Just 80 Minutes: Part Ten

My Guild retreat was this past weekend, and what a fine and splendid time the almost-thirty of us had! Our location was about 40 minutes from home, and because of some tricky business at the turnpike interchange that made me anxious, Himself offered to deliver me and pick me up. I was quick to accept.

My first order of business had to do with another pair of ballerina feet. One bee participant was truly daunted by the pattern and asked if she could do something else for me. Of course she could. So I had her block to make. It went together much more quickly than the first one did!

Here you can see it in the six sections before they were joined together. It was sort of late at night when I finished them and I thought I would wait until morning to put them together. So I made a couple of pot holders.

 I mentioned previously that one of my bee mates had given us a paper-piecing task for this month, and that it would be challenging. I was very, very glad that I had spent my 80 Minutes for the past nine weeks working on that skill because there was a lot to keep in mind as I pieced these arcs for Sarah.

For me, angles are difficult. There were a couple of times when I was stressed to get the piece applied so that it would cover the entire section, even though I had cut the pieces even larger than the recommended size. This was a problem with one of the yellow segments. I've learned to use tape to reinforce a stitching line after I have to rip something out.

This is the second of Sarah's two arcs and this one was much more cooperative! Sarah gave us extra arcs and shoulders and centers in case we want to make more for ourselves. I'm going to pass on this because I've got a new idea for the blades/spokes that I'd been working on earlier.

Speaking of which, one of my retreat projects was the final assembly of those blocks. There's a picture below. I'm pleased with the outcome. This quilt measures about 47 inches square and will be a gift for one of the babies (I think there were three the last time I counted) that are due this spring.