WOW - this block packs some punch!

I sewed today. 

I decided that I needed to. 

Grab a project, any project and just sew for awhile. 

Just Take 2 seemed easy enough, after all that is why I started this quilt. But / Plus I am so far behind. There's nothing worse than joining a quilt along when you already have a ton of projects and then falling behind making you feel like you have another project that will never get finished. Although, honestly I don't feel that way about this one. That was never my intention. Something easy, that didn't require too much though. So I jumped right in.

A Lemoyne Star? Easy! I've done a bunch and it's went together easy peasy. Maybe a tutorial is in order ... I know I wrote one way back when for our Skills Building BOM. Hmmmm, might be time to dust that off and share ...


Anywhoo ... on to block two. How hard can a bunch of pinwheels be anyways? Well it helps to do the math right first. For some reason I don't have the patterns for installment 4. No biggy .. most are easy to figure out. Usually - as in unless you forget to add seem allowances. But once cut, it sewed up quick too so I could add TWO blocks to the pile for this quilt. And show you a pic of my progress.

Then I went back to see when I had last blogged about this project ... February 1st. 

I thought so ... oi vey. A rush of emotions. 

WOW!

We had just passed week 19. 

I was pregnant and loving it. Things were going great.

Two days after blogging about this project we found out that baby number two was a boy. 

It was Arne. 

This was his quilt.

Right now it still is. 

Maybe someday it will be somebody else's.

~

We saw the doctor on Tuesday.

I went in feeling sick and frustrated.

I left that appointment feeling more confident than I have in months.

We are not giving up.

'nuf said.

~

I'm glad I sewed today.

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When your JOB is what you LOVE to do ...

... it's hard to take a break.

I love quilting, quilting is my job. So I often find it hard to take time out and not think about a project that needs more work or a design for a new quilt. Wonderful color combos? I see them everywhere? New ideas are endless. Controlling the urge to start a new project - almost pointless. And don't even get me started with Pinterest ... just what an over active mind needs (not!) ... a place to see what everyone else things is wonderful.

Add to this wonderful mix the fact that I am pregnant ... don't get me wrong - I am completely over the moon. Today I am celebrating the beginning of week 19! After years of disappointments I am still waiting for someone to pinch me and tell me it's all a dream.

So this pregnant thing is adding a dimension to my quilting that I hadn't expected ... more excuses! Why I need to do this or shouldn't do that or can't (won't) have do another and even worse I don't have time. Being tired and having to alter clothes are one of those excuses.

Which explains the need to "relax" ... just take it easy ... when a couple of weeks ago I needed to reward myself for finishing two quarters of tax filings for our two businesses. Nevermind that the house needed cleaning and there was plenty of "work" to do ... it was the weekend. And I was too tired to knit - my new "hobby."

I needed instant gratification. NO math, limited color choices and basic skills required. I had been fighting the urge to start yet another project ... but I caved. And I'm glad I did. This is MY project. I don't have to think, I don't have to plan I can just grab the pattern and go ... well almost.

Enter the "Just Takes 2" block of the month quilt along hosted by Gay Bomers and Brenda Papadakis.

You can read more about it here, but the premise is two make a two color quilt using traditional patterns as seen in the Infinite Variety exhibition shown last summer at the American Folk Art Museum in New York. If you missed it (like I did) there is a very interesting (and free) iPad app ... I am still oogling these quilts!

But I have other plans for a red and white quilt so went down a different route when I began considering doing this BOM. Tangerine and Snow! Wow, huh? It's a real zinger. Then I remembered an amazing stripe I have from years ago - nearly an entire bolt. I had always pictured it in a young boys room but hadn't found THE quilt. So there you go ... I'll plug away at a quilt hoping that one day it will go in a little boys room with curtains of the same stripe.

But true to style I am making changes again ... reversing the values, leaving out blocks I don't like, substituting blocks I think make more sense because I'm not going to do the optional "redwork" embroidery, etc. These are the blocks I've made so far ...

1. JT2-A, 2. JT2-3, 3. JT2-4, 4. JT2-5, 5. JT2-2, 6. JT2-8, 7. JT2-7, 8. JT2-9, 9. JT2-11

And the next installment was just released. Luckily although slightly disappointing it's only two blocks. But I'm off to print and plan until hubby comes home. 

Unfortunately stitching will have to wait as we have a *house job* tonight. 

Our very mild winter finally succumbed to those Siberian winds and our temps plummeted ... 

to -7C / 19F last night ... leaving our bath tub and sink drain frozen solid. 

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