quilting

Cool Tool Monday

While I’ve been working on the commission quilt, I’ve also been having some fun trying out some tools in my quilt room. One of those tools is a BlocLoc ruler for flying geese.

I’ll be honest, this ruler was a bit of an impulse buy. I’ll also be honest and tell you that I really don’t like making flying geese blocks. So I figured the ruler might make it more enjoyable, and I was right.

Of course, the first thing is to cut the pieces for the block. I’m using some scrap pieces from my stash, an Amy Butler print, a coordinating print, and a soft grey.

I have the Amy Butler print wrong side up for the cutting because the print blended in to my mat and ruler, making it difficult to see the cutting lines. It made it easier to cut with the fabric wrong side up.

Once all the pieces were cut, I was ready to make the blocks using the traditional method.

First was to draw the diagonal lines on the squares.

Then sew the squares onto the rectangles, first one side, then the other.

One side stitched.

Now, here comes the part that makes this tool so fun. BlocLoc rulers have grooves on them that fit against the seams of the block. With this ruler, the grooves fit right into the larger triangle or goose part of the block. It snugs right up against the seam line and stays put while you trim.

Then you just trim off the excess fabric. There was very little waste fabric.

Stitching the blocks together was a breeze.

Like my little kitty scissors? Haha. It was a freebie in an order, and they kinda stuck around.

So that’s my cool tool for today. By the way, I’m not an affiliate for BlocLoc. I just like the rulers.

Wendy

10 Comments

  • lorieast2

    Did you read my mind? After trimming all those gazillions of triangles, I was just thinking that I needed some Bloc-Location rulers to make my life a bit simpler! You’ve convinced me I NEED one…or two. 🙂

  • Vicki in MN

    I have had my set of half square triangle Bloc-loc’s for several years, love them! A couple years ago I bought their half rectangle ones and a book. Only used that a few times, but still worth it.

  • Karen Goad

    I have two block locks and I keep forgetting I have them and haven’t used them – I really need to look them over and see what I have – I actually do not even remember – impulse buys!

  • Beth @ Cooking Up Quilts

    I use a Bloc-Lok for my HST’s and even though I could, I wouldn’t want to get along without it. It’s my favorite specialty ruler. (Maybe because I use it so often?) 🙂 I haven’t tried any for flying geese yet. I’m going to the AQS quilt show in Lancaster at the end of the month so maybe I can see it in action there. That’s where I bought my HST ruler. Thanks for sharing this review with us – it’s always cool to learn about new and helpful tools!

  • norma

    I’d never heard of this before – I haven’t been to a specialist quilt shop in years but I will look it up and maybe put it on my list for next Christmas.

  • louise hornor

    Sounds like the grooves really help. It looks like the ruler is the exact size of the finished geese. Is that right? Do you need a different ruler for each different size?

    • piecefulwendy

      I think it will, as long as the block is larger than the ruler. I’ll be playing with the ruler again today, so I’ll let you know a bit more soon.

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