The Dreaded Whirigigs

I'm one of a little group of women acting as guinea pigs for a friend who is going to teach a certain class. We're her instruction testers and chief hecklers. (She loves us all and we all love her; therefore, we heckle.)

There are nine applique blocks in this little project. We're on block seven now. It's a lot of fun...really. But, Block #2 had these whirligig things. I got them all prepped which was a feat in itself.It involved two bobby pins and a lot of magic sizing and heat. Then they had to be sewn down. I started on the first one.

I appliqued the inside curve all the way to the middle and went...

EEEEEEEERRRRRRRRTTT!!!! (That's me...putting on the brakes.)

I do not want to deal with tucking these little ends and sewing these little suckers down.

I don't.

I won't.

I didn't.

This block has sat there for 5 months.

Waiting patiently.

Wondering why it was being passed over while blocks 3, 4, 5 and even 6 were all finished.

And it sat there...

because I feared the whirligig.

So, finally, Sunday night, I took that dread Block #2 out. I needed some handwork to take on the road with me for the day. Block #7 was still in pieces and not travel-worthy.

Yeah, I thought about breaking out another applique project - believe me, I have plenty - but decided I have to make a stand.

I asked myself: "Are you a quilter or a mouse? Are you going to let a little 1/8 inch bias get the better of you?"

No, I said.

I will beat this whirligig.

And I did.

All five of them. And they weren't bad at all..really...they weren't.

So, they are all done and I've moved on to the easier things in the block...like all those leaves.

And I apologized to Block #2 for skipping over it for all those months.

(And yes, I'm a little concerned that I'm not only talking to myself and answering myself but I'm talking to my blocks like they have feelings. Time for a vacation? Oh yes, I think so too.)