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 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. 

SNOW and COLD

What do you do.when there's a snowstorm that lasts a day followed by bitter cold temperatures? I like to sew or quilt. Since there were no church services Sunday and we were staying in, I had plenty of time. I'd recently put together a baby quilt top made from shaded 4 patch blocks that I had sitting in a basket in the cabinet ....So I decided that Sunday was the day to get it quilted.  I backed it with fleece and used alternating rows of diagonal stitching (straight and serpentine). This little quilt is 36 x 42", a nice cuddle quilt for a  little one.

Today, I started the 2014 Just Takes 2 quilt - the Benjamin Biggs Quilt. I'll be using the colors of the original quilt. I checked to see what fabrics I had.  I have most of the reds I'll need and several greens but I will need to buy some more green as well as some more background fabric.  I had plenty to get started and have started sewing my 1st block  I'll post a photo when it's done.  This year the clues for the JT2 quilt only come out the 1st of each month so I've made a plan.  During the last 1/2 of the month, after I've completed the current block, I'll work on the 2012 JT2 quilt which I've not yet finished.  So I'll be posting photos of my progress on both quilts as I finish blocks and/or sections.

I'm giving thought to doing the Biggs quilt ' quilt as you go' so that by the end of the clues, I'll not only have the top done - I'll have most of the quilt finished.  DH and I have some travel scheduled for this year but not as much as we did last year so perhaps I can make this work.  The Biggs blocks will make nice home or travel projects, whether I'm doing appliqué or quilting the block.

Just Takes 2 Unit 19

There were 4 blocks posted on Oct. 1, one of which I posted earlier (the appliqued keys). I have now completed all 4 blocks which you can see here. The keys and boat are 6 inch finished blocks, the bow tie section - 3 x 12 inches and the large applique block is a 12 inch finished block.

I'm anxious to get the directions for putting together the next section of this quilt.  We've put together 2 sections. The first 2 section clues were posted in April and July. Perhaps there will be 2 more sections or there could be only 1 section left and in that case, the next section clue won't come until all of the blocks have been posted.  At any rate, I'm glad that I started this quilt and have been able to keep up with all of the steps. I've learned a lot, gained a lot of experience with various techniques and I'll have a beautiful quilt when I'm finished.

 

JT2 block 74

There are 4 blocks in the Oct. 1 clues to the Just Takes 2 quilt.  2 of them are applique blocks. I have the first one finished. It is a little 6 inch block with 2 keys on it. A good block for this month as they remind me of skeleton keys. Without the teeth on them, they could be a pair of scissors. Maybe I'll keep that in mind in case I'd do a few blocks of sewing/quilting notions.

I'm currently working on the 2nd applique block which is a larger block with lots of reverse applique. I'll post it when it's finished. I can say that this JT2 quilt project has taught me lots of new techniques and I'm doing things that I wouldn't have tried on my own or perhaps I would have tried them but they wouldn't have been completed. I'm glad that I started this project.

JT2 Sept 15

Here's a photo of the blocks from the Sept. 15 clues. Just 3 blocks this time - all were easy to put together. The handles of the baskets were appliqued. The sizes (finished) of these blocks are: baskets - 9", star - 6" and geese - 3 x 6".

Sept 1 blocks

I finished the Just Takes 2 September blocks tooday. As with other blocks for this quilt, instead of using embroidery in large open spaces on the blocks, I used a tatted motif. These blocks went together easily. They were all rotary cut and machine pieced. For the strip of geese, I used the fast geese method rather than paper piecing. The little snail is stitched onto the center of the block.

The next block clues for this quilt come out Sept. 15. I'm ready and am looking forward to see what the blocks will be. With my growing stack of blocks, I'm also looking forward to the directions for putting together the next section.

JT2 Aug 15 blocks

These are the Aug 15 Just Take 2 blocks. The bottom 2 are appliqued. (Actually the set of 3 circles lower left is 3 blocks stitched together.)  The circles on the upper right hand block were  ppliqued and then the small squares were pieced. There were instrucyions for paper piecing the large block which is 12" finished but I ran a copy of rotary cut directions from EQ (electronic quilt) and pieced it without paper.

This completion gets me caught up on the quilt installment directions and block making - at least for a few days. The next clues come out Sept. 1. Because of famly activities I won't get to them until sometime next week. I'm expecting that with the Sept 1 clues, there will be directions for putting together another section of this quilt. My fabrics for this quilt are dwindling away.  I think I'll have enough for the quilt blocks but if I add a border or borders, I'll likely need more  fabric.  We'll see. I won't decide about borders until the quilt top is finished.

JT2 Aug 1 blocks

The first blocks for August are now completed.  2 were paper pieced and 1 (the star block) began with strips and then the strips were cut on a 45 to make the diamonds.  I've made so many blocks for this quilt that I've never made before and the lone star was no different.  I thought it would be a complicated block to make but the directions were clear and explicit and it went together much easier than I thought it would.  As with many of the new blocks and new techniques I'm doing, it's a learning experience and if I had more to do, the second and succeeding blocks would go quicker.  I like this quilt, though, because we're only doing 1 or 2 blocks, there is lots of variety and I don't get tired of making the same block over and over.

