Biggs Quilt - block 21

I'm slowly working at getting the rest of the Benjamin Biggs blocks finished but not yet trimmed to size. Sewing and quilting is not a priority right now with my husband being in rehab but I'm still working on them. 

There are 4 more blocks for me to do in the set of 25 plus I still have some more borders to make. 

Biggs Quilt Block 20

Here is my completed block 20 of the Benjamin Biggs quilt project. 5 more blocks plus borders to complete!  This project was a huge undertaking but it is nearing its conclusion. I think blocks 24 & 25 will both be available in Dec so all the block clues will be published by the end of the year. 

Block 19

I have completed block 19 of the Benjamin Biggs quilt (the current Just Takes 2 block of the month). This block is now ready for trimming and stitch to other quilt blocks. 

This is the July block so I still have one block to do to be current on this project. I do have 1/4 of the appliqué border done. I figure if I complete 1 section of border every 2 months, the border will be finished before the last block is completed. That's a great plan but with travel plans and holidays in that period of time it will certainly be a challenge. We'll see. 

Biggs Quilt block 18

Just finished this block today. It will look nice with all the other blocks. 

Also today, I trimmed all the completed blocks to their appropriate size of 16.5" which will make them 16" finished. I now have them all stitched into rows. I don't want to get to the end of these blocks and just have a stack of blocks to do something with. If I don't want it to become a UFO ( unfinished object) I need to work on parts along the way. 

Biggs Quilt Block 17

I finished block 17 of the Biggs Quilt today. There are 8 more blocks to do for this 25 block quilt. I have started assembling the blocks and also got a piece of fabric for one border cut and marked with the pattern but haven't yet put any appliqué on it.  It feels good to have this block finished so that I'm ready for the new block when it comes out the first of the month. 

Biggs Quilt Block 16

No tiny leaves this month!  A pretty simple block compared to some we've done lately.  This is block 16 of the Benjamin Biggs quilt,mother blockof the month being done currently at Just Takes 2. 

One of these days I need to start the borders. I did trim and stitch together the first 10 blocks. I plan to quilt this quilt in sections and then put the quilted sections together. Blocks 1-10 will be my first section. I don't want to get to the end of the piecing and be overwhelmed with quilting this big quilt. 

Biggs Quilt Block 15

Having taken about 2 months to complete block 13 with all of its small leaves, I was discouraged with this project. Block 14 went much quicker but I was still dreading this block. One day I took out the pattern, saw that the leaves were bigger than those on block 13 and then wrote down the sizes if fabric needed for the appliqué pieces. I decided to do the corners first. So many of them have been done, they're comfortable. Next was the flowers and flower stems of the block center. They were similar to the corners. Now I had this block underway and by doing a few pieces at a time, I soon had it completed. It's a pretty block. 

There are 10 more blocks for this quilt. That makes me think that it's time to get started on the borders and have a plan for the quilting process. It would be so nice for this to get finished and not become a UFO. I'll be starting on those borders soon. 

Biggs Quilt block 13

I have completed block 13 of the Benjamin Biggs quilt. This block will be the center of the quilt. I still have block 13 to do and block 15 comes out this weekend. The pattern for this quilt is posted month by month on Sentimental Stitches and Dear Jane. It's the current Just Takes 2 quilt.

Biggs Quilt -block 12

It's January and I just finished the December JustTakes2 Benjamin Biggs quilt block. That's ok as we enjoyed the Christmas season with worship, time with family and friends, seeing Christmas light displays, etc.

I'm looking forward to this month's  block as it will be the center of the quilt and marks the 1/2 way point of this block of the month series. Here's the December block photo:

Biggs Quilt

Here's the November 2014 (block 11) of the Biggs Just Takes 2 Quilt. I've had this block done for awhile but I'm just getting it posted. I've been busy with lots of projects. 

Biggs Quilt Block 10

I didn't like block 10. I didn't take time to carefully think about why - whether it was the pattern or placement of colors. I just knew I didn't like it. Having found a photo of an old quilt from Pennsylvania that had a very similar block, I decided to change this month's block.

My block:

This does a couple things for my quilt. It gives me a block I like and it gives me a mostly purple block. Having alternating red and purple blocks and a couple with large red designs, it's nice to have the purple one. I'm glad I made the change.

Original Block:

Now that I've worked with this block, I see other possibilities. I can visualize the base/pot being shorter and the color of your choice with greenery at the top and maybe curly leaves hanging down or have circle handles on the vase part with green leaves in the pot or green leaves and a colored bud in the center. I thought of these possibilities as I stitched this block and there are probably others.  

