Rayna's Ancient Block Challenge 04-22-10

About a month ago Rayna Gillman was rediscovering some UFOs that she had stashed away a very long time ago. This block came from a quilt top of equally appalling blocks and she wondered about cutting them all up and creating something new and freewheeling. Asking for volunteers she was able to pawn off the blocks on online friends - including me. I've done a step-by-step of what I have done and will post each step.

The challenged must have their 'results' done by April 27th so they can send a jpg to Rayna and she is planning on posting them all.

I did not photograph the original block she sent to me, but immediately ripped out all the seams, pressed the nine components, fused them to Wonder-Under and squared them up to 5.25". Pinning them to a portable board in their original layout I took this picture and commenced to move, cut, rearrange, etc.. I have hauled them around the house so I could look at them, no matter where I was or what I was doing. To me, this is a logical method of working.

Today I had a major molar removed because it had cracked vertically and there was no saving it. Although it took longer to pull it out than I had expected, it is not painful at all. I have followed the instructions to ice it for 20 minutes out of every 30 for 8 hours and have taken Tylenol every 5 hours. I have also rested in bed with my head elevated on two pillows and taken the antibiotic prescribed. All the while contemplating my 'challenge block' - when I wasn't snoozing or reading. I can see that the direction I was going is not very inventive, so tomorrow I will give it some more thought. It is easier to do this without having to actually sew it together - just move the pieces around until I like the way it looks and then hit them with the iron. I've tried about six different background fabrics, but haven't found the right one yet. I am also working on the Surfside QG N/L to be posted on Tuesday. Busy gal.