so it was fun spending some one on one time with her. She is a nursing student at the University of Maryland. She went to Texas to celebrate the holidays with her mother's family and hopes to finish up the quilt with another aunt who quilts.

This past year has been a good one and I'm looking forward to January. My youngest went off to college this past summer and it seems like I have much more free time now. I'm doing things around the house that needed attention long ago. It feels good. No quilting resolutions for me this year. Only a crisis would keep me from stitching for long. Happily, stitching has become an almost daily habit. What gets done, gets done! ; c ) With that, I want to wish you all time in the new year to be creative. Cheers!