Lots of balls are being juggled high in the air at the moment.  I am trying to stay on top of the fun things in my life as well as the more mundane things.  Maintaining balance is such a precarious and challenging task!  In line with that, I have managed to (almost) finish blocks 3 and 4 (October and November) of my Sue Ross Block of the Month from Material Obsession.

Block 3 still needs to be hand appliqued into place – but who knows when that part will happen.  At least the piecing is done.

Block 4 was a little tricky because of all the inset seams.  It took me around an hour and a half to sew together once all the pieces were cut out.

Once again, I am thankful for my dressmaking background, because inset seams weren’t really a big deal for me.  My dressmaking background is a bit of a problem though when it comes to pressing.  I always have my iron on full steam and tend to iron rather than press, which is stretching some of these pieces out of shape, especially along bias edges.  Another issue is the lack of a quarter inch foot for my machine.  Although I pretty much know where a quarter of an inch is, when making these types of blocks the accuracy of that measurement becomes paramount.  Consistency of seam allowance isn’t enough – it does need to be that quarter of an inch.  I may need to remedy the situation.

You can follow the progress of others doing this BOM over here.  I really like the “pretty” colourway Sue Ross has chosen for this quilt.

Also, I need to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone who left such lovely comments on my Advent Calendar!  I was so thrilled to read them.  I almost feel as though I’m becoming a real quilter now.