Half square triangle pillow

As with anything new, when I first started quilting half square triangles intimidated me. I managed to do them but wasn't really sure where to start. I kept reading that there were numerous methods and even saw that people had printed books about it so knew it should be something I needed to master When I saw that The Festival of Quilts 2019 had a workshop to make a pillow from half square triangles I signed up. The workshop was great and despite having to leave early to catch my flight I learned loads.

Now, with the benefit of hindsight what I did learn was not rocket science. I have also since learnt that I did not need to go out and buy every size of the 'Triangles on a roll" product. Still, I have them now and presumably they don't go off!

What, for me, was the most useful thing about the class was the handout sheets. One had an utter moron guide on how to calculate what size material you need to make a certain size of triangle. Scrub that, it doesn't show you how to calculate anything- it just gives you a big list of sizes. Genius!

The second handout showed the different layouts possible just using half square triangles - who knew you had so much variety? I now get how so many people design new quilt patterns yet the blocks are so similar.

For all the newbies out there my advice would be to take any and every opportunity to attend workshops. You will be surprised at the confidence a class can give you. Even if you don't use your new skill immediately for sure it will increase your knowledge and enjoyment on your quilting journey.