I toyed with using Avery labels on this square block, because the pieces were so darn small. But I’d just finished a triangle block that took several weeks, and knew I had another triangle coming up next … and I was just tired of having a sticky needle.

So, I decided I would cut out and mark the pieces by hand, then assemble one little diamond section. And if the section’s dimensions were way off, then I’d print out the Avery Labels and stick them on to my already cut out pieces.

The unlabeled pieces actually went together surprisingly well and the measurements of the first pieced diamond section were within the margin of error, so I went ahead and assembled the other three sections without resorting to labels.

Once those sections were put together, the next phase of assembly was essentially a nine-patch. The only tricky thing was that I had decided (for whatever reason) to cut that center square on the diagonal, so I had to be extra careful not to stretch it out while attaching it to the pieced diamond sections.

Next up was a debate over the corner triangles. The points of those triangles don’t meet up at the center of each side; instead, there is some overlap of one triangle point over another. The Dear Jane software called for one corner with two points, one corner with both points chopped off, and two corners that were half pointy and half chopped off.

I ended up modifying the pattern pieces to use two corners with both points and two corners with both points chopped off. This seemed the least complicated approach, making it simpler to fit together and providing bonus diagonal symmetry.

The final piece of assembly was not piecing at all, but four appliqué diamonds in the corners. They were far pointier diamonds than I really felt they needed to be, and they’re not my best appliqué work. But they’re done, and it’s on to the next block!

The next block will be a triangle one, but now that I’ve had a one-block break from piecing with Avery labels, I’m ready to go back to a sticky needle again.