This is one of the few remaining beginner blocks. I think I only have three more left, and I like to save them for special occasions.

They often get slipped in right before or right after I’ve done an extra difficult block, and this one was originally going to go right after Triangle LR5, but with all the shifting around of blocks at retreat last month, it didn’t pan out.

There weren’t many construction challenges here; a simple diamond in a square block with two rows of borders around the edge.

The only real decision to make was what color of thread to use. For most of the seams on the block, I was sewing red fabric to another fabric (either red or white), so red thread was appropriate. But that last round of borders had a smidgeon of white sewn to white.

Normally, I’d switch to white thread for at least that part of the seam, but I was feeling far too lazy to dig out my white thread. I justified using red thread because there were red leaves printed on the white fabric and I could blame any glimpses of red on those leaves rather than on my red thread.

While I was working on the center of this block, I was thinking back to the first diamond in a square block I did, and how I actually had to look up instructions about how to do it by hand.

That was in the very early days of my Dear Jane journey, and look how far I’ve come since then. I think that first diamond in a square was before I even found my favorite corner trimming/marking tool, designed to make it easier to line up triangles to other pieces when hand stitching.

I’ve just learned that Marti Michell (maker of my favorite corner trimming/marking tool) retired earlier this year and has liquidated all her stock. So in addition to working on my Dear Jane during this holiday season, I’ve been on a quest for extras of this invaluable tool (as well as some of her other cool rulers and templates).

It’s frustrating to me how hard it is to find hand piecing and hand quilting products these days … everything from thimbles to hoops to corner trimming/marking tools. And that’s not even touching on how difficult it is to find hand piecing/quilting instructions anymore. Let’s face it, I’m part of a dying breed.

But hopefully my little blog will help others who want to hand piece their Dear Jane. And in the meantime, I found and stashed away two spare Marti Michell corner trimming/marking tools for whatever handwork the future may bring.