3. My First O Block

I went to a "Learn to Quilt" workshop this week, and it has taken me two days to decide that I am willing to share my product.  I had to work up some courage, especially since I am proud of it, despite its many imperfections.  Our instructor kept reminding us that we were doing this to learn techniques, not to create a perfect square.

I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to create this again on my own, so I took some pictures along the way, mostly to help me remember in which direction to press the seams.  Linda Williams, our instructor at Joann Fabrics, told us to press toward the dark.  OK.  That made sense to me, because you won't see the seams as much under the dark.  However, later on, she told me to press some seams toward my lighter color - for construction purposes.  We don't want our seams going in directions that work against each other when we press them open once the block is finished.  Unfortunately, my brain just doesn't work that way.  How did she know what that was going to be?  Will practice help me be able to predict, or should I purchase a few extra seam rippers?

Here are some of the photos I took of the process, incuding the back side, where I discovered that my 1/4 inch seams were anything but that!

I learned many things in this workshop, including the importance of being very careful with your fabric selection!  I thought the fat quarters were really pretty in their little bags and would be perfect for Easter, but I now know that I will not be using my left over fabric for anything else but practice.  I should try an X square, since we were given instructions for one.

All in all, it was 2-1/2 hours well spent.  There was only one other student in the class, so we both received a lot of personal attention.  Cheryl P lives in the same town that I do to boot.  So, we exchanged information and will try to find a way to connect.  How lovely!