Quilting Bee Blocks | Jan/Feb 2010

Happy day-after-Easter! I hope you all had a nice weekend. The weather was beautiful here in NC -- and it's supposed to reach 90 degrees tomorrow!

I was busy, busy, busy this past weekend (thanks in no small part to my mom being in town, aka built-in babysitter). Three fairly sizable projects are thisclose to being completed, another Hoop Up embroidery piece done, and two quilting bee blocks started last night (and expected to be finished tonight). The mojo definitely feels like it's in high gear -- even if it is still just catching up on past due deadlines!

While I have a quick moment, I thought it was a good day to catch up on blogging about the past few months' worth of quilting bee blocks. But before I do, I wanted to let you know about a new site that Erin recently set up called QuiltingBeeBlocks.com. Ever wonder about the ins & outs of virtual quilting bees? Want to join one, or start your own? Looking for inspiration for the bees that you're already a member of? Well, check out this fun & informative site that's an offshoot of Erin's already-popular Flickr group.

First, some news from my corner of the VQB world. My original quilting bee, SewConnected, has come to an end. December was our last month, and the final few blocks are making their way home to their rightful owners. SewConnected was my first (and, in many ways, my favorite) bee and all of the members were amazing, so it's somewhat sad to see it come to an end. I'm still on the fence about another round for the group -- I know many of the people feel as overcommitted as I do right now, but who knows what the future will hold? I am going to keep the group on hiatus for right now, and revisit it in a few months' time.

Another of the bees I had been participating in, the Cottage Quilting Bee, has also recently wrapped up.

We're also nearing the finish line over in SewConnected 2. January was Beth's month and she managed to send out her fabrics just before giving birth to her new baby daughter, Abbie! I made her this fairly simple block because I really wanted to showcase all of the different prints that Beth had selected:

February was Doris' month. Doris wanted to make a neighborhood quilt with all sorts of houses. She was especially interested in house blocks more simple in form and a little bit wonky. Doris sent along some greens for the landscape and I dipped into my scrap bin for the rest.

Over in SewConnected 3 (January), Gretchen sent us all black fabric + two additional solids. Her request was for more traditional, Amish-style blocks. I picked this pinwheel-style block from Quiltmaker's "100 Designer Blocks" magazine from a few months back. I really love how it turned out. I think Gretchen's quilt will be a stunner.

We unfortunately had a bee member that had to drop out of the swap, so as the group's leader I volunteered to make some replacements for those still waiting for their blocks. I made this additional block for Gretchen on her behalf:

I also made a replacement block for Cathy, whose month was a few months back. Both this pattern and the last are also from the "100 Designer Blocks" magazine -- certainly getting my money's worth!

Although I am actively trying to reduce the number of swaps I am in, I did recently sign up for a second year of Kimmie's Buzz Cuts bee. It's such a great group of very talented quilters that I just couldn't resist. Plus, everyone there is so nice!

January was Lish's month and she sent a stunning selection from Moda's Soiree line. I received fabrics from the blue colorway and made three 9" blocks for Lish.

First, a paper-pieced Lantern Light block from Quilter's Cache. (LOVE this one!!)

Here's one that I kind of made up on my own:

And finally, a block from one of Judy Hopkins' quilt block books (can't remember the block name right now):

February was fellow Triangle Modern Quilt Guild member Rachel's month. She pretty much said "anything goes" (LOVE that!) and even welcomed rectangular blocks. I went all improv on this one and ended up with kind of a mini patchwork quilt with some wonky rail fence blocks in it. (Pic is from Rachel's photostream, since I didn't get a pic before giving it to her in person at our guild meeting!)



My newest bee is Heather & Kerri's {Bee} Imaginative group. (Here's a trick -- you can always spot one of Heather & Kerri's Flickr groups by the use of their signature curly brackets!)

