Stonefields Block 17 Remake + Mistake Discovered in Block 16

 You guys, I was so proud of myself when I switched off my sewing machine last night, put my new Stonefields Block 17 "Square Peg in a Round Hole" on my design wall, and went to bed thinking all mistakes had been corrected.  (If you're wondering what was wrong with the first one I made, read this blog post from a few days ago).  I strongly prefer the on-point orientation of that square with the circle cutout now that I've fixed it in my purple block.  The square on point element is repeated in many of the blocks in this quilt, and repeated design elements are one of the things that gives cohesion to a sampler quilt like this one.  

Stonefields Block 17, Just as Susan Smith and Rebecca Grace Intended

Before remaking the block, I took the time to trace over the ridiculously faint lines of the block pattern with an extra fine point Sharpie pen to make sure I could clearly see it through my fabric, because even with an LED light box you can't see these patterns well enough through most fabrics.  If I'd done that tracing and darkening of the pattern right off the bat, these mistakes would not have happened in the first place.  And I am hugely annoyed with pattern designer Susan Smith that I have to take all that extra time to trace over every stinking block pattern with Sharpie before I can use it, because the pattern cost $200(!!!) and there are hardly any instructions whatsoever, just vague hints and clues and anecdotes about the blocks, and how difficult would it have been to have these patterns printed with thicker, darker lines like every other quilt pattern author uses in their patterns?  GRRR...

So this morning I walked into the studio, admired all my pretty blocks on the wall (I finished a couple more EPP hexagon rosettes for the border yesterday as well:

Slow But Steady Stonefields Progress: My Design Wall Today at 8:19 AM

I am so glad I remade that purple block!  It only took me an hour or two and whereas the old block made me feel disappointed and annoyed with myself, the new block makes me feel DELIGHTED and pleased with myself for identifying what went wrong, adjusting my process to make errors less likely, and successfully creating the block exactly the way that I wanted it to look instead of settling for less.  

And then I decided to put blocks 16 and 17 right next to each other for a photo, and I discovered that I'd oriented the 1" yellow square in block 16 on point when it was supposed to be set straight:

Stonefields Blocks 16 and 17: Notice the Difference?

SERIOUSLY?!!  Good grief!  AAAARGH!!!

I know you're all thinking "who cares," "it's good enough," "no one will know but you," and "just call it a design feature and pretend you did it on purpose."  But this is my project and I get to rip it apart and redo it as many times as I want until I'm satisfied with it.  

So, back to the difference in the center square orientation.  I studied the two blocks side by side to determine which I liked better.  I now remember that, when I placed the yellow square on Block 16, I did it "blind" using the fold lines on my fabric for positioning because I was so frustrated after struggling to see the pattern lines through my fabric on the lightbox, so now I am definitely committed to darkening the lines on all of my patterns by hand before using them for the remainder of the blocks in this quilt.  Remaking Block 16 from scratch like I did Block 17 is not as appealing of an option because I really, REALLY like the way printed circle and diagonal lines on by background fabric correlate to the square with circle cutout appliqué.  I might have more of that background fabric, but not enough to replicate that pattern placement of the fabric print.

And So the Ripping Begins...

So I got out my seam ripper, my super-bright LED light, and my 3.5x reading glasses and carefully removed the machine appliqué stitches around the yellow square one by one, without damaging the background fabric or the square appliqué.  I gave the block and the little square patch a quick press with my iron and took them over to my light box to reposition that square and glue baste it to my block, using my darkened block pattern that I could actually see through my fabric.  HUGE difference.  And then I restitched the center square again.  The whole fix took maybe 30 minutes, and now I am happy with my block.  It took me a lot longer to write about the mistake than it did to fix it.

Stonefields Block 16, Error Corrected

Bonus/Silver Lining: This is the first time I've attempted to rip out that tiny invisible machine appliqué stitch that I programmed and saved in my Bernina B 990 sewing machine.  I wasn't sure whether it would even be possible to remove such small stitches without damaging the background fabric, but now I know that I can absolutely get them out as long as I have magnified vision, good lighting, a seam ripper with a very thin point, and a lot of patience.  I was also pleased to find that the needle holes from the previous stitching, made with a size 60 Microtex needle, closed right up again once the stitching was removed and I pressed the block with my iron.  Win, win, win!

I Love Repeated Blocks in Different Fabrics

Small details, perhaps, but I really love the way Susan Smith made multiples of many of these blocks using different fabrics in her sampler quilt design.  As disappointed as I am with the poor quality of her pattern, I still love her quilt design and so I continue on with it!  It's fun to see how different the same block can look with different fabric selections, and with so much variety in the block designs themselves, repeating blocks sprinkled throughout the quilt are an effective way to control that visual chaos and help the viewer's eye travel around the quilt.  

Here's what my design wall looked like at 11:02 AM, with both block 16 and 17 corrected:

17 Stonefields Blocks and 24 Hexagon Rosettes, 11:02 AM

I really don't care if anyone else notices a difference or not.  I like it better, and that's all that matters.  In the immortal words of Shakespeare's Polonius, "This above all, to thine own self be true." (Hamlet, Act I, Scene 3).

There will be no more sewing for me this weekend until I get our tax packet filled out for our accountant and find all the supporting documents that he will need to file our taxes.  I have been dreading and procrastinating that task for weeks.  I must say, when you are deciding between frog stitching and working on your income taxes, it is amazing how enticing a seam ripper becomes...  😉 

Stitching goals for the upcoming week, post Tax Hell: I'd like to get started on the prep work for Stonefields appliqué block 18, "Star in a Star."  Not only does this block pattern need to be hand traced over with a black pen to darken the lines before I can use it, but I also need to redraft the smaller star shape before making that template because the pattern Susan gives us for this block does not look like the photo of the block she made for her own version of this quilt, and I like the way her actual quilt block looks much better than the way she drew the pattern.

Have a lovely weekend, those of you who have already done your taxes and get to play with fabric or frolic outdoors enjoying Spring weather!

I'm linking up with some of my favorite linky parties:

MONDAY

Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts  

Monday Musings at Songbird Designs  

TUESDAY

To-Do Tuesday at Quilt Schmilt  

WEDNESDAY

Wednesday Wait Loss at The Inquiring Quilter

THURSDAY

Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation  

FRIDAY

Finished or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts

Off the Wall Friday at Nina Marie Sayre

Beauty Pageant at From Bolt to Beauty

 TGIFF Thank Goodness It’s Finished Friday, rotates, schedule found here: TGIF Friday

SUNDAY

Frédérique at Quilting Patchwork Appliqué

Slow Stitching Sunday at Kathy's Quilts

Oh Scrap! at Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework