Playtime: the train

Choo, choo!!! Over the last week or so, I've been focusing my stitching time on the train block for my American Jane "Playtime" quilt. I finally completed it last night!


I can honestly say that this block has been the least fun for me. I know I make everything more difficult than it needs to be by insisting to do this quilt with hand applique (rather than fusible as called for in the instructions). But this particular block was a real challenge because the instructions combined pieced parts with applique parts, and were not exactly clear on placement or finished sizes of the pieces. So, it was a lot of guessing on my part: to add seam allowance, or not to add seam allowance? And then there was no guide as to how far apart to space the cars or where to position them on the background. Looking back, I realize I could have been a lot smarter about the way I went about it which was to kind of eyeball it all as I went along (just in case you are wondering, trying to eyeball across a 43" strip of background while sitting on the couch is not particularly effective). I should have pressed in some guidelines for myself at the beginning. That would have made it a lot easier, I think.

Though it doesn't look like the picture on the pattern cover, I think my train turned out alright. Thank goodness it is done!

And here is my progress so far:


I've actually started work on putting the middle section together. Once that is done, I'll move onto the next block: the car.