More Y seams - Cactus Basket

Four days in a row, I am really on a roll! I'm enjoying being able to work on some quilting projects this week, though I did pick up a wedding dress to take in and a cocktail dress to hem this afternoon. At least you'll get some variety in my stitching!

Today I remembered that I was supposed to have finished a quilt block for my Guild's 2012 raffle quilt. The pattern I was given was a Cactus Basket. Another chance to practice those Y seams!
The fabric on the right is our inspiration fabric, and the fabrics on the left are my palette for the pattern. The background was pre-cut, but the rest of the pieces I had to supply the fabric and cut.
I switched out my pink fabric, and here are the pieces laid out. I wasn't too sure about the yellow "feet" on the basket, but decided to go with it anyway.
To piece diamonds together and have they line up, you need to match those 1/4 inch seam allowances and let those little dog ears hang off. Then you just stitch them edge to edge!
Once I get the two pairs sewn together (I press the seams toward the purple, being careful not to stretch my pieces) I pin through the 1/4 inch seam allowance and match them by spearing through each side. Then I sew edge to edge, and carefully press the four patch diamond unit.
When these units are sewn together, I pin through the 1/4 inch mark on the inside corner, and sew them together being careful not to stitch into the seam allowance. I stitch all the way through the other end.
I then pin the back ground piece to the inside corner just like with the bow tie block. Sew carefully from the corner to the outside point. I got my whole block sewn together, and when I finished it was really warped looking. I went back to find the measurements and discovered that the top corner square had been mis-cut. I trimmed it to the right size, then re-sewed it and the block looks much better.

Ta-dah! The colors don't show well here, but it's quite a pretty block, and I have two more days until the guild meeting. Good job for me, I usually am working on stuff at the last minute!

This was a pretty tricky block, and I wouldn't recommend it to a beginner quilter, but with a little practice it's not too difficult and pretty impressive looking. Can't wait to see how everyone else's blocks came out!

Pamela