Distraction

Yesterday I was feeling really "off."  Irritated by everything, couldn't focus on anything.  I just couldn't get into the ribbons, didn't like what I had going, but didn't know what I wanted instead.

Here's what's on the wall right now.  Total mish-mash.  

So I turned to a left brain activity that required no creativity.  Paper Piecing!
In some ways this is a violation of my resolution to "focus on art quilts" but I had committed in a weak moment to make this block for the guild's raffle basket.  It's late, so I probably won't get credit for it, but I can still throw it in the basket. And I justified it to myself as skill and experience building.  If I ever want to piece something very precisely now I will know how.
I refreshed my memory with a video I'd watched once before.  The actual paper piecing part went really well.  I "get it" and like it but the adding of the extra pieces that are supposed to match up with the paper pieced block did NOT go well.  I unsewed the dang thing five times before getting it right, or close enough to right. Anyway, here's a brief photo essay of the process.

This is one page of the pattern I received. The other page was just the edge strips and I didn't use the paper for those. Now that I understand how, I could have, but it didn't seem to make sense for three straight pieces.

Didn't take process photos last night but getting those five straight pieces on there was easy.
Sort of another variant of the "skinny lines" process, that really is just the same as leaving extra seam allowance to make skinny pieces easy to handle.

Didn't have any trouble getting the corners on. 

All ironed and cut to size.  So far so good!
(Except I should have run the calligraphy fabric the other way!)

Tearing off the paper is a bit of a pain, and even though I tried to be very careful some of the seams were pulled apart at the edges.  Would it be better to remove before trimming?  But then I wouldn't have the cut lines...   

This is where I really struggled.  I need to work on my 1/4" seam allowances, I guess.
It looks crooked in the photo, but really, it's not. Really.

Had to run to work before getting the last piece on.  Trying to position it with pins thru the seam...

 I now understand that paper piecing is WAY easier for small, complex blocks, than measuring and cutting all those tidbits, if the block is suited to the process.  Maybe I'll check into those Dear Jane blocks that I was so intimidated by.