Kerri was up first in January and wanted to make a mini gnome village in shades of red & aqua. I had tons o' fun making these blocks. I love making mini houses and stuff, and tried to do something new & original for Kerri. First I made little twin cottages -- maybe for two best friends who build their homes right next to one another? Or two married gnomes whose trick for a happy marriage is separate sleeping quarters? : )

Next up is a much simpler little gnome home:

I was on such a roll that I was able to begin a third block (though I didn't have enough white fabric to finish it up). I thought the village could use a nice big tree ... and look! Little Red is strolling underneath.

February was actually my month in {Bee} Imaginative and I have received some AMAZING blocks. I just got my last ones, so I will post them separately once I am able to get some good photos.

Last (but not least) is Rachel's bee inspired, which is actually also wrapping up in March. January was Natalie's month and she, too, requested mini houses. She sent a fun selection of prints that made me feel like I was designing the world's cutest little candy shop:

February was a two-fer month, with both Lynn & Deb up to bat. Deb sent along a really eye-catching collection of prints and wanted simple square/rectangle-type blocks. I went back to an old favorite layout and added in the coordinating aqua & orange birds. Great selections, Deb -- I LOVE how this all looks together!

And finally, Lynn forced me to finally confront my fear of paper-pieced spiderweb blocks (which I had been avoiding like the plague). I am so glad she did! They weren't nearly as hard to make as I had been expecting them to be. Don't you just LOVE all of that Lizzy House goodness in there? The rings of dots are amaing, the geese totally make me smile, and the medals & ribbons on the green background is quickly becoming a favorite print of mine.

Another quilt that I can't wait to see completed!!

Finishing up my March blocks this week ... how apropos for the first week of April, huh? Yes, I'm still lagging just a bit behind. How are the rest of you doing out there in quilting bee land?

November & December Quilting Bee Blocks

Good evening, everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. We've been snowed in here in NC since Friday night, which has proven to be incredibly productive for me. Here are just a few things I was able to get done this weekend:

• Made 102 blocks for Rachel's Modern Siggy Block swap (a process I can only describe as mind-numbing ... but I am glad they're done. Pics soon.)
• Pieced the top for my Doll Quilt Swap 8 quilt (again, no pics yet. It was storming here, remember?! : )
• Finally finished hand sewing the binding on a quilt that will make its debut soon. I don't even want to tell you how long it's been finished and sitting here with its binding half sewn on. Glad that one is done!
• Finished one piece for the Hoop Up swap and started another.
• Cut up all of my fabrics for my friends in the Bee Imaginative group, and made a few sample blocks. It's going to be a good one! Stay tuned for more on that.
• Finished book 8 of the Sookie Stackhouse series. Anyone else reading these?
• Hung out with the kids and played a lot of Wii Sports Resort.

Wow, I should get snowed in more often!

I seem to be falling way behind on posting all of the blocks I've been making. Here's a quick rundown of my November & December blocks:

SewConnected

In November, Meg sent out a selection of solid fabrics and requested blocks inspired by Kaffe Fassett's Forget-Me-Not Cabins quilt (from this book). Here's my interpretation:



And for December, Audrey assigned each member a letter of the alphabet and asked for an i-spy block containing the letter itself. Here's my "F" block featuring fish, frogs, fire hydrants, some fellas playing football, and a fire engine. This is going to be a really cute quilt for her beautiful newborn daughter. Read more about it here.

SewConnected 2

November was Sudi-Laura's month in SewConnected 2. Coincidentally, December was her month in another bee that we are in together (Buzz Cuts). For both, she sent out some white fabrics and requested wonky stars in a variety of sizes made from our scraps. Here's what I made collectively for both bees:



December was a catch-up month in SewConnected 2, so it wasn't assigned to any of our members.

SewConnected 3

Over in SewConnected 3, November was assigned to Sara. She wanted geometric blocks made from her selection of Mendocino prints and some coordinating solids. I followed a pattern from the recent Quiltmaker Magazine "100 Blocks from today's top designers" issue.



