I managed to put my book down and go sew last week's Block 6 of the ModaBlockheads Sew Along. This one was designed by Lisa Bongean, who is known for her multitudes of teeny tiny pieces in her blocks. I decided to go with the 8 1/2 inch size for this one, which I hoped might be a bit more forgiving. The half square triangles in this block finish at 1 inch. I did use triangle papers to help with the accuracy.
I had some issues with my block coming together perfectly in the center, but you can't really see it due to the busy medium value fabric in the pinwheel. I can live with it.
I do have a tip regarding triangle papers to share with you.
Some of you may avoid using triangle papers because it is such a pain to rip those darn papers off. It is so annoying to rip away and still be left with bits of paper stuck in the threads that you have to take the time to pick away at. I learned this great idea from Carrie Nelson in either a YouTube video or one of her Moda blog posts, I can't recall which. At any rate, here is what you can do to make the paper ripping process a breeze. Instructions are for right-handed people. Just reverse if you are a lefty.
First off, when you stitch through your triangle paper, do shorten up your stitch length. This makes the tear away process easier as well as the following technique.
Hold your triangle as shown, with your left thumbnail pinching along the seam line (through all layers), your right thumb and fingers holding just the paper. Notice thumb/finger placement is in the middle of the triangle, not on the ends. Grippping firmly with your left thumb and fingers, pull the paper sharply away with your right hand. It will come cleanly away along the stitched line. That remaining strip of paper under your left thumb comes away easily. No fussy paper bits left behind to pick off.
Again, you are not ripping the paper from top to bottom, you are giving it one sharp tug right from the middle.
Do try this. It makes tearing those papers away pretty painless.
Hope your week is off to a good start. Husband, daughter, son in law, grandchild all recovering well from the flu, albeit with lingering coughs. I am still standing and symptom-free.