Celtic Solstice Mystery Project - Clue 2 Marking

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On to marking the pieces for 100 chevron blocks for the Celtic Solstice mystery quilt!

It may seem weird to mark little pieces that are about to be sewn, but in this step, taking the time now will pay off in the long run. As much as we think our eye for the invisible stitching line is pretty good, marking will make it even better! I used the tools I had handy. Here's how I did my marking.

The larger green piece was set with its opposite corners lined up one inch apart on my mat. This placement also brought it in line with the 45 degree line on the mat.

The gold square was lined up along the 10 inch line and the line was drawn in. The Tri Rec template worked nicely as the straight edge. It was nice and small and easy to maneuver. Now that's multi-tasking! I like the Fons & Porter mechanical chalk pencil for most of my marking needs. You never need to sharpen it and it's retro colors!

Then I put the neutral square lined up on the 9 inch line and marked it in the same direction as the other square. 

The pins hold both pieces in place. I pinned on the side that I'll cut off. That way, I can move the square on top out if the way when I am ready to sew.

Don't forget to do the opposite sides! Instead of laying the green piece to the right, you lay it to the left, line up your squares and mark them. Do a test one to check the layout. You need ten opposite pairs to make ten chevron blocks! You can see the chevron shape in the marking. Looks good!

To get the correct number for each side, I pulled 10 pairs of green pieces out at a time, marked ten in one direction and the second set of ten in the other direction. They were stacked in sets of twenty pairs so I knew exactly how many I had as I went along. Here's all 100 of them!

I won't sugar coat it. I fussed over this step on and off throughout the entire day. An hour in the morning with my coffee, again after I did some shopping, inbetween loads of laundry, after supper, and finished around 9:30 at night. When I had a moment to sit in the chair, the pieces were getting done, even if it was only a few at a sitting. Persistence paid off and then, they were done! I went through 400 pins!  Tomorrow, I can chain sew next to the outside of the lines to my heart's desire. No stopping to have to reload the second side. Then trim, press, and feel the joy of completing clue 2. 

I hope something here has been helpful to you. Try making chevrons! You don't have to do this project to make them. :) They're great looking and very "in" right now. Thanks for stopping by... Cheers!