The Sewing Dilettante

When I was a kid growing up in New Hampshire, we had these standardised tests that were administered periodically throughout elementary and middle school. They were designed, I think, to rate school performance and to ensure minimum educational standards were being met. I don't remember them being particularly onerous and, in fact, actually enjoyed certain sections, like reading comprehension, but I always struggled with the section that included paper-folding exercises. Not origami, sadly, but cognitive jumping jacks in which you had to imagine folding a piece of paper with, say a black dot in the top left corner, in half twelve times. Why? In order to predict where that original black dot ended up, of course. Mind-boggling stuff, my ineptitude at which probably helps explain why I'm finding it so difficult to wrap my head around the layout of this scrappy chevron quilt.  It may look straightforward enough, but there was something about laying the squares out on-point

Way back in November, I had the opportunity to take part in the Fluffy Sheep Quilting Rainbow Charm Swap. I love swaps like this! It's so much fun looking out for the perfect fabrics, sharing photos and chatting with fellow swappers on Flickr, and receiving the much-anticipated delivery of charm square goodness at the end of the swap. This time around, I was given the task of choosing two different purple prints, one light and one dark, to be added into the mix with similar pairs of red, orange, yellow, green, and blue charm squares. How did Cindy know that purple's my favourite colour?! It wasn't easy narrowing down my choices, but I finally ordered two gorgeous prints: this rich aubergine print.... And this simple lilac polka dot. The charm pack arrived while I was away for Christmas and was waiting for me when I got back - a lovely little pick me up after a holiday marked by sorrow. So delighted with my charms was I that I tore into them without taki