And sew it grows!

I've been having so much trouble sewing one row to another.  I've pinned the row number on each row, starting with #1 and ending with #14.  Shouldn't be hard, right?  Well, as usual, I've made it more difficult than necessary, and I ended up sewing the right side to the left side middle instead of the middle middle, and a couple of other rows wrong too.  So yesterday, I just screamed stopped, and took apart everything I had sewn during the day, pressed them out, laid them out, and started over today.  Sometimes, I think I must have been sleeping through those important classes, ya know?

How did I ever sew anything before I got Mayo, the Wonder Dog?  Here she is telling me which row goes where.  If you look closely to her right, you'll see Clyde holding down extra fabric on his Big Board last night.

Here's Clyde today, making sure the piece stays flat so I don't need to press it out again while I sew more rows.  Of course, the black cat hairs will add extra dimension, I am sure.

So all the rows are together in the proper positions.  Now the real work begins - surface design.  I made a few free-hand machine thread painted embroidered leaves tonight, and I don't like them.  Well I like THEM, I just don't like what they do don't do for the quilt.  So, my thinking cap is back on.  I've exchanged my sleeping cap for it in hopes that tomorrow will be a new day for new ideas.  Got any?