JT2 New Blocks

I just completed blocks 51 - 56. I have still one set of instructions sitting near my sewing machine and the Aug. 15 to print off but I feel like I'm getting some catching up done. 

 

July 1 JT2

I've not had much time to sew or quilt this month due to our trip west.  I am continuing to work on the Just Takes 2 quilt.  Here's a photo of the first 4 blocks for this July 1 set of directions.  It's interesting that the T block was the last one I did.  The applique blocks no longer scare me and I'm much more comfortable doing applique.

Now with  these 4 blocks  completed and stitched together, they could be added to other completed blocks and Section B could be completed.  The following photo shows Section B.

JT2 Unit 12

Back from family reunion and an extended trip (planned) getting home, I'm once again working on my Just Takes 2 quilt blocks.  This is Unit 12 - blocks 43 - 46.  The bear's paw is a 9 inch block and the others are 6 inch finished blocks.

The July 1 set of instructions included some new blocks as well as instructions for putting Section B together.  I've started doing that but need to complete the July 1 blocks before that section can be completed.

Just Takes 2 Unit 10

The completion of these blocks brings me up to the current month's clues.  I'm getting caught up - just 2 more sets of blocks to do. I'm guessing that with the July 1 blocks, when they're posted,  there will be directions for putting together section 2.  That should be fun to see and do.

I couldn't find my 12 1/2 inch ruler so I was making do with other smaller rulers.  Didn't measure twice before cutting - cut off too much.  Oh no!  I wasn't going to do that applique block over so sewed on a strip and will be satisfied that the block is finished.  I'm disappointed but I'm also guessing that when all of the blocks are put together, this one won't stand out from all the others.  I also remembered that I added strips to the house block in section 1 as it printed wrong and I had it started before I realized what I had to do to get precise printed patterns.  That made me feel better about my error as this won't be the only block with a strip added.

 

    

JT2 unit 9

Today I finished the last of the 3 blocks in unit 9 of the Just Takes 2 quilt project.  Two of these blocks were paper pieced and one was appliqued.  I'm getting better with each appliqued block I do but I still have lots of practice and learning to do.  Not to worry - I'll get that.  Unit 10 has another appliqued block.  Guess I'll get some more of that needed practice very soon.

I'm still playing catch-up and will be for awhile yet.  Just Takes 2 has now posted 12 units.  I'm so glad that this isn't a race!  I'll just keep working a bit at a time and one day I'll be current on the completion of the blocks.

JT2 unit 8

Here's my version of unit 8 of the Just Takes 2 2012 quilt project.  With the end of the school year and cleaning out my mom's condo so it can be sold, quilting (and tatting) time has been very limited.  Now school is over and the condo is almost done so I'm looking forward to more sewing time.  It's needed because I'm WAY behind on the JT2 project. I hope to have unit 9 done today - we'll see.

JT2 Section 1

With the April 1 blocks (4 of them), there were also instructions on how to put the blocks together. This picture shows blocks 1 28 stitched together awaiting more blocks to come. Currently this quilt top is a 45 inch square. New block instructions come out twice a month but the next assembly instructions will be in late June or July 1 (my guess since the assembly directions are to come out 4 times during the year).

Blocks 27 and 28

Blocks 27 and 28 are finished! The first section of the Just Takes 2 quilt is ready for final assembly. The applique block did, as I thought it would, take awhile to complete. I learned a lot on this block as well as getting applique practice. I'd never done back basting before but the more I did it the more I liked it.

Blocks 25 and 26

JT2 (Just Takes 2) - 2 more blocks are completed and added to others already made. The new blocks this month are in the lower left hand corner - an 8 pointed star and a palm leaf. I have 2 more blocks to do between now and April 15, when the next clues come out. One, a checkerboard strip, will be easy and take little time. The other is a large applique block and that's going to take awhile.

I found the hand piecing of the star blocks relatively easy. The 'y' seams didn't bother me or cause any difficulty. I realized while working on this block that manipulating the new piece of fabric and stitching it into place with ease was due to the large amount of practice I'd had doing this, even though it was ages ago. You see, I learned to hand piece on small hexagons, making grandmother's flower garden blocks. My grandmother taught me when I was about 10 years old. Lesson learned? Teach children and grandchildren to make something. Even if they don't stick with it but for a short time, they may come back to it later in life and they won't have forgotten how to do it.

I treasure the time Grandma and I spent quilting and crocheting. I loved it when I'd visit her and she'd bring out her quilts to show. I'm glad I'm carrying on the family tradition of quiltmaking.

April 1 blocks

There were 4 new blocks posted for April 1 on the Just Takes 2 quilt project. In addition, there were directions for how to lay out all the blocks posted so far. Today I assembled a good number of the blocks. I need to make the new blocks before I can do anymore.

I'm learning a lot as I make this quilt as there are techniques used that either are new to me or that I've tried but am still not very comfortable with. This will be a beautiful quilt when finished!I'm beginning to think about how to quilt it. I don't even know what color would be best much less how to quilt it. I'll have to start looking closely at 2 color quilts to see what others have done.

April 1st is coming!

No picture today but there will be soon. April 1 is the day for the next "Just takes 2" clues. I understand that there will be more blocks but also directions for putting together the blocks we've already done. Yeah! Just a few more hours to wait.