Weathering the Storm at Sea

Round 3 of the quilt is finished! Four Storm at Sea blocks and 120 2-inch squares later this quilt is really starting to take shape. I have two different versions of the corner blocks, two of each. These were challenging for me, hence the post name. I do feel a bit like I've weathered a storm and have come out on the other side having learned a lot. My seam ripper and I are friends, and I now know how to paper piece using my machine. (I have a couple of paper pieced blocks I can't wait to tackle now!)

I fussy cut a few of the pieces in each block; the toile diamonds have vignettes of people, the yellow Hope Valley print leaves were perfect for the smallest square, and my two orange prints have great little sunbursts in them. The more I practice the better I'll get at getting fussy cuts all lined up, but I think for my first stab at foundation paper piecing this isn't bad. The second block with all the blues is my favorite because I love the combination of the pezzy blue, linen, and that orange print in the large square. I'll have to save this idea for another quilt maybe? (I should probably stock up on the pezzy print while I can!)

This round also had four panels of patchwork solids. The fabrics I included in the patchwork are not all cotton, which adds a nice bit of texture; the black and gray are corduroy, the beige and blue are linen, and the olive-y green is twill. Yay for stash/scrap busting.

At first I was a little concerned that the patchwork was too bold and was outcompeting both the Storm at Sea blocks and the center. One great thing about taking this handstitched class is the group of people I've connected with. My classmates (and instructor!) have been fantastic with their comments on every project but most especially this one. Their objective eyes have been invaluable in helping me see that this is working just fine. You know if you stare at something too long everything starts looking wrong? Yeah. Walking away for a few days did great wonders.

I am just loving how this is turning out. I will be behind on this the next two weeks because I'm away from my sewing machine and much of the next round is machine sewn, but I'm sure my enthusiasm will help me catch up in no time when I get back.