Dear Jane,

I think that there is wisdom in NOT working on a detailed block when you’re miffed at your husband. I thought that it would be good therapy to set aside all of the other pressing demands of the day and try to lose my thoughts in the seams and stitches of C2, but as it turned out, with every misaligned seam, I got more and more angry. Having to wash iron gunk off the block didn’t help either. In the end, I guess that the block is passable.

I’m not 100% happy with some of the points of my appliquéd diamonds, but I’m moving on.

Some tips and tricks:

After paper piecing the four separate units for the inner section, when sewing them together, baste at JUST the intersections of the diamonds. Open up the seam and see if everything lines up as it should. I can’t tell you how many times I ripped out the entire length of seam! Aagh!

When sewing on the odd-shaped background pieces to the center paper-pieced unit, remember to stop 1/4 inch from each end because you have Y-seams that you’re going to have to do. Yep. I had to rip out 1/4″ on each end because I neglected to do this.

Leave the outer edge of the block UNTRIMMED until you are finished with the appliqué. If you don’t, your block will likely be too small.

Lastly, don’t be alarmed that the appliquéd diamonds are bigger than those in the center paper-pieced section. That’s how they are in both the book and software. I was worried that I had done something wrong.