Friday Night Sew In #1

Last night I took part in my first Friday Night Sew In organized by Handmade by Heidi.  I had a fabulous time rockin' out to my little iPod with my sewing machine hummin' like mad.

The evening started with a trip to the quilt shop.  Alright, I know it's a sew in, but it had to be done.  I have the glorious delusion that this Lattice Illusions top is nearly finished.  Each time I think I am close to finishing, I re-think the design and it grows a bit more....and there's another trip to the quilt shop for more fabric. 

Anyway, I was in the mood to start with half square triangles.  I had 66 made from earlier in the week, but I need 96 for the border.  I made the other 30, pressed them, trimmed their little ears and created four strips of 23 ensuring the colors are somewhat randomly spaced.  Two are pictured below.  The strips are pressed and ready to add once the center is finished.  Or should I say if ever the center is finished....

I paired up about 20 of the center blocks, which is not difficult at all.  However, at the center of this seam several points join and its difficult to keep the points sharp when pressing 8 layers of fabric.  I remembered Sandy discussing the exact point on Quilting for the Rest of Us and she mentioned pressing the seams open to keep the point sharp.  This worked beautifully!  Thank you, Sandy!

I need 27 more center blocks (consisting of 4 smaller squares each), so I started piecing strips again.  I did not get too far as it was getting late, but I am happy to have the strips assembled ready to cut into sqares.  This is pretty easy to pick up again on Saturday when there is a quiet minute. 

All in all, I had a great time tonight and am looking forward to the next Friday Night Sew In.  Did you join?  Will you jump in next time?