Well, I disappeared for the day into my sewing room yesterday, and probably spent about 7 hours and got 12.5 blocks done. (I will NOT be able to keep up this pace going forward...)
I'm using an off white background and using up my scraps, trying to stay in "jewel" tones. I'm working from the left hand upper corner down diagonally to the lower right; i.e., A1, A2, B1; then A3, B2, C1; etc., placing the results up on my wall as I go.
I am finding the piecing so incredibly interesting. Each block is a mini-challenge. I am doing types of piecing I have never done before, including my first foray into "negative" appliqué and curved machine piecing. And talk about practice getting those points to match! So this is an incredible skill-builder of a project.
I am making in-depth use of "that quilt" blog, following her instructions very closely. Warning: she assumes her audience is already facile with paper-piecing; as said above, this is also my first foray into paper piecing and I don't always know what she means. But I figure it out one way or another. And now that I'm a dozen squares in, I am beginning to find alternative ways of making the block.
I am using the freezer paper method she recommends, and I am not wasting much fabric. Freezer paper! what a concept. It works so well. Really helps keep the fabric from getting wonky.
What I find so fascinating is the question: "WHERE did Jane get these pieced block ideas from?" Some of them are traditional, but some clearly are not. Some are incredibly intricate. I'm having so much fun. It's difficult to get bored because each block is a new adventure. And I LOVE that I am using up my scraps.
Wonder what I'll do today? I have some MUCH needed house cleaning done, but I'd far rather quilt!
Speaking of quilting, those of you (if any are reading) who have already completed a DJ, how do you quilt this beast?
-- Jillaine