Harlequin Johnny - Trimming and Tidying

I purchased a 15" square ruler to help square up the Harlequin blocks, then I found out it was super slippery to use.  To get around this problem I taped a second ruler to my cutting mat to use as a backstop.  It took quite a lot of tape to get it to hold steady, but it worked like a charm after it was in place.

I needed to trim the extra 1/4" I had added to each side of the Harlequin block before I could take off the papers.  The back-stop ruler was taped down such that the 15" square ruler would cut on the 25" line on the cutting mat.

I aligned the block to overlap the 25" line on the cutting mat and laid the square ruler in place, making sure the cutting line on the paper was right at the edge of the ruler.

Having the back-stop ruler in place really made all this 1/4" trimming simple; however, having the extra allowance on the outside of this block turned out to be unnecessary.  I do not think I will ever add 1/4" again to a large paper-pieced block again.  Live and learn.

All the paper is finally off all 25 Harlequin blocks, and I think that is enough work on Harlequin-Johnny for now.  I am heartily sick of squaring up blocks and trimming excess seam allowances; it is time for some Dear Jane fun!

Take care,
Susan in Texas