Harriet's Journey 2

The little 6" blocks in Jennifer Chiaverini's new Harriet's Journey sampler are addicting, despite their fiddliness.  I love the way they're turning out and have come to view their tricky construction as good for my aging brain.

I have joined in a block of the month group on the Quilting Board, and eight blocks, hopping around the quilt, were assigned for March.  The curvy block, Oregon Trail, seemed daunting at first as I tried to sew the 2" blocks on the machine.  I soon decided that applique would be best, and the result is pretty nice.

Construction of the next block was just as daunting at first, until I decided not to make those parallelograms or sew Y seams via the templates given.  Instead, I used Bonnie Hunter's chevron method (cut a rectangle and two squares to be sewn diagonally).   What a relief.  Pressing was important though.

Sonoma Rose was paper pieced, and the last block was fairly easy patchwork as long as I measured and cut accurately.   Phew!

Next up:  a few more Dear Jen blocks, so named because it's a Jen Kingwell sampler.  Photos soon!