Going in Circles

Cherrypalooza has begun in earnest. I'm not smart enough to hide my scissors during hormonal surges (guess who cut her own hair today....) but I am smart enough to figure out that if each of these blocks needs 52 cherries  I sure as hell better figure out a way to make that many without completely losing my mind.

So far, it's a draw.  I have a 0ne and 1/2  inch hole puncher thingie, so I'm punching out perfect circles from freezer paper. I then ironed those on to the fabric,   experimenting with cutting out different sizes of seam allowance.  Then I put the heat-resistant mylar circle (cut with the same punch!) in the middle of the fabric circle, dabbed a little starch around the edges and ironed them over the rounded edge. Meh.   A little wonky, with occasional points where it did not fold over so nice.

Second attempt - I took the red circles and ran a quick basting stitch around the seam allowance.  I placed the mylar circle in the center and pulled on the thread to gather the fabric around the edges of the mylar circle.  Semi-meh - a better appearance, but not that lovely, round, perfect red circle I'm looking for.   I read up on a few other methods  (using interfacing, flipping them inside out,  wet toothpick, etc.) but nothing really jumped out as the answer.

Then it dawned on me.  Grace probably had a quarter and a pencil.  She put the quarter on the fabric, traced around it, cut it out with a little turn-over-the-edge fabric to spare and JUST HAND SEWED THE DAMN THINGS IN PLACE.  That is why this quilt is so spectacular.  It was done the old-fashioned way.  I'm always looking for the quicker, easier, better way.  Sometimes, there just isn't one.  This is not to say I'm giving up on my freezer paper and basting stitch. I figure by the time I make a couple of hundred I'll have it down pat, right?  If my brain snaps, I'll  go to plan B and just make little yoyo's and do it with them.