January / February Quilting Bee Blocks

Hi everyone! Wow, I haven't been around much lately, huh? I can't believe it's been nearly a month since I last posted. Thanks to everyone who reached out to make sure I was doing OK. Fortunately, my absence had nothing to do with my elbow -- it's almost 100% back to normal now and I officially graduated physical therapy! And with that has come a lot of sewing ... some stuff I can share, and some I can't! (eeeeee! don't you love secret surprises?)

So why haven't I blogged? A couple of reasons, but largely because Mrs. Quilt Dad dropped and broke our camera! Can you imagine what it's like being a blogger without a camera?? It's been rough, I tell ya'!

I've tried my best by taking some pictures on my iPhone but, as you'll see later in this post, it hasn't been the ideal solution. The good news is that I just got a suh-weet deal on a new DSLR camera this week ... so as soon as I figure out how to use it, I'll be back to my old tricks.

In the meantime, I thought it was a good time to catch up on my quilting bee blocks from the past few months.

These first blocks were made for my homegirl Heather in the { Bee } Imaginative group. January was Heather's month and she sent out some bits of solid fabrics and the fabulous Quilter's Tweed by Robert Kaufman. She requested mini blocks made improv-style. Here's what I came up with:

I can't wait to see how she pulls it all together.

January was Andrea's month in the Buzz Cuts bee. She sent us the grey print from Denyse Schmidt's Hope Valley line that you see below as the background print, and asked us to use our own scraps to complete the following block:

The block was a bit work intensive, but is also a great scrap buster and fun to put together.

Now, I had vowed to go on a quilting bee diet this year -- no new quilting bees! -- but I couldn't resist joining Rachel's do. Good Stitches charity bee. All of the quilts made from this bee are donated to a charitable cause.

The group started in January but generously gave me a pass for the first month to let my elbow heal. February's block assignment was 2 blocks made from Elizabeth's Map of the States block in shades of orange and grey. I had been hesitant to try this block pattern -- freezer paper? who needs it?! -- but I'm hooked. It's become my new favorite block pattern and I've even made a mug rug using the technique.

Cool blocks , huh? Jill has already put the quilt top together. Check it out here!

February brought a really fun design challenge from Nettie in the { Bee } Imaginative group. Take a look at the photo she provided as inspiration for her blocks. She sent some grey fabrics and an assortment of rainbow colored scraps. I made this block featuring a wonky block of color in the middle of sea of grey. I wanted the rainbow bit to stand apart from the neighboring blocks in Nettie's final quilt.

And now ... errrr ... Buzz Cuts' February block. Julie requested paper-pieced Union Jack blocks made from this free tutorial. Let's start off by saying that paper-piecing is SO not my thing. I love the fabrics I selected for this block but was doomed for disaster from the start.

Here's the travesty that I ended up with:

Clearly this isn't acceptable to send to Julie, and I need to start over from scratch. I don't think I have enough of these fabrics to replicate the block, though. And I'm having a hard time finding the motivation to start all over again. Send me strength!