Better late than never… I finished this block a couple of weeks ago, but didn’t post it right away (sorry).  This block was either more difficult than the others, or I am off my game.  Be patient!

Cutting was easy, utilizing the same techniques used in many of the first four blocks.  I tried to pick colors carried over from the last block, but can see that it is time to throw some brights back into the mix.

Since this block is chock full of curves, it was a perfect time to try out my new presser foot called the “Curve Master”.  The Curve Master foot came with lots of shank adapters that I did not need for my Brother snap on shank sewing machine.  I purchased the presser foot kit with some patterns on Massdrop recently as it was touted online as a great tool.

The construction of the foot I received is plastic.  Out of the box, I had to press the pin for attaching it to my machine as it was not entirely seated.  The pin or post diameter seemed a little small, so the foot had a little play and did not sit as straight as I would like.   If you look closely at my photo below, you will see that the right edge of the foot doesn’t make a clean straight line across my needle / throat plate. 

I’m not one to give up easily, or judge too soon.  I proceeded to stitch all four of the curves utilizing the techniques shown online for the quick curve foot.  The trick to using this foot is to slightly lift the top layer of fabric while feeding the layers between the feed dog and the foot.  The fabric should align to the plastic guide wall on the right side of the foot to give you very even edge match.

My edges aligned very well, but something went terribly wrong and my block was uneven.  Enter… The seam ripper.

My favorite seam ripper for quilting is the Clover 482/W.   I have tried several brands (Dritz, Fons & Porter, generic rippers that came with my machines, Ginger, Seam Fix) but find this one to be sharp and has a fine point to catch the stitches.  I also like the rounded handle.    The only thing that would make it better is a silicone end like the Seam Fix and a hole to allow me to hang it around my neck!  I always keep one close…  What is your favorite?  Leave me some comments.

I think that my new presser foot might be defective.  With a slightly larger press fit pin, better hole alignment and some polishing of plastic burrs left from molding or other manufacture, it might be handy.  Someday, if I am bored, I will play with it again.

Instead, I went back to my favorite 1/4″ foot for curves.   Remember this?

The diamond border was the most difficult.  It you don’t get the narrow curves centered, then you will not have enough fabric to trim the nine block to the correct size for the next step.  The overlap is not generous.
If I was cutting fabric for the outer borders again, I would have paid more attention to pattern direction.   I like that butting the strips together doesn’t matter here since that portion is trimmed off for the next curve.

This would be an interesting alternative to mitred corners for quilt borders.
While way more complicate than a nine block, what should we have expected from a parametric diamond.  Anyone up for a math quilt?