Dear Jane B-10 Jud's Trophy

After Water Lily and Tinker Toy it was nice to get back to simple paper-piecing.  I did lots of fussy cutting on this one to showcase the rich yellow instead of the batik design.  I may have overdone it on the fussy cutting, because to me, it looks like there is a dirty smudge in the the center section, but it is really the design of the batik.

B-10  Jud's Trophy

I keep telling myself I am going to get these small simple shapes perfectly paper-pieced, but, as usual, one of the teeny bits is a little wonky.  I think it happens because my ironing gets crooked past the seam (since I do not sew in the seam allowance) and it draws the section slightly out of true.  I will have to watch that.  Overall, though, I am very pleased with this block.  I am finally starting to get my squares fairly square, and I think I may have started to figure out how to sew next to the line at the points so they do not get lost in the seam.

Two things stand out about Jud's Trophy.  1.) Because the block is mostly constructed around a single center section, I used LOTS of leaders and enders.  I had a pile of half square triangles to iron after Jud was complete.  2.) Removing the paper was a special challenge on this one, especially from the center section.  I had to use a Tweezerman to get all the bits out, and I had to hold the block up to the light to verify I had actually gotten all the paper.

I think I have worn out my trusty Clover craft iron.  Sometimes it does not heat up, and other times it is like molten lava, and I have to be very careful not to scorch the fabric.  I use the Clover all the time for all my Dear Jane blocks; it is indispensable.