Hello all, Mary Ellen here.

That heading really sounds like a math teacher wrote it.  (a retired one!) I’m working on a sample of a block for a demo I’ll be doing in a month or so. The book has great ideas but was not edited carefully at all. I wonder who it was who fell down on the job…the designer, the copy editor, the technical writer…   This is very irritating to me every time it happens. And it happens much more often than it should. (In a perfect world it would never happen!) I’m sure many a quilter has come upon errors in a pattern and blamed them on herself. Actually I find that many times the errors belong to some one else. Why don’t they check their work more carefully?

That said, our own inaccuracy in a 1/4″ seam cause us problems often. The block I am testing has 20 spokes (it’s a dresden plate variation) coming together in the center of the block. An ever so slight, one or two thread inaccuracy, multiplied by 20 becomes a problem. So in addition to finding ways to make the seams very accurate, I am also finding ways to compensate for the inevitable center issue in this block. I’ll want my students to be able to finish it, without too much frustration. This is not a block for those who think that 1/4″ inch seams aren’t as important as consistent seam widths.  That philosophy really limits the kinds of blocks and projects that a quilter can complete without a lot of angst. There is only so much a “fudge factor” can do for you.

This blog post  (click here) from Quilters’ Newsletter magazine talks about the process the magazine goes through to insure that what they publish is correct. I wish all publications were edited so carefully!! If while you are there, you back up to one post earlier, there is an interesting post comparing different hand quilting needles. Within that post she talks about Lady Edith’s developing fashion sense on Downton Abbey. If you are or were a garment sewer, or have an interest in historical costuming, I think you’ll enjoy the link she gives to notes about Lady Edith’s garments. I also was amazed at a photo of the actress who plays Lady Edith-what a different appearance she has in her “real” persona. (What did you think of the final episode?!)