December was also (thankfully) a free month in SewConnected 3.

bee inspired

November was a great month to work on some holiday-inspired projects. Stacey designed her own block to be made from holiday prints for her bee inspired quilt. It was a very cool design that combined a pinwheel with string-pieced corners. Here's my version:

I was kind of angry at myself for trimming it up crookedly. I hope it won't be noticeable when the entire top is put together.

We took December off in this group, too : )

Buzz Cuts

Stop the presses. Have you heard? I'm paper piecing these days. That's right ... after years of resisting, I've finally succumbed to peer pressure and taken the plunge. This next block is perhaps the main reason for my change of heart.

Here's the block I made for Julie for the month of November:

I love this pattern, and it was bugging me to think that I couldn't make it ... so I jumped right in, and I was very happy with how the block turned out. Of course, the fact that it's made with the amazing "Neptune" line helps!

For December, I made the wonky stars for Sudi-Laura that I showed above.

Cottage Quilting Bee

Oh, I just realized that I already shared the block I made for Tacha for her November Cottage Quilting Bee project:



Still love it, though! And, as I'm sure you've guessed by now, December was an off month for the Cottage Quilting Bee, too!

As of tonight, January's in the books and you know what that means ... my monthly round-up of bee blocks should be coming soon. (It helps that I actually got them all done on time this month!)

Two for Tacha

Boy, the posts sure have slowed down over here. It's completely indicative of how much the sewing has slowed down, too. Life & work has just been too busy to get anything done in the evenings. Know how many homemade gifts I'm giving this year? Exactly one, but it was a good one! It was my contribution to our office's gift exchange, which had to be homemade. I made two scarves out of Anna Maria Horner's Little Folks voile fabric (a la Jona of Fabritopia ... thanks for the great & easy gift idea, Jona!) Have you worked with that fabric yet? All of the raves about how nice it feels are not at all overrated. I highly recommend that you pick some up.

I also threw in 3 fabric covered Moleskines using some of my Amy Butler Midwest Modern scraps. They are always very well received and super easy to make ... every time I make them, I wonder why I don't do it more often. A great scrap reducer, by the way.

Anyway, it was one of the more popular gifts of the day -- stolen twice in the first 9 rounds of the Dirty Santa exchange, thereby frozen for the remainder of the swap!

Oh, and before I forget, be sure to check out Scott's great giveaway over at Blue Nickel Studios. He just reached 200 posts, so I think some congratulations are in order! He's got 7 (!) amazing grab bags full of quilting supplies for some lucky readers. Head on over and enter ... be sure to tell him that Quilt Dad sent ya'!

Now, here are a few things that I have been able to get done over the past few weeks. These two quilting bee blocks are both for Tacha (hanies), an amazing and prolific quilter from Berlin, Germany.

October was Tacha's month in the bee inspired group ... and yes, this is the long overdue October block that I referenced a few weeks back! Tacha asked if we were up for the challenge of hand sewing some hexagons as the basis for her block. I was terrified and completely overwhelmed but, feeling accomplished by my recent mastery (ha!) of paper piecing, I decided I wasn't about to back down from this challenge.

Well, it turned out that it definitely was a challenge. It took me nearly a week to make this single block, and my hand sewing skills are most definitely amateurish. I can't relate to all of you that talk about how meditative and peaceful you find making these blocks, since I alternated between feeling anxious, frustrated, nervous, and angry throughout the process. BUT, I am so happy that I tackled it, persevered, and finished the block. Sure, some of my seams are showing through, but I'm still very proud of finishing it.

Take a good look, because I'm not sure I'll be making another one of these!

November's block for Tacha for the Cottage Quilting Bee fell much more in the center of my comfort zone. Tacha asked for a range of squares & rectangles, which could include mini log cabins and could be wonky or straight. I looked back to a block I made for another quilting bee a few months back for inspiration, but was decidedly more wonky in my construction.

