Russian Sunflower Alternate Block

Happy Birthday, Amy!!!  Good morning!  We have been playing along with Melva’s sew-along called Pieces From the Past since it began.  When was that anyway – March??  Oh no, it was January.  Pre-COVID-19 or PC19 is the acronym I’m going to start using.  It seems so long ago that it must have been at least a year ago, by I digress.  Melva releases a new block and shares fabulous historical letters every three weeks or so.  The latest block she shared is called Russian Sunflower.  I’ve shared the link directly to her post if you’d like to check it out!

Alternate Russian Sunflower

I love the pace of this sew-along as it doesn’t cause me any stress in order to keep up.  That’s a very good thing since every other facet of life offers up enough stress without adding to it.  The original Russian Sunflower block is paper pieced and it is beautiful.  All those lovely, perfect points . . . yeah.  As soon as I saw the loveliness my heart sank – oh, no, as Dominic would say.  But Melva offered up an alternative for those of us who didn’t want to PP for whatever reason.  It’s like she knew!  Yup, I’m taking the easy way out.

Sue got the fabrics ready for me, just like she always does.  <gasp>  She didn’t even consult me .  .  . probably because I was muttering about a bobbin issue.

Alternate But NOT Easy

While no paper piecing was taking place on this block, no one ever said the alternate was going to be a cakewalk.  Y-seams were involved!  Well, only one so it should be in singular format there but you get the idea.  A y-seam is somehow easier and less stressful for me, especially since I knew about it going in.

Once the actual y-seam was behind me it was smooth sailing.  Setting out the layout before continuing to sew has saved me a few times from enjoying the services of Mr. Ripper.

Russian Sunflower Star is a Winner

Lickety-split and all the rows were together and I was giving the block a final pressing.  I love stars and this one is another good one even if it replaces a sunflower! 

We’re still loving these Laurel Burch Basics Prism fabrics so much – they are nice and bright and happy, don’t you agree?

Join us each Tuesday for our hosted linky party called To-Do Tuesday.  Our other Linky Parties can be found by clicking the link above or along the sidebar on our website for more quilting fun – check out what our friends are up to.  Like/follow us on our Facebook page and you can share your photos of what you’re working on.  We would love to see them!

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