Vol 2 - Project 7 - Card Trick - Blocks

Back again!  And here are the finished blocks.

The windowpane around each block really sets them off

I had no real problems putting the blocks together, just a bit of a wrangle with the pressing.  The coloured seam is rather tiny and the instructions ask you to press it towards the block, which is trickier than it sounds.

Pressing this little seam towards the block is awkward

My hefty iron didn't do a good job with this task - my seams ended up with dents and curves in them

This is what I found when I flipped the block over after pressing - messy seams!

For the next part of putting this block together, you need flat seams on the back - this won't do!

The solution was fairly simple and obvious - I used the iron to gently nudge the seam in the right direction, then flipped the block over to finish pressing.  A little burst of starch holds everything straight and flat.

To put the final round on, you need to sew from the back of the block.  Here's where you find out how important it is to have sewn precise 1/4" seams.  I'm glad I took the trouble to get this right, or there may have been tears!

That seam has to be very straight and exactly 1/4" wide ....................because 

.........you need that seam as a guide to sew the next one!

........which produces the tiny 1/4" windowpane framing the block

I admit to unpicking more than a few of the seams, but overall I was happy with the results. Measuring, sewing straight and trimming over and over again, can get a bit tedious but no-one said this quilt was of the quick 'n easy, sew-in-a-day type. 

Side setting triangles next - there is an option to add framing to these too and I think I'm going to give it a shot!