The Splendid Sampler™ 6 - Focal Point

Phew, this was not an easy block, but I made it! I took my time, cutting all the pieces in one session, then sewing in a further two sessions. This kind of blocks take a lot of concentration, and I've found that if I keep working "to get it done", I just end up with a wonky block and a lot of frustration! With this block I still had to grab my seam ripper quite a few times, and the end result is still a bit wonky, although I'm hoping it's nothing that the sashing won't fix.

Finished size is correct, yay!

My lovely block as it will appear in the final quilt!

I also managed to get scorch marks on some of the white fabric. I used starch to stiffen the fabric for the first time. I guess that means that I should turn the heat down a little, because scorching happens easier with starch? I hope it will come out in the wash, and even if it doesn't I'm not too bothered. This quilt is not intended as a show piece but as an everyday use quilt in a house with four young kids, so it will get a lot of wear and tear (and stains!) very quickly. This scorch mark can be like the first dent in a new car: you cringe a bit when it happens, but then you're just glad it was you who put it there, so you don't have to be mad at another person when he makes another one the next day :-)!

A bit of wonkiness and some scorch marks: ouch!

The color palette starting to appear, now that I have more blocks. As you can see, I have solid color blocks, and blocks with a white background. I will continue trying to make about half of each, so I can set them alternately, like in this picture.

Different Photoshop effect... I took the pictures in bad artificial light, so it's hard to get an accurate rendition of the actual colors on my screen. It should be somewhere in between the previous picture (too harsh and bright) and this one (too dusty).

And to be honest, at this stage, the finished quilt is not really an issue yet. I'm just really enjoying the process, and the learning experience. I'm very grateful The Splendid Sampler™ came along at the right time (I had just decided to clean out my fabric cupboard and finally make a quilt for my bed with these fabrics, which had been lying around for more than 2 years) and I'm having a lot of fun with it. I like the way that there is whole community sewing along, sharing their successes and oopsies. I'm already looking forward to the next block and day dreaming about sashing and quilting... .