Hopefully, next time I post pictures of bee blocks, it won't be 6 months from now. I am so glad to have this post done, as it has literally taken me all week to write...goodness gracious. I'm off to do some cleaning, picture taking and I have presents to wrap. Have a great weekend!
I am really behind in showing off the last few (ok the last 6 months) worth of bee blocks, so here I am today, trying to rectify that situation! First up are the simplest blocks that I think I may have ever sewn! This block is the Belle Wave by Faith of Fresh Lemons and can be found HERE. These were for Michonne (Watch Meesh Run) and I believe she was making a wedding quilt for a friend. How sweet! The block finished as 11.5" x 13" and literally took 10 minutes to stitch up. Nice and easy. September's blocks may have been the easiest, but October's blocks were definitely the hardest I have ever done! I'm not just saying that, these were the hardest blocks I have ever done! The Windmill pattern from the book "Modern Blocks, 99 Quilt Blocks from your Favorite Designers" was designed by Lynne Goldsworthy of Lily's Quilts fame. Stephanie (spontaneousthreads) sent us the background Heath print and we used scraps for the triangles. We made 8 quadrants, and she is going to sew them together randomly with all the other bee members blocks, making them totally unique. I worked on and off on these blocks for two weeks, and logged in well over 8 hours sewing these babies together. That was some serious paper piecing and I don't think I will ever make these blocks again. That being said, it was a great learning experience for sure, and isn't that what these bees are about? November's blocks were for Leanne (She Can Quilt) and she requested these half square triangle based blocks, called "Ocean Waves." The fabrics were from the Blitzen line and Kona white. Leanne wrote us a wonderful tutorial for these blocks, which can be found HERE. I was pleased as punch with these blocks, as most of my triangles still have their points and mostly lined up well. I think this was my most successful half square triangle blocks to date. This will certainly be a lovely Christmas quilt. Staying with the Christmas theme, January's blocks were for Toni (HoosierToni) who is getting a huge jump start on Christmas quilts for her children this year. Isn't that a great idea! She had us make Spiderweb Blocks from the tutorial found at House of A La Mode, tutorial HERE. I have made several of these blocks in the past (and I have a WIP Christmas quilt myself using this same pattern!) Needless to say, these were easy and quick. She sent the background plus all the scraps and asked for 5 quadrants. I then sewed the leftover scraps together, so the few she would have to make herself would go together even more quickly. We are now arriving at my blocks (that I actually made for myself,) March is my month, and I have chosen Modern Maples as the blocks I will have everyone make. I am excited about this one! The tutorial can be found HERE and is by Amanda Woodward-Jennings of Hey PorkChop! I sent everyone a selection of low volume prints, plus strips of both Denyse Schmidt Chicopee and Anna Maria Horner Field Study lines of fabric. These blocks go together really quickly and measure 12.5" x 12.5." The top block is Lush Uptown by Erin Michael, and is the basis for this quilt. I love that line and wanted to base a quilt off of those colors, they seem very autumn to me. So I made that block and then picked the other two fabric lines based off the colors and prints. I hope to have this one done by the fall of the year, as I really want to use it, so I am using the low volume prints in the "solid" blocks and using them as leaders and enders in my current projects, which is really cool and getting two projects done at one time. All of my packets have been mailed out and I can't wait to see the blocks come together!
Hopefully, next time I post pictures of bee blocks, it won't be 6 months from now. I am so glad to have this post done, as it has literally taken me all week to write...goodness gracious. I'm off to do some cleaning, picture taking and I have presents to wrap. Have a great weekend!
6 Comments
Flying Blind
2/21/2014 07:41:04 am
Great bunch of blocks, and you are going to have a stunning Maple Leaf quilt!
Reply
2/21/2014 11:18:57 pm
Great blocks! I want to assign the ocean waves for my bee, thanks for posting the tutorial link. I may just use hers so I don't have to re-create it! :)
Reply
2/23/2014 01:07:09 am
Thank you for making my blocks. The top and back are pieced together and now all I have to do is baste and quilt!
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
Marci GirlA feisty mom designing, sewing and blogging her way through everyday life!
|