Triangle Conundrum

Hi there!
So in the craziness of Christmas I decided it would be fun to participate in Bonnie Hunter's annual mystery quilt called "Grand Illusion". What am I thinking? I have class samples that need to be done, I have a quilt for a special couple to do for Christmas (luckily they don't know about it so if I don't get it done then that is okay) and I have a wonderful weekend coming up, my sister is coming for a visit! More about that mid week.
Okay back to the mystery quilt. The first "clue" and assignment is to make a bunch of half square triangles and then make them into broken dishes units. (Find the information at http://quiltville.blogspot.com/ and click on the Grand Illusion tab)

Off I went to make my units. I have scraps, chunks and strips to use for this quilt, and with such variety in the sizes of my fabric pieces I decided to explore the making of Half Square Triangles, and.....

Really how many ways are there to make Half Square Triangles or HST? Well..... so far with this project  I have used 3 ways.

The Easy Angle Ruler, Bonnie's recommended way, this is great for 2 1/2" strips because you can layer two fabrics, right sides together, cut, sew and press and have finished units. There is no paper to remove, no sewing then cutting the units apart, and no trimming to correct size.

Triangles on a Roll, this is an awesome way of making lots of triangles when using two larger pieces of fabric, you can do long strips at one time. How to use the paper, cut the fabric strips  a bit over 6" wide and layer two of them rights sides together, sew on the lines with the arrows, cut apart and remove the paper. The complete instructions are on the packaging.  Note the Triangles on a Roll is not to be used with 2 1/2" strips.

Then there is the old cut 3" squares, placing 2 squares right sides together, draw a line down the center diagonally, and sew 1/4" on both sides of the center line. Cut down the center line and TRIM TO CORRECT SIZE! The correct size for this project is 2 1/2" inches. Yea! 2 half square triangles are finished!

Which way to I prefer. It just depends. Easy Angle is a one and done thing, but I am not always so accurate with the cutting and sewing.  Triangles on a Roll is accurate as long as I sew on the line and cut correctly, and you have to remove the pesky paper. The 3" square way is great because when I get finished I have a 2 1/2" unit, but it is a bit ticky. So I guess I just mixed it up a bit and used all 3!

Oh and just so you know-there are even more ways of making HST!

Talk to you soon!
Jan