I am so excited to kick off the Modern Half Square Triangle Quilt-a-Long! Today I'll share with you my inspiration for this quilt-a-long and the supplies you will need, and starting next week we'll start working on the blocks! I saw this pin a few weeks ago, and I was captivated. I loved it, and when I clicked through the pin, and found that the man who created the design used the Perl program, and that he made it for his then-girlfriend, and that she made the quilt for him as a wedding present, I knew this was right up my alley! (I have emailed the gentleman who wrote the program that created all the blocks to ask his permission to host this quilt-a-long, but I haven't heard back from him.) I loved the look of the blocks in black and white, and thought it would be fun to take these traditional block designs and make them 'modern' by only using two colors. (I am the type of person who likes to make things in the colors I first see them in, so this is really no surprise!) I couldn't figure out how to assemble the blocks without drawing them all out, so I grabbed my gridded notebook and my black colored pencil and got busy. There are 72 blocks, so this will take 72 weeks! Don't stress though - you can cut the fabric for several blocks at once, and assemble the blocks as you can. Each finished block will measure 8.5 inches. Feel free to make your blocks smaller or larger (you will need to adjust fabric requirements accordingly). I first made a few blocks 12.5 inches, so I'll compare those for you so you can see what you like best! Supplies: 5 yards each of two colors (or as many colors you would like to use!) Rotary cutter, clear acrylic ruler, self-healing cutting mat, marking pen (more on this next time), lots of thread, sewing machine, iron This yardage requirement assumes that you will cut 3.5 inch squares to trim down to 2.5 inch HSTs. I find that if I sew a scant 1/4 inch seam allowance I can use 3 inch squares to start. This requires far less yardage. You may want to try out your seam allowance to see what you can get away with. I will post one new block each Monday - and we will finish our quilt in January 2014! Yikes! I do think this is the best method - you can do four blocks at a time at the end of the month if that is easier. I recommend making several HSTs at once - it is easier to batch cut, sew and trim! Come back next Monday to see the first block! I am so excited! Even if you haven't made a quilt before, I think you can handle this one, so please jump in and join us - I am happy to answer questions as we go!