C-7 Megan's Mountain Laurel

Not perfect, but good enough, I think.

C-7 Megan's Mountain Laurel

Fabric: Just One of Those Days Check - Cactus Green

C-6 Ashley's Aura

All applique

C-6 Ashley's Aura

Fabric: Toy Chest Birdie See Saw - Green

A-8 Florence Nightingale

I loved making this one. It would be great as a signature block.

A-8 Florence Nightingale

Fabric: Toy Chest Florals Packed Flowers - Blue

B-6 Wild Goose Chase

Not sure how anyone could make this one without foundation piecing. Tiny sections!

B-6 Wild Goose Chase
Fabric: Tiny Flowers - Green from the Old New 30's collection by Lecien Fabrics

B-7 World Series

B-7 World Series
Fabric: Scattered Leaves - Orange from Just One of Those Days by Darlene Zimmerman for Robert Kaufman

B-8 Water Lily

I decided to fussy cut the flowers and children.

B-8 Water Lily

C-5 Eye of the Cyclone

Lots of applique!

C-5 Eye of the Cyclone

C-4 Tic Tac Toe

Still a tricky one.

C-4 Tic Tac Toe

TR-4 Bennington Cross

TR-4 Bennington Cross

TR-5 Michigan Dunes

Wow! It's been a while!
I'm WAY behind on my blocks. So much for good intentions.

It's been a little cloudy and hard to take photos over here. Note to self: Buy a studio light.

I do have a couple to share though and will do so over the next couple of days.
First up, TR-5.

TR-5 Michigan Dunes

C-3 Rayelle's Fence

I contemplated changing this to a regularly pieced block (but differently from the original instructions), but I still think foundation piecing yields the most accurate results.

To make assembling the sections easier, I always try to have the seams alternate when numbering:

See?

Less bulk, especially if you press them open.

C-3 Rayelle's Fence

B-5 Hot Cross Buns

My applique skills still need a little help. I did reverse applique in the original instructions and regular applique here. Not sure which is best.

B-5 Hot Cross Buns

B-4 Chris's Soccer Field

I love blocks that can be foundation pieced as a whole without have to attach sections to each other!
And the perfect points I get.

B-3 Mirror Image

Looking back at the original blog post for this block, I realized that I had actually simplified the construction for the BOM instructions. Unfortunately I did not take photos as I made this block.
I made two four patches and then reverse appliqued one on top of the other. Afterwards, I trimmed away most of the excess fabric from the back of the block.

The back...

B-3 Mirror Image

A-4 Courtney's Stethoscope

I think this pre-starching thing is working...

A-4 Courtney's Stethoscope

TR-3 Checkerboard

I experimented with a couple of things making this block.
I read an article this week about the fact that starching actually shrinks fabric. I think especially if you don't pre-wash. Guilty!

It's probably common knowledge to most of you but somehow I never thought about this. I now realize that starching while making my blocks may be a leading reason I've been having trouble with my blocks sometimes being too small. There is also sometimes puckering when I starch. Maybe because different fabrics shrink at different rates.

Anyhow, this time I decided to starch the fabric before cutting. It really made a difference!
I think this may be the straightest, flattest block I've ever made, even though it doesn't look like it in the photo.

(And maybe I should stop using a white background in photos.)
Because I figured I had now "pre-shrunk" the fabric, I also felt comfortable spraying some more starch and pressing the seams open, which also helped it lay flat.

I had another epiphany this morning. To aid in stitching the sections together, I decided to mark the corners before removing the papers. It made lining them up a whole lot easier.

Wow! So much better! My work here is done!

TR-2 Australian Pines

This is the second last block for Month 1 of the BOM. So far, so good on keeping up. I hope you are too.

TR-2 Australian Pines

C-2 Streak of Lightning

This block was fairly easy but could have been easier had I actually followed my own instructions...

I was able to fussy cut the little elephants to avoid them all being headless. So much better!
(The original instructions are over here.)

Off to go make the first triangle!

C-1 Trooper Green's Badge

At first I thought this one was going to be REALLY quick. Well, as quick as foundation piecing can be, anyway.
Then I realized I had directional fabric to deal with and, trust me, if you don't get it to line up at least a little, your block will look really wonky.
Thanks to freezer paper foundation piecing however, it was fairly simple to do.

Firstly, it's important to trim your previous seam allowance to exactly 1/4". Straight.

That makes it easy to line up your directional fabric along the edge.

If you line it up exactly the same way along each edge, they should all look the same at the end. Of course the little triangles are cut on the bias, so the fabric stretched a little but hey, good enough!
I did the same thing along the outside sections.

(Still awaiting a couple more shared blocks on Instagram (#thatquiltjanealong), Facebook, or Flickr.)

B-2 Sweet Tater Pie

I love this one.

A note: Before I started the applique, I cut out the center of the bottom pinwheel to reduce the bulk underneath.

And when I was done I cut away as much of the bulk on the back as I was comfortable doing.

B-2 Sweet Tater Pie