The quilt that is kicking my butt

Aka the Marcelle Medallion. Don't get me wrong, I am absolutely loving making this quilt. But it is really making me aware of just how much improvement is needed in my ability to follow a pattern, and my piecing skills. And how much of a perfectionist I actually am ;o)

The centre star came together okay (although I'm really glad I decided to paper piece it), as did the first border. But then came the triangles. FOUR attempts at the triangles (insert any and all swear words here - I probably uttered them all during the process of making this border).  Admittedly I have never pieced equilateral triangles before - but that isn't really the problem here. The problem was messing up the cutting for this border twice. And then using a seam allowance that was too scant and having to unpick the buggers. Normally I use a scant seam allowance, and my accuracy is pretty good. But for these triangles, a scant seam leads to triangle bases that are just a bit too wide (they should be 2" finished - as you can see from the photo these were a smidge over). And a bit too wide x 10 = a border that doesn't fit.

So my two pieces of advice for the triangle border:

1. Triple check your triangle pieces against the template. This will help you avoid having to cut three lots of triangles ;o)
2. Use a true quarter inch seam when piecing your triangles together. It makes a huge difference.

After all the drama, my triangle border is on and I am really happy with how it's coming together as a whole. The DS print on my design wall is my possible third border - although I'm going to wait until I've pieced the fourth (flying geese) border before I decide for sure. I figure it will be easier to make the geese fit properly too if I wait until they are made before attaching the third border.

I'm off to finish up these geese - have I mentioned how seriously addictive this quilt is?

xx Jess