One Swoon Block.

No lie. I think this is the only thing I've sewn in a month.



Well, I've done some other things, too, but this has taken a LOT out of me!

It's a Swoon block, designed by Camille Roskelley of Bonnie and Camille/Bliss fame.  There are 81 pieces, 65 of which are triangles (HSTs or Flying Geese). It finishes to 24 1/2".  Can you believe it? One block? 2 feet square? Some of you have kitchen floor tiles as large as that!

I made it for the {Faith} Circle of the do.Good Stitches bee. As usual, the story behind this quilt, and the family it is going to is just heart-breaking.  And as much work as this was, as challenging as it was for me, I tried really hard to have a good attitude while I was working on it, knowing that the family who gets this quilt is going through WAY worse than the 8 hours I spent working on it. The biggest challenge for me, besides finding the right colors, was just the precision with which I had to sew it. It's a very specific pattern that required a very exact 'scant 1/4" seam'. And since there were so many points coming together, Ramona suggested I press the seams open. (She just made an entire Swoon quilt in like, a day, or something ridiculous like that. She is a machine!)  I think I spent as much time at the iron as I did at the sewing machine! :)

But seriously, folks. One of the things I LOVE LOVE LOVE about modern quilting is the ability to create something beautiful without that kind of precision. Yes, I believe in accuracy and quality craftsmanship, but being a recovering perfectionist, precision is not my best friend. :)

And I'm pretty sure the only swooning I did was after midnight one night when I had already spent 4+ hours on it and I was nowhere near finished.