I really love how this one came out, and the process of making it was a welcome change from the hand piecing of the previous block. I had a lot of fun using all of Tacha's different fabrics and choosing some coordinates from my stash. I hope you like it, Tacha!

I'm going to try to get back over here at least once more before Thursday to wish you all a proper Merry Christmas. In the meantime, I hope you all are enjoying your friends, families, and the spirit of the season!

P.S. Thanks so much for all of your Quiltmaker love from my last post. I really appreciate it!

October Quilting Bee Blocks

Hello, everyone! I hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving. Ours was good, aside from the nasty stomach bug / flu strain that has been making its way from kid to kid to parent to parent over the past week. I think we have finally exorcised it from the Quilt Dad house with one daughter spared. Let's hope it stays out.

I recognize that postings to the ol' blog have been sparse lately. Quite franky, my sewing time has been sparse, too. I've had a few new commitments pop up lately that have eaten into my evenings and I'm trying to figure out how to balance it all. My to-do list is nagging at me, and I find myself thinking three projects ahead of what's on my cutting table. Does this ever happen to you?

I've been trying (mostly unsuccessfully) to at least keep up with my quilting bee commitments. I've always prided myself on returning people's blocks back on time, but it's all finally caught up with me. I still (embarrassingly) have one October block that isn't done yet (sorry, Tasha!), and a couple of November blocks to complete. Fortunately, December's an off month for many of the bees and I desperately need the time to catch up. 'Cause, you know, there's nothing else happening in December to occupy our time.

OK, so here's what I was able to complete for October:

First up are some mini neighborhood blocks for Dee for the SewConnected swap. There have been many great blocks and quilts popping up on Flickr inspired by this wonderful Ingrid Press quilt. Dee sent some soft pink fabric for her background and a selection of pinks and yellow to construct the houses. I was able to make both a house ...

... and a tree for Dee.

October was Sonja's month in SewConnected 2. In true Sonja style, she assembled a truly eclectic and inspired grouping of fabrics and requested blocks with a "beach house" theme. It was very important to me to make something special for Sonja, because she always puts 150% into anything she makes for others.

First, I decided to put my new embroidery skills to use and stitch up some whales inspired by the work of one of my favorite artists, Kurt Halsey. I bordered the embroidered piece with some prints from Tula Pink's Neptune line.

Here's a close-up of the embroidery -- I love how it came out!

I had an idea for a second block for Sonja. I decided to make a quilt block reminiscent of those old wooden beach signs (like this one). I used Lazy Gal Tonya's free-pieced letter tutorials to highlight all of Sonja's fabrics, and bordered it with a woodgrain that reminded me of driftwood (from the Lush line).

October was a two-member month in the SewConnected 3 group. First up, Anina (from the popular twiddletails blog!) requested wonky log cabin blocks. And you KNOW I love me some wonky log cabin blocks. Here's what I came up with:

Cathy, fellow swapper and owner of my favorite local fabric store (Wish Upon a Quilt), sent a variety of Jennifer Paganelli's fabrics and didn't ask for any specific type of block. I LOVE working with Jennifer's prints, and I made this block up as I went along. I even added the bottom border from one of Jennifer's older lines to finish the block up:

Over in the Cottage Quilting Bee, Ariana designed her own block and asked everyone to help her make her first queen-sized bed quilt. Each swapper received a selection of fabrics in a specific color story and a solid gray. I received this WONDERFUL set of green prints, and I love the way they play off of the gray. I deliberately embedded five little pinwheels into my fabric placement -- can you spot them?

And finally ... hold onto your hats, people ... 'cuz Quilt Dad is paper piecing.

Yes, that's right ... after so many months of resisting the urge, I finally took the plunge and taught myself how to paper piece. I am so happy to have finally gotten over my fear and apprehension, and I feel like a whole new world of possibilities have been opened up for me.