I'm still happy with the block I have. I appreciate all the blocks for this Benjamin Biggs quilt available through Just Takes 2. Every other month a block pattern is available at either sentimentalstitches.com or dearjane.com. 

Biggs - Block 9

Just finished block 9 of the JustTakes2 Biggs quilt. This block a month quilt is certainly a course in appliqué for me. Applique is getting to be more enjoyable as I become more comfortable with the appliqué process. I'm now using a ladder stitch and my appliqué looks much nicer as the stitches are much less visible. 

Biggs quilt

I've completed block 7 of the JustTakes2 Benjamin Biggs quilt. This makes me current on the blocks - at least until the new month begins. For me, this block seemed easier to do than block 8. 

At some point I need to get started on making the border pieces so I don't have all of them to do at once. They are appliqués as well. 

Biggs Quilt Block 7

Biggs Quilt Block 8

This is block 8 of the Just Takes 2 Biggs Quilt. This is the current month's block. I still need to do last month's block and then I'll be caught up. 

The most challenging part of this block was the flowers as there were lots of small, tiny curves on them. They're the smallest curves I think I've ever done. I found that I could see the design better if I used a smaller stitch when backbasting, then I used a little smaller needle and tiny stitches when appliquing. As with most things, it got easier the more I did. I think and hope that my work got better too but I know that I have much improvement to do. 

Biggs Quilt block 6

I'm a little behind but have completed block 6 of the Biggs Quilt, this year's Just Takes 2 project. 

 Now, I'm ready to work on block 7, the  block posted for this month, July. 

I started stitching this block in my normal way but opted to use a ladder stitch part way through. What a difference it makes. My stitches are either invisible or very hard to see. Thanks to Ami Simms' book, Invisible Appliqué, for introducing me to this technique. I didn't mark both my background and appliqué fabrics. I did do backstitching and that helped me see where the stitch should be on both fabrics. It seems to take a little longer, at least for now. Maybe I'll get faster. The use of ladder stitch is worth it and a technique that I'll continue using. 

Biggs Quilt Block 5

I just finished block 5 of the Just Takes 2 Biggs Quilt. This is a block a month project consisting of appliqué blocks. The blocks are available from Sentimental Stitches and Dear Jane.  I tried a light green this month. It allows the deep purple buds to show up better. I also to lighten the quilt so it won't scream "Christmas". I love Christmas but want a quilt that doesn't look so seasonal. So I'll use a variety of greens and continue alternating the red and purple as the main color for the block centers. 

This block will complete the 1st row of the quilt so I need to give thought to quilting. I'm think of doing a row at a time, quilt as you go method. 

Biggs Quilt - Block 4

I have finished block 4 of the Just Takes 2 Benjamin Biggs Quilt. One more block and there will be enough for 1 row of this quilt. I need to give some serious thought to backing and quilting as I want to quilt this in sections either by hand or on my home sewing machine. This block wasn't nearly as tedious as was block 3. I'm enjoying the variety in the blocks. They're not all the same level of difficulty. 

Biggs Quilt Block 3

I actually started this block last month and worked on the corner leaves and buds. Completing this block seemed to take a long time due to the large number of small pieces and the learning I had to do as I worked on it. I'd never made such tiny stems before so that's what I was learning on this block. Next time I do them, it will be easier but still a bit challenging, I think. I'll get lots of practice on small stems on this quilt so they won't be challenging for long!

This is Block 3, completed.  Block 4 of the Biggs Quilt will be posted on April 1 on
sentimental stitches.com. 

Biggs block 2

Ever make changes a project after you've started it?

I'm excited about the Just Takes 2 Biggs quilt but having worked on and still working the completion of the JT2 2012 quilt, I don't need another large red and white quilt. So what do I do?  I don't really want to do block 1 over so think, think.  ....

As I had already planned on purple for the block corners, I decided to use purple for most of the blocks. In order to also use block 1 done with red, I'll use red on all the corner blocks of the quilt and perhaps in the center block as well. I'll still need to decide what color(s) to put in the border. Comments and suggestions are welcome.

Here's a photo of block 2:

And here's a photo showing blocks 1 & 2. There are 25 blocks in this quilt and my plan at the moment is to use red only in the 4 corner blocks and in the center block. 

Spring is coming!  In spite of our snow covered ground and rooftops and a forecast for several inches of new snow - a flock of robins is currently at home (East Central Indiana) in our neighborhood. We first noticed them when we got home from church yesterday. Wow! Groundhog's day and the first robins all in the same day. Robins are pretty brave, strong birds as they usually arrive before we've had our last snowstorm.