The day finally came! The Fat Quarter Shop released Block 1 of the Sewcialites Quilt Along this morning. I had all of my fabric starched and folded nicely, just waiting to be used.

I printed out the pattern and took a look at what I would need to know. It is designed by Lissa Alexander, and rated as an intermediate sew. It contains HSTs and hourglass blocks. Neither of those blocks is my forte, even using Triangle Paper from It's Sew Emma, but I'm looking at this whole project as a skill-building exercise and trying very hard not to get too stuck on perfection - a problem for me in my daily life.

As I reviewed the pattern, I used a tip that I've learned over the years while knitting sweaters and designs with multiple sizes. The sizes are usually listed in parentheses, and it's easy to get lost while you're knitting and knit to the wrong measurements. To prevent later aggravation, highlight or underline the size you're using throughout the pattern, so your eye is drawn to it. I went through the printed pattern and put a box around the measurements I would need to pay attention to.

After that, I went digging in my bin of Triangle Paper. Since I'm sewing the 6" blocks, I needed 1" Finished Triangle Paper, or a size close to it that I could trim down. I had 1" in my stash, so I unrolled it and peeled off what I needed for the HSTs in this pattern. I figured out what size of rectangle I would need in place of the cuts listed in the pattern for traditional HSTs. I went with 2.5" x 8". I cut out the rest of my pieces and labeled them with the Alphabities.

Earlier in the day, I watched Kimberly's Livestream, where she sewed the block and collected some tips. I was particularly interested in the final block assembly recommendations because I didn't want to lose my points or end up with a wonky-shaped block.

The tips worked! I haven't lost any of my points. As for squaring up my block, it's a HAIR larger than the 6.5" that it's supposed to be, but when I sew the whole quilt together, I shouldn't lose any of my points either. Hopefully...we'll find out in June. ;)

So, I have a confession to make. I've had my sewing machine for nearly ten years, and I didn't know until COVID-19 kept me home all the time that I could move my needle position. Yup, that's right. I've spent years sewing with it wondering how to get a 1/4" seam, and all I had to do was move my needle position.

I have a Janome DC2011. It's a decent machine and easy to use. I do have dreams of a fancy machine with a larger throat space, but it's going to be a lot of penny-saving before that happens. In March, I participated in the GE Designs quilt along with the Elvira pattern (and someday I will quilt that project and share it). I really wanted the project to come out well, so I started doing a bit of research on my machine. I wasn't able to find a lot of information on my specific model, but I did take a little time to read the manual for the first time. And there I discovered you CAN move the needle position on my machine.

Since this discovery, my piecing has been MUCH improved. I use the 1/4" Foot (O), and if I don't move my needle position, the seam allowance is larger than 1/4". I had often wondered why my piecing wasn't as good as it should have been, and now I know why. I was not using my tools to their advantage.

To figure out what my needle position needed to be, I used Pat Sloan's tips for testing your seam allowance where you take three 2.5" squares and sew them together and measure the center square. I admit that I don't check this EVERY time I sew, but I do check it every couple of projects now.

I have definitely learned my lesson. From now on, I'm going to read the manual! :)