I was motivated to tackle paper piecing because I really wanted to make the Color Wheel block for Julie for her Buzz Cuts block. Julie sent fabrics from the Neptune line and they seemed to me to be great candidates for the swirling geese in this pattern. It reminded me of a whirlpool, which fit nicely with the nautical theme of Julie's blocks. I am THRILLED with how it came out!

And that closes the book on October ... with the exception of that one final block for Natasha. It's next on my to-do list!

I have a few more things to blog about soon, including the Pillow Talk swap (for which I both made and received a homemade pillow lately) and the conclusion of the Craftster Tea Towel Tour swap, since I also received my completed towel back.

September Quilting Bee Blocks

You know it's bad when I'm just now posting my September parade of quilting bee blocks ... on NOVEMBER 9th. I wish I could post my October blocks too, but ... *cough cough ahem ahem* I haven't finished them all yet *cough cough*. Yes, it's true -- for the first time in my swapping career (and yes, sometimes it is akin to a career) I have fallen slightly behind in my monthly commitments. I'm scrambling a little bit right now to catch up, and I'm looking forward to December (which is an "off" month for many of the bees.)

So let's jump right in, shall we?

In the SewConnected 3 group, Ashley sent out the always fabulous Mendocino fabrics with a pale blue solid and asked for wonky star blocks in a variety of sizes. I was able to make three blocks from Ashley's fabrics.

This first one is 12.5" square:


I had fun with this next one, which finished out at 6.5" wide by 12.5" tall. Every time I look at it, I think that my photo is stretched ... but it's not!


I was experimenting a bit and added some "shards" into the points. See them on the top right and bottom left points in the star above?

And finally, a wee li'l guy that's 6.5" square (with some more yellow "shards"):



Adrienne helped me and all the other Buzz Cuts kids get into the Halloween spirit early this year by sending out some really fun holiday prints for her quilt. I made three blocks, starting with this simple 6.5" pattern:

For some reason, I just love making those little "X" blocks. I think they're a great addition to any quilt design.

For my next block, I decided to play a bit with curved piecing. I wanted to go with a more wonky look, rather than precise ... so my disclaimer for the next photo is that the pieces were never intended to match up!!

And I went for another basic but fun block for my third one:


Next up are Karla's blocks for the bee inspired group. She sent a selection of fabrics from the Botanical Pop line and requested disappearing 9-patch blocks.


A simple pattern, but always fun to make. I was able to eke out two blocks from Karla's fabric.


September was a two-member month in bee inspired, and Ann from Denmark was our other assigned member. Like Ashley, she wanted wonky star blocks made from a variety of Christmas fabrics. Here are the two blocks I made for Ann (love those Christmas chickens!):


Over in the Cottage Quilting Bee, Rachel (of p.s. i quilt fame ... I know she loves when I say that : ) requested the always popular string blocks for her fabrics. I really loved the autumnal color palette of Rachel's fabrics:


And finally, September was Amanda Jean's month in the original SewConnected group (which *sniff* is nearing its final month). She requested 15.5" blocks featuring tiny houses sitting in a field of creamy white, inspired by this awesome, amazing, super cool Ingrid Press quilt.

Here's the close-up of the first house I made:

And even though I didn't have enough white to border it, I also made this little house (church? barn?) to send along to Amanda Jean:

So there it is, folks -- another month in the books for virtual quilting bees. And if you've been itching to get involved in a virtual quilting bee like the ones shown here, I encourage you to visit the Quilting Bee Blocks group on Flickr. Erin does a fantastic job of corraling the news from the many bees happening on Flickr, including new bees that are always opening up and recruiting new members.

Happy Monday, all!

August Quilting Bee Blocks

Things have been crazy busy around here! Between the quilt-along, my parenting duties (both of the real and swap varieties ... not sure which is more stressful and time-consuming at the moment!), birthdays & soccer games (stay tuned for pics!) and ... oh, yeah ... my real job, I've felt really stretched the last few weeks.

