I didn’t get much done this week….I knew I wouldn’t have sewing time because what little time I did have had to be dedicated to charity quilts.  BUT I didn’t want a week to go by with no progress at all…so I pulled out  my Texas Braids and decided to trim them.  I’ve had them done for awhile but have been afraid to trim them…well I started out by reading the directions.  I read and tried to understand the cutting process.  It shows to cut between the two squares.  Hmmm….I decided I really didn’t like that option. 
If I do that, part of my block will get lost in the seam when I put the binding on. Â I decided instead to slide my ruler over about a 1/4″ and cut there. 
Mine ended up looking like this. 
Then I started looking at the drawing. Â I was so confused. Â The picture showed that the little red squares went from border to border. Â I liked that. Â But then I went and re-read the cutting instructions. Â Something seemed off. Â I felt like I needed but cut something off the other end too. 
See…look at the picture below.I cut off at the top but if I don’t cut anything off the bottom like in the illustration, the red squares wouldn’t go from border to border like the illustration. Then I flipped back a couple pages in the book to see what Bonnie had done on the quilt. Â LOOK. Â Her squares don’t go from border to border. Â Her’s stop. Â The cutting illustration matches her quilt but the illustration doesn’t. Â It’s not a big deal…either way the quilt looks great but it was time for to decided which way I was going to cut it. 
I ended up cutting off both ends. Â My squares will go from border to border. 
All of that was pretty simple but oh my it took me a long time to figure it all out. Â I read and re-read it all over and over. Â These braids took a long time to make and I didn’t want to cut them wrong. So what did I accomplish in the UFO department this week? Â I trimmed my Texas Braids. Â I know that doesn’t sound like much but it’s progress and I’m taking it!
You can catch me back here next Wednesday. Â I’m not looking for a lot of progress to report then as I’ll still be working on charity quilts but even if it’s only one seam, something is going to get at least one inch further along. Â I am committed.
I’m working on the same quilt. Those braids DO take a long time! I thought they’d be quicker for some reason…lol. Anyway, I was just going to comment that I wanted my red squares to go from border to border, too. So my solution was to use a big red triangle at the start of the braid, instead of the pieced on that Bonnie’s directions suggest to use.
I haven’t trimmed any of my braids yet, so hopefully it turns out the way I envision. I intend to trim them to be 1/4-3/8″ past where the middle of the square should be, so that when the binding is applied, it just looks like a red triangle/half square…hope that makes sense!
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I have made those braids before and they are fun and colorful to make – must think about them again for some thing.
Boy…when I have gotten into a situation like this
I can waste a full day fretting over how to do it…
which way would look best…you made the right decision.
It took me a day to make a miniature quilt and then it took me all
day yesterday to decide how I wanted it quilted…finally marked it last night.
I like your way better of the red squares going from border to border. I will have to remember this if I make this quilt.
Off topic, but I wanted to thank you for passing along the pitch counter tip. I just started BH Fair and Square and this pitch counter is sure making it easier to keep track of the 360 four patch units. I was able to get mine from Walmart for less than $6 and free pick up at the store. This is why I enjoy reading blogs, everyone is so generous with tips and ideas.
I did a braid without the red squares many years ago. But what we did was cut straight across as you did. Then took the top part that had the point going up and attached it to the very bottom part, 2 separate seams. In which case one cut equals the top and the bottom. None is wasted. I wish I could show an example, but mine is completely made.
The Texas Braids looks like a lot of matching seams. Yikes!
I am still working on the Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt. I have all the 4-patches done – they were the easiest. I have 58 of 100 of the pink Tri Recs patches and 5 of the purple ones ( I need 80). I was going to count up how many other little blocks I have left, but I did not want to throw myself into a depression. I may need more chocolate to get through this quilt.
Looks great! I think you made the right decision on cutting the bottom, too. It’s what I would have voted for.