Stonefields Block 17 Remake + Mistake Discovered in Block 16

 You guys, I was so proud of myself when I switched off my sewing machine last night, put my new Stonefields Block 17 "Square Peg in a Round Hole" on my design wall, and went to bed thinking all mistakes had been corrected.  (If you're wondering what was wrong with the first one I made, read this blog post from a few days ago).  I strongly prefer the on-point orientation of that square with the circle cutout now that I've fixed it in my purple block.  The square on point element is repeated in many of the blocks in this quilt, and repeated design elements are one of the things that gives cohesion to a sampler quilt like this one.  

Stonefields Block 17, Just as Susan Smith and Rebecca Grace Intended

Before remaking the block, I took the time to trace over the ridiculously faint lines of the block pattern with an extra fine point Sharpie pen to make sure I could clearly see it through my fabric, because even with an LED light box you can't see these patterns well enough through most fabrics.  If I'd done that tracing and darkening of the pattern right off the bat, these mistakes would not have happened in the first place.  And I am hugely annoyed with pattern designer Susan Smith that I have to take all that extra time to trace over every stinking block pattern with Sharpie before I can use it, because the pattern cost $200(!!!) and there are hardly any instructions whatsoever, just vague hints and clues and anecdotes about the blocks, and how difficult would it have been to have these patterns printed with thicker, darker lines like every other quilt pattern author uses in their patterns?  GRRR...

So this morning I walked into the studio, admired all my pretty blocks on the wall (I finished a couple more EPP hexagon rosettes for the border yesterday as well:

Slow But Steady Stonefields Progress: My Design Wall Today at 8:19 AM

I am so glad I remade that purple block!  It only took me an hour or two and whereas the old block made me feel disappointed and annoyed with myself, the new block makes me feel DELIGHTED and pleased with myself for identifying what went wrong, adjusting my process to make errors less likely, and successfully creating the block exactly the way that I wanted it to look instead of settling for less.  

Stonefields Blocks 16 + 17 "Square Peg In a Round Hole," With an Oopsie!

There are two new Stonefields blocks on my design wall, and one of them even looks like it's supposed to!  Behold, Blocks 16 & 17, "Square Peg In a Round Hole," one of which has the square peg on point the way it belongs, and the other of which does not:

17 Stonefields Blocks + 21 Hexie Rosettes for Border

Aaaargh!!!  I only accept partial responsibility for this error.  The appliqué patterns for the Stonefields quilt are printed RIDICULOUSLY faintly, nearly impossible to see through the background fabric with even the brightest LED light box.  I did not realize that my background fabric was oriented incorrectly until after I'd glue basted the delicate purple square with the circle cutout onto my block, and I used a bit more glue than normal because of how skinny those bits are on the side.  I wanted to secure that shape to my background fabric while it was flat on my work surface to preclude any stretching or distortion that might occur.  In hindsight, I would have been better off skipping the darned light box altogether and just positioning the shapes on this blocks using the horizontal, vertical and diagonal fold lines.  Shoulda, woulda, coulda.  I noticed the mistake as soon as I finished glue basting the purple block and heat setting the glue with the iron.

Edges Turned Smoothly, Glue Basted to the Background, Not Yet Stitched

I considered peeling the shapes off to reposition them correctly before stitching, but when I tried to lift one purple corner I realized how securely it was glued down and didn't want to risk damaging the applique.  The prep work on these blocks took a LONG time and I didn't want to have any unnecessary do-overs!