My third UFO project "reactivation" of the new year is underway!
I did take a little time to clean under the needle plate of the Juki, but it really didn't look that bad, so it wasn't strictly necessary. It's probably a good habit to get into, though, cleaning it out every project or two (or three, depending on the size of the project).
Once that was done, I pulled out the string blocks I treadle-pieced a while back. I made them with the intention of eventually making HSTs out of them, modeled after a quilt I saw online. The original used more pastel colors, but I worked with whatever was in my "everything" string bag, supplemented with a little of this and that from the single-hue bags.
The main "rule" I set for myself was to try to use a relatively wide string for the center of each block, since they'd eventually be cut down the middle, diagonally. (You don't want seam allowances in your way when you get around to turning the string blocks into HSTs, obviously.)
I had enough for 25 white background squares, in the piece of fabric left over from the previous UFO project. At that point, I decided to cut the rest later. (I'll need a total of 72, eventually, which will yield twice as many finished HST blocks.)
These HSTs come together very quickly! I'm sliver-trimming each one, which takes a bit longer. If it weren't for that, they'd be even faster to make. They are 7" squares after trimming, so will finish at 6.5" in the quilt top.
Here's what I have so far:
25 string blocks + 25 background squares = 50 string HSTs!
Lots more to go before it's time to start joining them... But it feels good to be getting these UFOs off my list. (Off the piecing list, at least. Now, the to-be-quilted list, on the other hand...)