Carolina Lily sorted (well, almost)

I have been struggling to make this month's block for my challenge group, which is Carolina Lily. The problem is that I am reducing all the blocks to 8" finished, and when a block is a nine-patch, it's very tricky indeed. Also, the Carolina Lily is a very busy block, with lots of Y seams, and reducing it too much would have been a nightmare. Luckily I have recently had a birthday, and with the money my DMinlaw gave me, I have invested in a copy of Barbara Brackman's Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns.

How Barbara has managed to catalogue so many blocks so efficiently I don't know, but I'm very glad she did. I can thoroughly recommend this book, as it is fabulous inspiration for any patchworker.

Here is a page of possible Carolina Lily layouts, which has given me the inspiration for tackling my own.I decided to piece the lilies by hand using the American method. This made the Y seams much easier to handle. For small pieces, I'd certainly recommend this method for its ease and accuracy.And here is the block ready to be assembled. So far, so good, but this is when it all went wrong.This is the completed block, which looked very good until I checked the measurements. It measures 8", which means it will be 7.5" finished! Oh blow! Never mind. I'll just have to unpick it and put in some slightly wider sashing. Not a major problem, just and inconvenience.

And as to other matters, there seems to be always something to do for the production. Today I have been to the charity shop to get a brooch for my costume. The Mechanicals in 'Midsummer Night's Dream' are going to be dressed like Miss Marple, so need tasteful brooches to pin at their necks. This one has obviously lost all its 'diamonds' but will be perfect for the job!