Sometimes I can’t figure out why blocks are marked as advanced difficulty. Often it’s because it has set-in seams, but there weren’t any here. Nor did it have particularly tiny pieces. Yes, some of the angles on the diamonds and triangles were unusual, but it’s not difficult to trace around a template to make sure you get it just right.

So, the construction rolled along pretty smoothly. I had fun arranging the diamonds so that the fabric pattern looked like a branch stretching along all three of the middle diamonds. Pro tip: the middle diamonds are smaller than the upper and lower diamonds, so be careful not to get them mixed up when you’re assembling this block.

As I was stitching this one together, I kept thinking that the precarious arrangement of diamonds looked like Stonehenge. Presumably the block is easier to assemble than Stonehenge though. At least the diamond pieces don’t weigh as much as rocks.

Speaking of stones and assembly, this is the next to last block in the lower right corner of the quilt that I need to complete. I’ve decided that once I get that last one done, I’m going to start attaching blocks to each other with red sashing strips in between them. Before I get rolling on that, though, I need to decide whether or not to use cornerstones on my sashing.

I used the Dear Jane software to try out cornerstones in different colors (echoing the colors of the surrounding blocks), and I think I like the effect:

The clincher is that in the big box of supplies from Paulette, there was a plastic bag of these:

Yep, a ton of tiny squares in the different fabrics she had chosen for this quilt – and they’re all exactly the right size to be used for cornerstones. It was meant to be.

As usual, I was working on this block right up until the end of the day on December 31st. That’s right, I know how to have a rockin’ New Years Eve. Also, I wanted to be sure to make my last UFO Challenge goal for 2021, and one of the other components took longer than expected, so it was a scramble to get that last block done in time.

I am pleased to say that I met my goal in all 12 months of the challenge. Here’s December’s results:

I completed one Dear Jane block, quilted 9 triangle motifs on the rainbow quilt, and I finished the binding on the wholecloth holly quilt (the super time-consuming component). The UFO Challenge was so successful, I even completed a quilt (and it only took me 13.5 years)!

I’m attaching a picture here, but it’s not the greatest. I have been unable to get the “wash away” blue stitching lines to actually wash away. I’ve soaked it in the bathtub extensively to try to get out the marks, and I haven’t dared to put it in the dryer and potentially set the marks so they’ll never wash away. So, here is my wholecloth masterpiece, from the back so you can’t see the marks, and pretty wrinkly because I’ve just been air drying it draped over a laundry basket in the tub:

If I ever get the marks out, I’ll be sure to post a better picture. But my goal here was to try out making a wholecloth quilt, so Mission Accomplished!

Overall, I think the UFO Challenge was a real success. I made progress on three projects, finished one completely, and finished the piecing on a second one. Now I’m looking forward to rockin’ and rollin’ on a new challenge in 2022.

However, I think I might be getting overzealous in setting 2022 challenge goals. As I write this, it is the 23rd of January, and so far I’ve completed 1 Dear Jane block and 4.5 triangles on the rainbow quilt. Maybe I’d better roll back my expectations.

I suspect my next blog post will be in February, and I’ll be able to let you know my 2022 goals then, once I see how much I can get done in January.