Yet another block where everyone seems to construct it differently … the Dear Jane software even designed their patterns for piecing the entire block, with curved piecing around the melon shapes and inset seams on the diamonds. Normally piecing the whole thing to avoid appliqué would have been tempting, but I’d learned my lesson after a previous block a couple of years ago.

And apparently I also learned that lesson even earlier, when I worked on this melon-filled block five years ago and the software suggested that I do curved piecing for all sixteen melons instead of appliqué. Thank goodness I didn’t listen!

Instead, I just opted to do boring old appliqué for this block, starting with the melons in a circle. I think my appliqué may just not be as precise as I’d like, because it’s definitely a challenge to make sure the point of the last melon I put on is going to line up with the first melon once I’ve come full circle. I’d like to say that I’ve been learning that lesson since this melons-in-a-circle block four years ago, but I think it goes back even further than that.

The melon points on this most recent block lined up pretty well, but the end product feels ever so slightly lopsided. It might be an optical illusion because of the asymmetrical motif in the middle. Or it might be because it’s actually lopsided. Hard to say.

I do notice that I was also blaming any lopsidedness on optical illusions with this melons-in-a-circle block more than seven years ago, at the very start of my Dear Jane journey. Clearly I learned the lesson of shifting blame early on.

I’m a little hesitant to link back to all these old blog articles, because it makes me (and you!) aware of how repetitive I can get … but I wanted to underscore that I have continued to learn the same lessons over and over.

With the melons squared away and blame for any issues assigned, I shifted gears to the appliquéd diamonds in the corners of the block.

Note that these diamonds are not exactly diamonds … I think the point that goes towards the center is infinitesimally shorter. But since the difference can barely be perceived by the human eye, it’s probably okay if I get any of them backwards. My drawn stitching lines can be off by more than that.

Luckily, I learned from another melon-filled block five years ago that not all appliqué pieces are symmetrical, so extra care should be taken when placing them on the background fabric … and I also learned to pretend any backwards pieces were done that way on purpose, because it’s folk art.

Thank goodness I’d already learned my lessons on so many previous blocks, that this one did not present as many challenges as it could have. Whew!