Happy Days BoM - Month 2

Just about before month 3 of Sarah Fielke's Happy Days BoM lands in my inbox I have some of month 2's progress to show you.  First up this month is the second of the larger pieced blocks that Sarah has issued so far, though for BoM purposes it is known as Block 7.

My first attempt wasn't great to be honest.  Perhaps doesn't look to bad at first glance, but on close inspection there were a lot of gaps on those star points.  To begin with, I thought I would just live with it, but I began to feel a little slack when I saw more perfect versions popping up on IG and thought I really should try again. OCD strikes again!

It was quite a time consuming block to make first time around and second time too, though I did find it interesting.  My hopes of it being a better second effort didn't quite materialise.  There are fewer large gaps between the stars in version 2 but there are a few more lost points, and I'm not entirely sure which one looks better in the end.  I'll keep them both and see how it goes when all the others are made and gathered together.

After the pieced block was our introduction to needle turn appliqué in this BoM.  I have been really looking forward to this bit since I saw Sarah's Craftsy class and her techniques for this appliqué.  It was the main reason I signed up to the BoM, a motivator to actually do some!!

Lots and lots of cutting and prep was easy in front of the telly late one night,

resulting in 8 and a half wreath blocks all stuck in place for stitching as the months progress.  (Love all those lv backgrounds.)

I even managed to squeeze in a finish on one of the appliqué blocks.  I'm hoping that I will improve as I get more experience, but I'm quite happy with this one so far and I really, really enjoyed doing it.  So peaceful and stress free.

You might recall from my first month's post that there are 24 little sawtooth stars to make for this quilt.  We don't need to have them completed until much later on in the year, but I have been stitching them as leaders and enders and they are coming together nicely.  

I think I have fourteen made so far and I am enjoying rediscovering my pretty fabric pairings as I reach for each little pre-cut star.  Prepping everything in advance is a real winner when your sewing time is restricted.

For my first month's post I also showed you these two blocks which were destined to become the bonus Block Book project that Sarah has offered her BoM subscribers.

I added pretty orange borders and these became the outer cover of the book which will hold all the gathered block pieces in progress, a little bit like a fuzzy felt album.

Here's my block book all neatly finished. 

Inside, I added a little pocket for pattern papers and a felt needle landing just to make the book a little more of a portable project folder.   

Gratuitous shot of the back, just because I love these fabrics and their crisp, clean lines in these block patterns.

Overall, I am a wee bit surprised that I'm keeping up with the BoM because I really never expected to.  It is early days mind you, so I'm not counting too many chickens, and I think the pace might speed up next month too. But so far, thumbs up!  I'm having fun and it's nice to have a friend or two on this BoM journey too.  Given the mystery element to this quilt, I am also curious what next month's blocks will actually look like.  Not long to wait now!