DIY Block of the Month with Mom - February

I've been quilting for a long time (see this blog), but my mom has gotten more into it in the last few years. Lately she's been cranking out an impressive number of quilts for donation to our local Project Linus chapter. If you don't know about Project Linus, it's a volunteer-based organization with chapters all over dedicated to providing blankets to children who are seriously ill, traumatized, or otherwise in need. The name comes from the Charlie Brown character who always has a firm grip on his security blanket. Project Linus blankets come in all sizes, colors, patterns, and forms -- knitted, crocheted, quilted.

Back in December, I received an email from Art Gallery Fabrics that had a collection of links to free quilt block patterns featuring their fabrics. I thought the blocks were cool and would be fun to make, and I had an idea to turn them into a block of the month project. Of course I roped my mom into doing it with me. Here's my plan:

• I created two identical fabric bundles using my stash -- one designed for a girl quilt and one designed for a boy quilt. Then I split the bundles in half, keeping one and giving one to my mom, so we each have a boy bundle and a girl bundle. (The bundles have similar color palettes, which just happened because of the fabric in my stash. Also, we can add any coordinating solids we like.)
• We use the bundles to create two blocks each month, using the same Art Gallery block pattern.
• We're not allowed to share or confer until we've both finished our blocks. It's a surprise to see how we used the same fabrics in different ways.
• At the end of the year, we'll combine our blocks to create two quilts (boy and girl) to donate to Project Linus.

Sounds like fun, right? We started in February with the Squares and Diamond Block:

These are our "girl" blocks -- Mom's on the left and mine on the right:

And here are our "boy" blocks -- Mom's on the left and mine on the right:

Check them all out together: