Month 2 Dear Jane

I finally finished all the Dear Jane blocks for month 2!

Here are all the month 2 blocks, some just aren't laying flat enough so they look a little wonky.

This is month 1 and 2 together.  I'm loving how this looks so far!

Dear Jane BOM review

I've committed to making a Baby Jane.  I signed up for the 23 month long BOM from Twiddletails and I have to say for $25 a month you get a LOT of fabric!  You get a fat eighth of each fabric for the blocks and a half yard of the background fabric which in this BOM is Moda Bella Solids in White.  Each month the instructions are emailed to you in PDF format the same day the kit ships.  The instructions are very detailed and illustrated, if you have any troubles you can also go to the DJ blog at That Quilt.  Anina does a great job of explaining how to best construct the blocks.  And as a bonus, there is a TON of extra fabric so if you screw it up you'll have plenty of extras to play with.

This is DJ month 2 fabric

Another really cool thing is that with the rainbow Jane BOM you will get 225 *different* fabrics so no two will be the same.  How cool is that?!  So if you're wanting to do a Dear Jane but are nervous about choosing the perfect fabrics, this is definitely the BOM for you!  One thing I noticed is that the pattern of the fabric might be the same, just a different color.  The blue fabric 2nd from the top is one of them, it's the same pattern as a green from last month, obviously, just a different color.  I wouldn't mind so much if it showed up in a later month, however, in the grand scheme of things, I don't think it'll be a big deal.

After finishing my month 1 blocks, I have a LOT left over.  There is one block that I might re-do only because it looks horrendous and I think I might be able to figure out a better way.  No biggie, because I have TONS of that fabric left over.

My DJ binders

I'm a MAJOR paper organizational freak.  Any binders I had for school were organized to the nth degree.  I've decided to keep smaller binders so it's easier to find the month I'm looking for.  I'm not above getting index dividers and a making a table of contents ;)  The top binder should hold 3 or 4 months, the next one might hold 3.  

And, here are my month one blocks!

 

Sorry it's sideways!  I took it with my phone, my camera battery is dead.  I will say, this project is MUCH less daunting than I originally thought, if I can keep up at this pace, I think it may work out ;)

Happy Quilting!

**Disclaimer--This review is my own honest opinion, I'm not compensated in any way for this.  Just trying to take the DJ fear away from other quilters out there who may be intimidated by this project :)

First Dear Jane Blocks

Here they are!  My first 6 Dear Jane Blocks.

Top (L-R) A-1, A-2, A-3
Middle B-1
Bottom C-1 C-2

Finished is better than perfect!  They don't look terrible from a distance but that C-2 was such a PITA!  I have no idea why it was so difficult for me but it was, I may re-do it at a later time.  So far I'm loving this project!  Some of the blocks go quickly, others take a little longer, but that's normal for quilting in general.

I know that I have to be super organized in order for me to want to continue this journey so I have my own little system that seems to be working for now.  Each month the individual block instructions are emailed to you in PDF format along with a progress chart.  I took a binder and page protectors to hold all the instructions.  I printed them all off (and will continue to do so) so I can have the instructions at the ready without having to deal with a computer wanting to sleep itself.  It'll also be nice to have in case I get crazy enough to make another DJ.  

This is my binder, book, and needle case.  The binder is only 1" and I'm pretty certain I'll need a bigger one later on down the road.  Since I only have one month's worth of instructions it's just those in there right now. I'm going to continue to organize them by month, then by block number, alphabetically, then numerically.  Triangles and kites will go to the back.  Some blocks only have 2 pages of instructions, others have 6 or 7.  I chose sheet protectors because I decided to prepare the blocks when they come in so I can just grab them and start stitching.  This way I can put all the pieces with the directions.  

As you can see I had a spiral binding put on my DJ book.  A lot of the blocks can be paper pieced so this makes it easier to copy them on my home printer or trace them on freezer paper.  

The little needle case has just a simple piece of felt on the inside and two pockets.  I'm going to make another one because I realized I want elastic bands to hold my spool of thread and my little scissors.  

I also have a little 6x8 rotary mat and a 6 1/2" square ruler that I use for these blocks.  I've also discovered a better way of doing a couple blocks, eliminating some unnecessary steps.  

In a few months I'll do a review of the BOM club in general, so far, so good, I can only imagine it getting better!

good mail day!

I've been feeling really, really crappy lately, most likely it's viral meningitis but since it's the same treatment as any other virus I opted not to have a spinal tap, thus earning a diagnosis of viral syndrome.  I go back to the doc tomorrow for a follow up to my Monday night in the ER.  

That's why today's mail day was AWESOME!!  Fat quarter bundle of some Ruby prints and Camille's new pattern Hopscotch.  Also my first bunch of fabrics for the Dear Jane BOM from Twiddletails!!  Each block will have it's own print, so 225 different fabrics in this quilt, I'm so super excited for this one :D  Sorry for the crappy photo, it's all I could muster up at this time.