First off -

 

 

I have to say that I finished sewing - 

 

All of the "units" for my Pink/Orange Squirrel -

 

And I WON a little game of "Bobbin Thread Chicken" -

 

That little bit was all I had left on the bobbin - 

 

When I finished the last HST -  YAY - ;))

 

 

This Squirrel isn't going to be anything fancy -

 

Just a Missouri Star Quilt Co. version of a Churn Dash - HERE - 

 

The white combined with the bright colors should calm them down -

 

Plus it also helps the charm packs make more blocks - LOL - ;))

Jenny uses a layer cake -

 

But it works with charm packs, too -

 

If you can get 4 squares of the same or similar print - 

So the next step was to trim all of the HST down to 4-1/2" - 

Trimming is not my favorite pasttime - 

I much prefer to use my LEFT-EZE™ Rule to cut HST - then trim ONE dog-ear - 

And I don't like drawing lines and sewing to the left and right of the lines - 

 

But to each his/her own - 

Anyway - 

I trimmed up a couple - 

 

And liked getting the chance to get rid of some of those "pinked" edges - 

But I wondered if there was an easier way than to cut each one twice - 

Up the left side and across the top - 

 

Rotate the HST and do it again up the other side and across the top -

 

 

I wondered if I could trim BOTH sides at the same time - 

Maybe if I folded it back up the way it was sewn? - 

But what do I use for the "line" to line up with the HST? -

 

What if I could use my LEFT-EZE™ Rule to do it?

That would be cool - 

So I tried it - 

 

I used a HST that I had trimmed already - 

Lined up my LEFT-EZE™ Rule with the HST - 

 

And used another ruler and a Sharpie to mark my "guideline"- 

A "smidge" to the outside of the HST to allow for the width of the line -

 

The mark can be removed very easily with an alcohol wipe - 

But I should have put it on the TOP of the ruler -

So I wouldn't accidentally remove any of the "real" lines - LOL - 

 

Tried it on another one -

 

Putting the NEW LINE - ON the edge of the HST - so I don't come up short -

 

Trimmed UP and ACROSS - ONCE -

 

 

And it worked - 

Except for the two dog-ears that still need to be trimmed - 

But those just need to be snipped - so no biggie - 

 

And - YES - I realize that I could have marked the same line on the Square ruler - 

But that wouldn't have been nearly as much fun -

 

Because I like trying to find new uses for my nifty little ruler - LOL -

So - after a while - I had them all trimmed - 

 

And I put the "units" for a couple of them up on the design wall - 

 

One "positive" with the WHITE as background - 

 

And one "negative" with the WHITE as the Churn Dash - 

 

I haven't decided yet if I want to make one version or the other or both - 

 

And then I added a "center" to each one - 

 

The "centers" are really colorful - 

 

So I'm leaning toward making the "positive" version - 

 

I think I need that WHITE background in each block to tone them down a bit - 

What do you think? - 

Let me know in the comments - 

Thanks!! - ;))

Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -