Quilting Bee Blocks

I just finished up two blocks today for Amy from Sew 2 Speak. She sent out black, white & gray fabrics and asked each member to add one color using modern fabrics from our own stashes. I was excited to do these blocks because Amy had an inspiration photo gallery on flickr and included several of the blocks members of The Hive created for my red bird blocks back in June. Here is what I came up with:

3x6 Bee Blocks and Tutorial

I just wrapped up my first quarter in the 3x6 bee... where each 'bee hive' consists of 7 participants. Each participant chooses three colors they would like the other 6 members of their hive to use when making a block for them. Each member makes 6 blocks that are the exact same block pattern but in the varying color schemes. The group switches up hive members quarterly. Make sense? Good.

My colors were pink, yellow and white. So I will receive 6 blocks in those colors made by my fellow hive members. I made this block for myself as a test subject for this block design:

I started out by sewing 9.5" long strips of fabric together in varying widths from 1-2.5 inches. I used my 9.5" square ruler to square my sewn strips. I then used the 10" square grid in the middle of my 18x24 cutting mat to cut the diagonal lines. There are probably several ways you could do this, but this is the way it worked for me.

Above the 9.5" square ruler is positioned in the upper left hand corner of the 10" square on the cutting mat. This position will be important for how you make your diagonal cuts.

With your block positioned on your cutting mat in the upper left of the 10" square grid place your cutting ruler at the 7 on your left side of the grid and the 6 on the right side of the grid. This will be your cutting line for the top section. Repeat this at the 4 on the left side of the grid and the 3 on the right side this will be cut for your bottom section.

These two cuts should leave you with three shapes that look like this:

Between each diagonal cut I sewed a 1.5" strip (1" finished). I then used my 9.5" square ruler and trimmed the block back down. So keep in mind that if you have any images on your fabric toward the top or bottom of your strips when you begin they will get trimmed off and lost later. I then finished the block by adding 2" strips (1.5" finished) to the outer edges for a final block size of 12.5" (or 12" when finished in a quilt). I experimented with having the diagonal fabric being the same width as the final border, but decided I preferred the slightly slimmer line in the middle.

Here are all 6 in their varying color schemes:

They were for, left to right: (1) sewtakeahite (2) amuseboutique 3. fancytwo (4) mamaloves2read (5) chocolate_isthe_best_medicine (6) friedazzzzz

Can't wait for the next quarter it starts October 1. Sign-ups are still going on for the 4th quarter and she is currently taking names for the 1st quarter, 2011. I think I am going to stick with my same color choices. Even though I'm still not entirely certain with what I am doing with these blocks.

Bees... bees and more bees... and some swaps!

Mostly Finished and One Work in Progress

I've been busy with my quilting bees. I was a bad bee member and was behind on finishing my July blocks but they all got mailed out last week!

First up we have Liz's blocks from Sew to Speak. She sent red and aqua fabrics, white triangles and a plastic template to make the blocks you see below. I had some trouble getting these to line up when I sewed the final center seam, but my hope is once quilted it will improve the look.

Next, Jeremy from The Hive sent the fabrics below and requested the specific block you see below. I actually made 4 of these, but have only pictured one.

I also finished this block for my quilting journey bee. This block is for Melissa. She requested any type of pinwheel block as long as it was 12" finished. She also sent along some Heather Bailey, Nicey Jane fabric and the owl fabric in the center which is Alice Kennedy. This block is my version of the pattern found here. The second picture is all the blocks that have been made so far, Melissa's starter block is the bottom left.

Now for some swaps. I participated in a fabric post card swap. Below is the post card I made for Vickie, she is a member of the quilting journey bee.

I am also participating in a mini quilt swap below is the fabric I sent to my partner, Kimmie. I sent her fabrics (30 - 4.5" charm squares) from the Heather Bailey Freshcut line that I snatched up at the craft supply rummage sale I went to a few months back. I decided this would be a good use of it. I also sent along some coordinating Kona jelly roll solids and a fat quarter of Joel Dewberry. She gets to use my fabrics to make the mini quilt of her choice and then it gets sent back to me.

I received Christmas charms and some Michael Miller fabric with kids building snowmen. So I will create a Christmas mini quilt for her. Even though is seems a little weird thinking about Christmas already, it is actually a welcome thought in 100 degree heat. Also on my plate for August bees and swaps are blocks with Alice in Wonderland, math symbols, and more fabric post cards to name a few.

Quilting: A Quilting Journey Round Robin Bee

FINISHED

A Quilting Journey Round Robin Bee started about two weeks ago when I sent my starter block and I received my first block from Vickie. She sent along Alexander Henry's Spotted Owl print in green and white. The print reminds her of her grandmother. We were given free reign to create a block in any size that used a fussy cut piece of the owl fabric and incorporated a star.

Below you will see Vickie's starter block on the left and my contribution to her quilt on the right. She wrote in her instructions about the possibility of someone making a wonky house with a star in the sky and I immediately thought about a tree... with a star in the sky and a partial star as a flower.

Close-ups...

This owl was my favorite...

I had a lot of fun making this block and I hope Vickie enjoys it! I can't wait to see her quilt come together!

Quilting: Quilting Bee - The Hive

Work in Progress

June is my month in The Hive. I mailed out my packages today! They are filled with lots of black, white & grey fabrics... and a little bit of red. I left it pretty open as far as style of block. My only rules were size (12.5"), the only part of the block that can be red is the bird. There are 9 members in my group (10 including me) and we are a group that makes 1-4 blocks, most bees only make 1-2. So I can be expecting anywhere between 9 and 36 blocks... how exciting!!! Below is a sample block I made:

Quilting: Flora&Fauna Quilt Top

WORK IN PROGRESS

I finished my quilt top I have been working on. It is for my queen size bed. It is made with Michael Miller/Patty Young Flora&Fauna fabrics. I just have to the back ready and quilt it. I still can't decide what color thread to quilt it with, so I am nervous and excited to see how it turns out!

Quilting: May's Quilting Bee Blocks

FINISHED

I think I should probably stop joining bees, I'm in four! I spent my day on Tuesday working on all my blocks for the month of May and they all shipped out the other day. Here they are below:

First up, The Stitchin' Bee and my blocks for Lisa in South Carolina. She sent solid fabrics and requested Modern blocks. I created two for her. Including an "L" block since it was from Lisa to Lisa.

Next, The Hive, blocks for Melody in California. It was my first time paper piecing blocks. These are string blocks and signature block are made from the tutorials at P.S. I Quilt blog. She sent lots of fabric strips in pinks and the only guideline was that the brown fabric be the center stripe in the blocks.

Then for Sew2Speak, I had one more paper piecing challenge. This spiderweb block was made for Wendy in the UK. She sent strips of fabric in the above colors, blue, green and indigo and instructions for them to be pieced in a specific place because she is making a rainbow quilt. Other people in the group received different colors and have been posting their blocks and the colors look amazing. It is going to be really pretty when she finishes. There was a lot of planning and organization that went into this one.

Finally for my newest group, A Quilting Journey Round Robin Bee, my Chicago block. This will travel to 20 different places around the world over the next 40 weeks, if it stays on track, with the journal I created last week. I am asking that everyone create a block that represents where they are from in any style and colors they choose. Mine has already started it's journey and is on its way to Sara in Missouri. I am also awaiting my first package from Vickie in Kansas, she said it should be mailed by the end of the week! She is having us design blocks using a fussy cut owl fabric. Can't wait to get started!

In addition to bees, I joined a fabric swap called, A Little Fabric, A Little Chocolate. You are paired up with a partner and you swap fabric and chocolate. These are the requirements for each package: three fat quarters, chocolate, a little extra treat (notions, handmade items, gift item, etc.), a handwritten note and a photo. I just finished up my April swap and was paired up with Mari in Norway. The top photo is my package from her and the bottom photo is my package for her. The black item that is folded is an origami shirt.

I have been paired up with a partner in Kansas for the May swap. Should have that sent off to her in the next week or so.

Quilting: Quilting Bee Journal

I joined another bee! This one is a different kind of bee though. It is called 'A Quilting Journey Round Robin Bee' - how it works: I make a starter block send it along with a journal to my assigned person on the mailing list and so on and so on... until this block travels around the world crossing the paths of 20 other people who will in turn make a block for me and share with me about themselves in the journal and eventually it makes its way back home to me! While my block is living it up traveling around the world on someone else's dime... I will be right here in Chicago working on blocks for everyone who is making me blocks! Each person gets to pick their own theme, I am having everyone make a block that represents where they are from in any style or colors they chose with just one stipulation the block be 12.5x12.5. My block will represent Chicago. I still have to make my block, but I have created my journal!

Several people in the bee group seemed interested in how I made my journal, so I created a tutorial. Sorry if any steps are unclear, feel free to ask questions and feel free to copy! Here it is:

You will need: cardstock, a glue stick, spray adhesive, scissors or rotary cutter, ruler, hole punch and sewing machine.

I started by folding my sheets of paper in half. Now this would have been the ideal project to use my Martha Stewart bone folder I recently acquired, but of course I couldn't find it! So a Sharpie works pretty much the same if you need some help making a nice crisp fold.

I decided I was going to leave a 2-page spread for everyone to write on and with 21 people in the group (including myself) I needed 20 interior pages, plus a front cover and back cover (22 sheets of paper total, it will make sense in a minute why I used so many sheets). I am utilizing the reverse side of each page including the front cover and the reverse side of the back cover as space for people to write, if you do not wish to set your journal up this way you can use how every many pages your want.

I then measured one inch from the crease and cut each sheet. Yes, it does leave me with some wasted paper, but if you are like me you will find a use for it in a project further down the road. Maybe a smaller journal for something else. You can chose not to waste any paper and make your journal skinnier.

The inch next to the crease in the paper is going to be where the holes are punched. I wanted to make that area stronger so I folded the paper over and used a glue stick to hold it down.

The next step is to punch holes, I decided to punch three sets of two holes each along the edge of my book. I only had a single hole punch, so I had to measure out where the holes would be and I used that sheet as a template to punch the remainder of the pages. My pages are by no means punched exact and don't line up perfectly. But they are approximate enough that once you tie the ribbon through they all line and you can't tell the holes aren't perfect, so don't sweat it too much. If you have a three hole punch then this step should be no problem.

I decided I wanted to make the book a bit more durable since it will be traveling all over. I used my machine to zig-zag sew a grouping of two pages together, so I was left with ten groups of two.

I then made the front and back covers, you can use your inside pages to determine the size. I cut two for the front and two for the back and glued them together to make the cover stronger. I did not use the fold over method for the front and back since I was gluing two pages together, it (a) wasn't necessary and (b) would have been really hard to fold over!

Next comes the fun part!!! You get to make you own journal block! It should be about 6x9 that includes the "seam allowance". I guess I didn't take a picture of my journal top by itself, but you can see it on the finished product below. The first two pictures above show you how I used the space that would normally be for the seam allowance and folded it over the edge and sewed it down to the back of the front cover page. Sew the edge that runs parallel to the holes last! And be sure as you sew toward the side with your holes that you don't sew all the way to the edge. You need to allow room to fold your rough edge under (like a hem) and sew it down as shown in the second picture. Also, I couldn't resist putting a little something on the back, so I sewed a heart with my initial to the back page. You can do something similar or you can make a block for the back as well!

Once you have your front and back pages decorated you will need to cut another page to be glued into the inside facing part of both pages to cover your edges and stitches. I used spray adhesive for the page that needed to be glued to the fabric and a glue stick for the pages that was only covering a few stitches.

Almost done! Line your pages up and weave some ribbon through, yarn will work too! When I finished weaving the ribbon through I had the two tails toward the back and I tied them off at both the top and bottom sets of holes then I continued bringing the ribbon up toward the middle set of holes and tied them together in a bow. If that isn't clear honestly you can make something up and if it feels sturdy at the end it will work just as well!

And the finished product! I hope it lasts on it's journey. It feels really sturdy and it lightweight so it shouldn't be too bad on mailing. I plan to have it travel in a ziplock in case it should encounter any inclimate weather. The front two pages are where I included a little info about me, a few pictures and explained to everyone what I would like included in their journal pages and their block. Now I better get started on my block!!

Quilting: Quilting Bee/Sew2Speak

FINISHED

I completed my April blocks for my quilting bee Sew2Speak. It was Elaine's turn and she wanted wonky houses. There are a lot of great ones in our group's pool. I struggled on my first one, the orange house. I didn't really know where to start and my machine was acting up. As a result of my troubles there are some tiny little seam allowances on the house part. But I caught on and my second one, the green house turned out much better. Although I got carried away and the block ended up on its way to being too tall so I had to hack out part of the middle of my house. But I think it turned out just fine. Look at me pointing out all my mistakes, I bet no one would have even noticed.

Quilting: Quilting Bee/The Stitchin' Bee

FINISHED

I finished my block for my other quilting bee group, The Stitchin' Bee. It is for Kelly’s Dysfunctional Family Fun Quilt. She is making a beach quilt for her family. I tried to use my fabrics to make water, sand and a rainbow sky, but it isn’t as obvious with the applique covering most of the background. Everyone else’s blocks are turning out great! I am excited to see them all together.

Quilting: Quilting Bee/The Stitchin' Bee

WORK IN PROGRESS

I got my fabric in the mail for my second Quilting Bee Group, The Stitchin' Bee. This package arrived from Florida! It is for Kelly’s Dysfunctional Family Fun Quilt, as she titled it. She is making a beach quilt for her family. It will feature fussy cut comic strip scenes, each person in the bee got a different one. I can make any type of block I wish as long as it incorporates the comic strip and it is 12x12 finished. Which as I learned in my other quilting bee really means 12.5x12.5. Which I knew, but being new to quilting bees and quilting itself... enough excuses... I goofed! The fabric looks like fun, I think I got a great comic scene and I can’t wait to get started! I even got a piece of fabric in my package that is the same print as the quilt I am currently working on for myself. The pink on pink polka dots to the right of the comic strip fabric.

Quilting: Colorful Log Cabin

WORK IN PROGRESS

I started a quilt this weekend (well my weekend - Monday/Tuesday). The fabric was purchased online at Hawthorne Threads my new favorite website. I got all of the fabric for the top cut and I sewed all the center pieces together. I finished one block just to see how it would look. It will consist of 81 blocks - 10 inch each. The top will have the flower fabric run the width. It will be a queen size quilt for my bed.

I have not selected the color of the thread I am going to quilt with, I will have to experiment. I am thinking I might even go for a dark thread color to match the very deep purple color of the shadows in the flowers. I think the binding will end up being magenta to match the centers of the flowers and blocks. I also haven’t decided on the fabric for the back, but I think I might order the light blue background/darker blue polka dot fabric that matches the top half of the flower border fabric in hopes that that fabric won’t look so random at the top.