Two New Blocks

After the nightmare that was the Log Cabin block that I did for homework last week, I can report I am starting to come to terms with my sewing machine.  I had a chat with my tutor and with Mary Clare.  I tried to sew the seam on Mary Clare's beloved Bernina and I have to say it was soooo much easier than on my machine.  I was shown how to tighten the tension on my bobbin case and also where to oil my machine.  These two things have made my machine less clunky and the tension more even.  However there is still an element of the fabric being swizzled round.  My four small Log Cabin blocks seemed to be going well, until I tried to piece them into one block.

At first glance it looks ok but then when you look at the centre where the dark logs meet you can see how wonky the small blocks were.  I have fudged it as much as I could and I had to make a judgement call on whether to match up the light blocks at the edge or the dark blocks in the centre.  I think I made the right decision.  To be honest I don't think I will EVER be doing this particular block again (until a new machine is bought anyway).  I hated it with a passion and I had to complete it over several days, even with chain piecing.  It was so fiddly and involved lots of sitting at the machine.

After the headache that was the small Log Cabin blocks, the large Courthouse Steps was a dream.

It was lovely to have more fabric to hold on to.  It was also nice being able to do two strips at once before having to trim and press.  It meant it was a much speedier process.  I think it also means there is less risk of pulling the fabric sideways too hard and causing the square to go wonky.  I shall have to see how the smaller versions go, it can't be any worse than the Log Cabin ones!