circle round
Autumn is coming. It's only a whisper here in the south, with the dogwood trees starting to redden and the apples coming into season. I love this time of year! Snatches of cool weather reminded me lately of how I'll be wanting a quilt large enough to cover our bed soon.
I started Facing East, a mammoth paper piecing project from Savor Each Stitch, December of last year. My color palette is entirely neutral (white/cream/pale gray) which doesn't provide much motivation for my quilty soul, plus each block takes 2 hours to make. I knew I would have trouble maintaining momentum. Early on I set a quota of 2 blocks per month. It wasn't an easy goal, but it was doable and allowed time for other projects too.
For awhile I made good progress, sometimes churning out even more than 2 blocks per month. Then I realized finances required I create a new course. Producing Stitched Holiday required much of my energy June-September, and sadly I had to let Facing East fade into the background. But, I am happy to say I've picked it up again this week!
It's possible I lost some momentum because of this nagging fact: not one of my blocks was actually finished. Sure they were paper pieced and pretty cool to look at, but each one had a tidy hole in the center. It was time to fix that.
I cut a large stack of muslin squares and neutral squares to match each block. Then I began making circles in my favorite applique technique, Sew & Turn. I had planned to machine applique the finished-edge circles with a straight stitch all the way around, and I did complete five blocks that way before admitting to myself that I wasn't happy with the results. It was quick and super secure, but... if the circle wasn't round enough or the stitching wasn't quite close enough to the edges, it really showed.
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One night I dug deep for some gumption and began unpicking the circles on three blocks that were bugging me. Then I re-appliqued by hand with a blindstitch. It was those hearts all over again! Why do I let myself think that faster is always a priority? Nope. Sometimes slow stitching is loads more enjoyable and the results can't be beat.
Now I have a project to take along this weekend to the lake! Crossing fingers I'll maintain this momentum.
p.s. I don't now how many blocks I've finished or how many blocks I have yet to make. I'm thinking I should sew a few new blocks before running those calculations! At right is one a finished last night and will be appliqueing today.
Sometimes it's better not to know...
