Precision Piecing

For you non-quilters who read this blog, quilters often talk about this mythical group called the "Quilt Police." They're supposedly the ones who walk around insisting that things have to be done a certain way or look a certain way. They're the critical ones who have a comment (usually negative) about everything. I think there are "X, Y, or Z Police" for just about anything you can think of (novel writing? blogging? cooking?). You can let yourself be beat down by the negativity or you can ignore it and do what you want because who are you really trying to satisfy anyway? A third alternative is to take that negativity and channel it into something positive, like a challenge simply for the sake of the challenge--because you might learn something, or it might even be fun!

Fabric manufacturer Timeless Treasures and Wing and a Prayer Design company have collaborated on a Block of the Month project being offered by quilt shops around the country. I have signed up to make this batik beauty through one of my local shops.



The program is set up so that each month participants receive a small packet with instructions and just enough fabric to make that month's block. Some months we'll make the setting pieces rather than a block. At the end of 12 months, if I stick with it and keep up, I'll have a king-sized quilt top.

Since this is a program being offered around the country, there will be hundreds of identical quilts if we all finish on time. This is one time when I don't care about being unique or creative. I want to hone my skills. So, for ME, this is going to be one of those times where it WILL matter whether my seams align properly. It WILL matter that my unfinished blocks measure 12.5 inches. It WILL matter that my triangle points are points and not blunt. To whom will it matter? ME. Nobody but ME. This quilt is a chance for me to practice patience and precision. I am willing to unsew if sewing it again will make it better. However, the great thing about this project is that the instructions use methods that give you room for error. You make units that are a little over-sized and trim them down. But you still have to piece those units accurately to have the correct outcome. And if I do it right, my quilt will lie flat on my bed in the master bedroom.



Below is April's block. My corners sit nice and sharp. Many of my angles are also sharp. Some are not. But, check it out--12.5 inches!