It was a CHALLENGE but I finished block 26. Zig Zags. I did the 6″ version. Can’t imagine how long the 12″ would have taken. Usually the bigger the block, the easier, but this one is called an “expand a block” The HSTs are all 1 1/2″ for all the different size versions. You just have to make more or less. This took me much longer than any of the other blocks in this quilt thus far. Especially because I had to do it two times to get it right. But I’m done with it. And movin’ on.

The Proposal by Jen Kingwell, block 27, is paper-pieced. Yeah! I like paper piecing. But there are lots of extra steps. First you have cut the fabric piece to fit, stitch it, then press it. Back to cutting another piece. Which when I had two legs was not all that much of a problem. Now that I’m a bit disabled, I had to figure out how to get from the cutting mat, to the sewing machine, to the ironing board and back again. Took a little effort but I finally had the perfect little workstation set up. I started over-thinking the colors (again) and said, nope, just going with whatever I grab. And the block was done.

Next up was Block 28, Broken Dishes by Joanna Figueroa. This is more of a traditional quilt block and I made it in the 12″ size. This was fun. Unlike the Zig Zags which left scars on my mojo.

Block 29, Ring Around by Cory Yoder, was very much like “Broken Dishes”. And, of course, I liked this one, too. I made it in the 12″ size. I messed up and made eight of the HSTs. I don’t know why. Perhaps I shouldn’t be cutting out fabric early in the morning because that’s when I mess up the most. Maybe not quite awake yet. I hope to use them in a future block.

I used the same color combo for the first four blocks. I kinda like it.

On to block 30, which was “Love at Home” by Sheri McConnell. I changed my color combo at that point because I wanted my hearts to be pastel.

The bottom of each heart is a “flying geese”. I like using Betsy Chutchian‘s method to make these. She adds 1/8″ to the geese rectangles and to the squares for sky before cutting. Does the stitch and flip corners then trims it the required size. Adding the extra 1/8″ ensures that you will have a 1/4″ seam at the top of the goose thus you do not lose your point.

For example, the instructions for the geese rectangle call for 3 1/2″ x 6 1/2″ and the sky is 3 1/2″ square so I added 1/8″ and cut the rectangle block 3 5/8″ x 6 5/8″ and the sky is cut to a 3 5/8″ square. When I finish putting on the corners, I then trim it down to the correct unfinished size–3 1/2″ x 6 1/2″–making sure I leave a 1/4″ seam allowance on the side that has the point–I hate losing the pointy points so really like doing the flying geese with this technique.

This is the fourth heart or love themed block! There was some grumbling on FB about “another heart block…..”. I think we need lots of love in this crazy year–the more hearts the better!

And speaking of Betsy Chutchian, Block 31 “Basket Collector” is her design. This one calls for lots of HSTs. I made it in the 6″ size so I could use up some HSTs I already had and some small scraps of the dark pink. My interpretation is pink flowers with green leaves in a gray basket. Just in case you were wondering.

The last block is from Jan Patek, “Beeskep And Flower”. This designer uses “needle-turn applique” for all of her blocks. I use raw-edge applique. Easier.

These are the three blocks from this designer. I was hoping that her third and fourth blocks would have birds so I could make one 12″ block out of them. Nope. Now I need to see what her fourth block looks like before deciding how to use them.

I think I got my mojo back since I was able to make all seven of these blocks in one week!

Thus far I have made nineteen blocks in the 12″ finished size and thirteen in the 6″ finished size. Twenty-four blocks left in this challenge!

Now that I’m caught up with the Moda Block Heads 3 quilt-a-long, I’ve got some other projects to get back to!