Card Trick Chaos

I love the quilt block named Card Trick.  I remember seeing it for the first time, back when the old school pattern had not been modified... back when it was full of Y-seams (and probably hand-stitched!)

I remember when I saw it modified and thought surely I could make it.  For years, I have been excited every time I see a Card Trick quilt block.

Yesterday, I decided to try to make it for the rainbow quilt I am working on.  I looked up the pattern on Quilter's Cache.  I love that site, but sometimes it seems they make you 'pay' for the pattern by sorting through unnecessarily complex instructions.

Or maybe it was just me.  Sometime, I really stink at deciphering directions unless they are pretty straightforward (and are accompanied by pictures.)  Besides, I was having one of those days (which makes me wonder why I felt insistent at getting the block done.)

Oh yea, now I remember!  I have been excited about this block for years.  Yesterday, my sense of excitement must have outweighed my overall sense.

I paper-pieced the four sections that form a cross in the middle spots.  The rest was fairly easy...

...but placing everything where it went was another story!  I'm embarrassed to say how many times I took a few stitches out here and there.  I got the whole thing together and two pieces in the center square were reversed, ACK!

I persevered.  Here's the result:

if you look closely,  you can still see bits of thread in the seams!

I am happy that it is finished and not in the scrap bag.  I am not altogether happy about the way the large polka dots played in the pattern.  *IF* there is a next time, I will be sure to use small prints.  And perhaps I will use only two fabrics instead of four--as the tutorial showed.  I do love the colors.