Workshop and Reducing Glass Trick

Yesterday we had a wonderful workshop with the Lake Oconee Quilters in Georgia. The topic of the day was String Quilt Blocks and the ladies were sewing up a storm!

As per the usual, I forgot to get my camera out when we were oohing and aahing about the finished blocks.

Here's a quick review about why we should use a reducing glass or camera to check our block layout before sewing. I was taught my my wonderful long-time quilting friends in Pensacola that we don't want our "eye" to land on any particular spot on the quilt and stay there. If we have a spot like that on a quilt (like a bright color that is too obvious compared to the rest of the quilt), we should change it or move it to a better position.

Well, here is my red quilt which you saw the other day...

...I gave it a new layout, but when I looked through my camera, my eye kept being drawn to the light blocks at the top left of the quilt. I chose to move one of those blocks ...

...and it helped my eye to move around the whole quilt. Can you see the difference?