Despite all of that, I am happy to report that I have basted, quilted, and bound 3 (!) large-sized quilts over the last two weeks!! (Technically, I am still binding the third, but the end is in sight!) As many of you have astutely noted, I tend to show a lot of blocks and mini quilts on my blog, but tend to avoid tackling the larger projects. Well, no longer. I will have some larger quilts to show in upcoming posts ... two will be featured here, and one will be featured elsewhere ... more on that soon.

Oh, and if you're here for our final block of the quilt-along, it should be posted mid-week.

And now for my monthly run-down of the blocks I've created for my quilting bee buddies. Here are all of my August blocks. With only a little more than a week left in the month, I guess I'd better get started on my September ones ... !

First up, a little block for Lucinda (lucyellen06) for her BuzzCuts quilt. I love this little block:


Lucinda, who blogs at Septemberbird, sent some vintage-y greens and creams and asked for a variety of small blocks. Her fabric evoked traditional styles and the Civil War era, so the other quilters began making some beautiful, beautiful blocks. I decided to infuse a little something different by adding an embroidered square, keeping with the green theme and incorporating Lucinda's love for birds. (Pattern is from Jenny Hart's Sublime Stitching book).


And with the leftover fabric, I made another block inspired by the era. This one features a more abstract version of a bird:


Over in the bee inspired group, Krista (aka kritta22) went the non-traditional route and sent everyone some solid fabrics -- namely, black + only one other color. I received orange, and decided to make a mini zig-zag block:


Several people commented that it reminded them of Charlie Brown! Ha! You should check out the bee inspired pool to see Krista's other blocks -- this was a great idea for a quilt, and everyone has made simple yet beautiful and graphic blocks for her.

Sudi-Laura (Isaacsmama) recently moved into a new house so, when it was time to decide what she wanted for her Cottage Quilting Bee blocks, she requested "houses filled with love" for her new home. I started to make her block completely improv-style, and came up with this:


I think it's cute and pretty indicative of my style! Sudi-Laura blogs at The Adventures of a Fabric Junky.

August was Alissa's month in SewConnected 2, and I must admit that I was a bit intimidated by this one. Alissa (who blogs at Handmade by Alissa) is such a talented and prolific quilter and such a master of the modern style that I wanted my block to be "up to snuff". I did a bit of research and found an awesome quilt that is a fave of Alissa's, and took my inspiration from it.


Simple yet modern, and my best attempt at making something in Alissa's style. I was on a roll and made a bunch of extra 6.5" blocks. I hope Alissa can use them somewhere in her quilt -- maybe even in the back -- or for another project.


Finally, it was Amy's month in the original SewConnected group. Amy blogs at A Commonplace Life. She really wanted her own scrappy version of the popular Kaffe Fassett "Jewel Squares" pattern from his Glorious Patchwork book.

I really loved the (seemingly random but ultimately genius) selection of fabrics that Amy sent for her blocks. I really think this is a case of the old home decorating adage -- just build it from things you love and it will all come together beautifully. I can only assume that's how Amy's scraps have become such amazing quilt blocks.

You can tell that I was inspired by the sheer number of blocks that I made:


For each block, I was excited to pull some scraps from my stash that blended with Amy's fabrics perfectly, like the ladybugs and polka dots above, and the birds below:


Quilt-along-ers, can you spot some of my quilt-along scraps making their way into my other projects?:


I added the green outer border, the Katie Jump Rope in blue, and the orange strip to this block:


And here they are all together:


I really love these blocks -- each and every one -- on their own merits. And I'm even more excited to see how they come together with everyone else's in Amy's final quilt.

Another successful month of quilting bees under my belt! As I mentioned, I am a little behind and a little worried about September. I'm sure I'll get it done, though. I always do. : )