I'm on a half-square-triangle kick

I always like to pile teeny scraps like these on my cutting mat and fluff them up before they go in the sewing trash. They look so perky and pretty, it's a shame there's next to nothing to be done with them.

Those scraps are from trimming my HSTs for the wall hanging I'm working on. I've tried three methods of sewing triangles:

• cutting triangles out of fabric and piecing on the bias
• adding 7/8" onto the finished size and sewing either side of a diagonal line before cutting down the bias
• cutting squares a little big and trimming them down once they're sewed into half-square triangles

I have to say that this last method is by far my favorite. I don't know about you, but I struggle with sewing on the bias — heck sometimes I have a hard time sewing a straight seam on two squares! Perfect HSTs have such an amazing look once they're sewn together, it's worth the extra time to trim them down later.

Today, I spent hours cutting 2½" squares, tracing a diagonal line down the middle, chain-piecing them together (a technique that actually saves time and helps keep your thread from getting tangled!), and then cutting the finished squares down to 2". Yes, that's a lot of time to spend with the rotary cutter, and yes I know how to do the math so I don't have to trim down later, but wow does it have an impact. I can't tell you how many seams I've ripped or points I've lost using the add 7/8" method. After trimming, I have neat stacks of 2" HSTs sitting on my cutting table waiting to be made into potholders:

SO worth it! I know Father's Day was yesterday, but I just started making these for my dad today because I'm going to visit my parents later this week.

I quilted my wall hanging yesterday, but took a break from it today, because I'm not sure if I'm happy with the quilting...

I messed with the contrast some in the photo so I think the quilting is actually more visible there than in person. I used a high-loft batting that I had lying around the house, but the quilting isn't "popping" the way I wanted. A part of me wants to fill it in some more, but I can't really figure out where or how... The only part I really like is the middle:

I got some great advice on wall-hanging-sleeves and getting that crafty mojo back from my last post, so I really want to know what you guys think on this issue: Do you think it needs more quilting — different quilting? A part of me wants to rip out the quilting except for the very center and start over, but I hate ripping stitches! What would you do?