I was raring to go!  I finished another 4 blocks of Sue Garman’s “Friends of Baltimore”, which meant I was ready to stitch together another row!  But first I had to add the embroidery to the schooner.

Before the embroidery…

…and after the embroidery!

Once all the ropes were stitched in place, I started to “square up” my blocks.  When I say “square up” I mean any straight lines are running parallel and perpendicular to the edges of the block.  Here are a few (hopefully!) helpful hints…

First of all, if you have ever wallpapered, you know that before you start, you have to use a plumb line to make sure you begin with a straight line.  The same holds true for squaring-up a block.  First you have to find a straight line somewhere in the block.  It sounds easy, but there are no straight lines on this block!

So…using the schooner block as an example…here are my thoughts!

Luckily, there are some pretty obvious straight lines in this block.  The masts!  So, I want the masts to be parallel to the edge of the block.

Next,  I placed my window template on the block.  You can read more about that here.

So, I measured the distance from the bottom of the mast to the template.

Then I measured the distance from the top of the mast to the template.  Both of those measurements need to be the same!

Then, I took my 6″ ruler and made sure that there was an equal distance from the applique to the template on both sides..

…and top and bottom.

When I was sure the block was square and centered..(and I mean really sure!)  I marked  along the inside of the template with a marking pen and then I cut on the line with my rotary cutter and ruler.  Easy peasy!

So, once the blocks were trimmed, I started to sew the row together.

And, finally, 3 rows sewn together!

Til next time…

Kerry