Ay yi yi!  That seemingly innocent 1″ strip in this 6″ block really threw me for a loop today.  I am embarrassed to think how much time this block took me when it didn’t need to.  Have you ever had to re-work something 2, 3, or more times because you were either trying to take a shortcut, or got distracted, or tried to do too many things at once, etc.?  All of that happened.

These blocks that say things like cut 2 1/8″ square and then cut into 2 triangles are typically a mess for me.  That’s another way of saying “hey if you’re off by 1 thread then this block is going to be a mess when you’re done”.  I don’t remember if that was what it said, but this pattern wasn’t dealing in quarter inches – because of that 1″ strip.

Typically a 6″ square would  be in derivatives – finished – of 2″ or 3″.  Instead, the 4 separate quadrants need to total 5″, or rather 2.5″ each.  Since a finished 2.5″ piece is unfinished at 3″, I kept getting confused on finished vs. unfinished – because I got a phone call in the middle, then another…you know how it goes.

The outer quadrant with the half square triangle turned out entirely too large.  I cut it down to what I thought was right…but if you look at the Splendid Sampler site, you’ll see I never did get it right.  Add to that, in the top picture of this post, I accidentally rotated one of the sections before I sewed it on.  I’m sure I used double or triple the thread that I should’ve on this block!  So it’s not exactly like the pattern but I’m leaving it like it is.

I did also finally finish the embroidered block from last week but I’ll save that for tomorrow.  In the meantime I’ll just throw out a random photo of my dog!

Oh before I forget, Amy Ellis sent out an email that she was hosting a quilt-along using blocks from her latest book – Modern Heritage Books. Ironically, I had just been thinking I’d like to start a QAL as long as it wasn’t as intensive as Splendid Sampler with the key thing being that I was interested primarily in traditional piecing.

This one is monthly, so very easy to fit into my schedule and I love the way it looks.  This quilt is definitely my style.  If you’re interested in doing it, click on the links above to get the book and join the Facebook group.  It would be great to have some friends sewing this one with me!