Hi there, This weekend I finally got down to business and sewed up the latest quilt square for my virtual quilting bee. The March block is " crossed canoes," and it's a foundation-pieced block, which means that the pattern is printed on a piece of paper or vellum, and you actually sew the fabric to the paper (i.e., the foundation). The technique means you can use lots of tiny pieces of fabric for a complicated design; it also makes it easy to sew sharp, acute angles. And if you're not a fan of precise cutting, this might also be a technique you'd like to try. [caption id="attachment_1713" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Missing from this photo: two pairs of fabric shears and my other rotary cutter. I don't usually use this many cutting implements when quilting!"] [/caption] Oddly, the cutting was an issue for me. I didn't think I was too fussy about that sort of thing, but fabric was at a premium, and I was afraid of running out. After making the first quarter-square, I ended up tracing the template, cutting the pieces out, gluing it to boxboard, cutting those out, and using the cardboard pieces as templates to help me cut. Even still, you can see in the top right hand corner of the quilt square that I ran out of fabric anyway, and had to eke out a 1/16th-inch seam allowance. (It makes me cringe just to look at it.) This was definitely a challenge for me, and I had to remind myself quite sternly that the whole point of signing up for this bee was to challenge myself and try techniques I might not ordinarily use! For all my grumpiness, I can understand the appeal of this block now that it's finished. I can't wait to see the whole quilt together, though...I think it's going to be a stunner! Have you tried this? Do you have any hints or tips for me? I'd love to hear them. ps. Sew Mama Sew is hosting Quilt Month in April. I'm looking forward to it.