Favorite HST Shortcuts + Places to Donate Fabric

Hello Quilting Friends!

I hope life is treating you as well as possible. I have some fun things to share this week.

First of all, I'm working on a new baby quilt tutorial that features Half Square Triangles from 5" precuts (aka a Charm Pack). Half-square triangles are one of those basic building blocks for SO MANY quilt designs from traditional to modern.

In today’s post, I’m sharing my favorite shortcut for making two HSTs at a time (hello, charm packs!) plus my favorite tool that I use to cut squaring-up time in half!

Plus, LOTS more Half Square Triangle quilt inspiration!

Awesome Places to Donate Excess or Unwanted Fabric

I am still feeling the drive to clean up, organize and purge my sewing room. If you're like me, when I clean out my stash I want to find a place to send excess fabric where it will be put to good use.

Good news! I've got some great ideas for you - including places to donate within your own community.

There are so many quality organizations that are helping people by either teaching people to sew or making goods that will make a difference in lives around the world.

Click below for an updated list, Feel free to check the comments on the post - and add your own if you have needs or know of other organizations!

Free 2026 Sampler Quilt Block Challenge

Riley Blake Designs kicked off their annual FREE RBD Quilt Block Challenge this month! I'm excited to sew-along again this year using fabric from my most recent collection, Mary Catherine.

This challenge includes 16 free quilt block patterns over the next 5 months as well as the pattern for the final layout. They also released the final design ahead of time!

This week it was my turn to share my free 10" x 10" quilt block pattern. Meet Spin Around - a fresh take on a traditional pinwheel quilt. Get the free pattern + all of the info on this year's challenge below.

Fun Finds on the Web:

In my cleaning out my sewing room this last week, I found this cute Love Stitchery project that I started a few years go. (It even had the floss still with it!) I'm totally going to finish it up this week in time for ❤️'s decor! Get the All You Need Is Love free embroidery design from Flamingo Toes. (Bev's is the finished on on the right. 😉)

Love this free Valentine Wall Hanging with pockets found at Wild Plum Quilting. It's such a sweet idea!

​Lella Boutique has a free pattern for a cute little heart stuffy with a pocket - perfect for a sweet gift card on Valentine's day. Or a cute pincushion!

We are just finishing Week 2 of the Scandi Hearts Quilt Along! If you missed the assignment for last week (or anything) you can always find the latest information on the Scandi Hearts Homepage. ​

And it's totally not too late to join if you want! Click here to be added to the Scandi Hearts email list.​

As I mentioned, I'm still knee-deep in the process of cleaning out my sewing room I talked about last week as well as all of my fabric storage (which is overflows into a room in my basement). I'm still feeling the motivation and excitement to keep going and I'm trying to run with that motivation while it lasts. At the same time, I feel like I'm making a bigger mess along the way. 🙃 I keep having to remind myself that's part of the process.

I heard a thought this week: "Creation is messy". And maybe that stuck out to me because I'm very much in the middle of the "messy". It describes so much of what happens in my sewing room (and honestly… in my head) before anything "inspiring" or finished shows up on the internet.

The piles of half-cut fabric, the seam I had to rip out again, the project that looked better as an idea than it did on the design wall, the thread all over my pants (which I might have also worn the day before), the many moments of “why did I think this would a good idea?” 😅

The finished quilt or the perfectly cleaned sewing room (or at least only the part that shows in the picture) might look pretty and tidy, but getting there usually involves a whole lot of trial, error, and making a little bit of a disaster first.

I think we sometimes treat the mess as evidence that we’re failing, when it’s often just proof we’ve been creating. Creating is always messy! AND creating is SO good for us! It's what we're born to do!

I think we need to learn how to differentiate and not get discouraged by "the productive mess" (the kind that happens when you’re in a groove), and "the stuck mess" (when the clutter starts to steal your energy).

I’m trying to get better at giving myself permission for the first kind… and gently resetting before it turns into the second.

And honestly, often little things like a quick sweep of scraps, collecting the different project piles into their own spot or container, or putting rulers back where they belong - little “reset” moments that make it easier to keep creating without needing a full-blown, all-day clean.

So keep in mind: if your sewing space is a disaster right now (like mine), maybe it just means you’re in the middle of something good. 😊

Bless you all and thank you so much for stopping by! See you next week.

xo,

Amy

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