see?

after about 5 hours of basting, i've gotten this much done, which is nearly 1/4 of the entire applique. the very center part is also done. i was hoping i might finish it this weekend, but not unless i baste around the clock, which isn't going to happen. today i also worked on my winter tote for the upcoming swap. good thing i picked up some of the items before the job went south. at any rate, i did free up a significant number of pins by completing this much. this is an excellent project for snow days.