Productivity is Good

I've been quite productive lately. Spending some time in my craft room every day has been amazing.

I have finished one of two Color Bee Shocked blocks for October. It turned out great, but man does it suck to trim 28 HST's to 2.5" square. Almost as much as pressing those suckers. Next up the same block in red. Tutorial for the block can be found here.

I also cut the rest of my Kona Sprout for my Giant Churn Dash blocks, and put three of them together.

I am using my Christmas blocks as the Leaders and Enders, so I have four of those completed as well, and one more in my machine as my Ender block.

Jacquie Gering and October Update

I wrote a guest post on the DC Modern Quilt Guild blog here. It's about the amazing trunk show by Jacquie Gering that I went to in Baltimore on Monday. It was hosted by the Baltimore Modern Quilt Guild. In case you don't know who Jacquie Gering is, here is a link to her blog Tallgrass Prairie Studio. Go check it out, you won't be sorry. Here is another picture of the trunk show that I didn't post on the DCMQG blog.

This is the quilt the publishers didn't want to use in her book, because they didn't like the antennae on the TV's. No sense of humor, so sad. I love them.

 

I finished cutting fabric for my plus quilt! I started laying it out on the floor and just started sewing. Next thing I knew, I had sewn together 21 rows.

 

Here is just a small sampling of the many fabrics used in this quilt.

 

I ended up with tons of extra grey cut fabric which I will be using on the back. Each row is 19 "squares" long and as previously mentioned, the quilt will be 21 rows across. It will be a king sized quilt and will finish at about 95x105. I will be getting this quilted by a long-armer, just need to narrow down my choices. But that won't happen until after the wedding next June, because my FSIL and I had discussed using fabric for the guest book and incorporating those fabric squares into the back of the quilt.

 

Other projects that I am actively working on include the following:

 

The Christmas quilt: I have now run completely out of cut Kona Snow and need to start cutting some more.

 

A second low volume baby quilt: need to mark more of the fabrics so I can turn them into HSTs.

 

Japanese X and Plus blocks: finished cutting all the grey end squares and need to concentrate on the center pluses.

 

Color Bee Shocked blocks for October: I have cut the red fabrics for one and have picked out the pink fabrics for the other.

 

Scrappy Swoon Wedding Quilt: I have sorted out all of my purple, blue-green, and black fabrics ready to be cut. I have decided to make the pattern a bit larger and will be using 4.5 and 5" squares.

 

Memory Quilts: I made a second octagonal block section and a second Double Wedding Ring "melon"/"football"/whatever from the fabrics I used in the Plus Quilt.

 

Left: Toucan Quilt; Right: Plus Quilt

Top: Plus Quilt; Bottom: Toucan Quilt

 

This crafting every day thing is really working. I did actually get some cleaning in and have put away all of the fabrics that I had finished cutting. Not to mention all the cutting and sewing I've been doing recently.





Block Progress

Two posts in one day... crazy. Then again, I'm trying this new things were I spend some time each day in my craft room, and it's been incredibly productive so far.

You saw the first four Giant Churn Dash blocks. I have all of the prints cut and all of the background fabric I had as well. Now I just need to start sewing the blocks together. Unfortunately, I'm going to need to order more background fabric, because I'm short several blocks.

The flash washed this picture out horribly. It's block 5 of 20. And the churn dash is a rather bright red and the background is Kona Sprout.

I have also been working on my Christmas quilt as the leader and ender blocks, but I'm running out of cut Kona Snow, so I'll have to cut some more soon.

I have more blocks complete, but this is what I've finished in the last few days. The blocks currently measure 9" and will be 8.5" finished. I also have a few with white borders and a print in the center, but I made those a while ago.

I also finally finished the block for the September Color Bee Shocked queen bee. It took a while, because I didn't want to touch anyone else's fabric while I was sick, and there were a lot of HSTs to square up. Especially since the red fabric didn't want to cooperate. But it's done and it looks good. Almost makes me want to try this slightly larger. I have this obsession currently with huge blocks.

July Progress

I did it! I got through all of the bee blocks and have half a month to go.

Here are my blocks for the Scrappy Trip Around the World Bee. They were due by July 31, finished the last three blocks yesterday.

 

My 3x6 2013 Q2 Hive F - Sampler blocks. Due today, finished Saturday.

 

The 3x6 2013 Q2 Hive B - Stars blocks. Due today, finished last weekend.

 

Color Bee Shocked is on ice, because our July person has disappeared from the face of the earth. So besides Color Bee Shocked, I am free from all bee obligations now. That's a beautiful feeling! Not that I didn't enjoy my time in the bees I've participated in, but they've started getting really overwhelming. Let's see if I can get at least one of these stretch goals accomplished.



May Progress (Cont.)

I finished several bee blocks this weekend. First were the blocks for the Nubees bee. This is a month long bee with only four people to a hive. I chose this block design.

 Block for Brandy, who asked for low volume with a pop of color. I have never made anything with low volume, and that pop of red really makes a statement. Conclusion: I need to work in neutrals more often.

 Block for Lisa, who asked for coral, grey, and teal.

 Block for Sara, who wanted coral, navy, and teal.

 My test block with my own colors of red, gold, and black. I really like how it turned out.

 This was for Jo, as part of side swap. She wanted red, green, and aqua.

I also completed my blocks for the May HOPE do.good Stitches bee. We used this tutorial. The quilter asked for mustard, grey, and aqua. I'm so sick and tired of trying to figure out aqua, and luckily have a ton of mustard and grey, that I stuck with those. These blocks went together ridiculously fast, and I'm thinking that I might need to do a whole quilt of these. They're SOOOO easy and look great!

I put together the May block for Color Bee Shocked, which is blogged here.

Finally, I moved the needle a little bit on my Japanese X and Plus blocks. I added red corners to one set of X's and finished up two other sets that I had sewn the corners to already.

I love that dress print! It really adds a nice splash of color. I also cut a few grey squares.

April Bee Blocks - Part 1

So, I have completed a few more bee blocks. And I wanted to share them before the end of April.

Here are the rest of the 3x6 Bee 2013 Q1 Hive D Blocks, which I finished a while back and sent off. The pattern is the Cartwheel Block by Lee Heinrich of http://freshlypieced.blogspot.com. I have to say I'm a huge fan of Nanette's yellow, orange, pink, and red block. But I'm equally enamored of the other ones as well.

Top row: Jennifer, Sara, Caryn

Middle row: Nanette, Linnea, Ursi

Bottom row: mine

 

I signed up for a month of the Sew Pieceful bee. Most of the color combos were a lot more muted and one person requested coral, which I didn't have in my stash at all. Luckily I bought some corals for the Plus quilt I'm working on. The pattern can be found at the Quilter's Cache here.

Top Row: Sara, Sarah, Allison
Bottom Row: Gabrielle, Mine, Renae

 

And finally, here is my block for Color Bee Shocked. Caryn sent these great spring prints and neutrals and asked us to make a Giant Churn Dash block. The tutorials can be found here and here.

I have to open the seams back up because I didn't read through all the pressing instructions before pressing my seams open. She wants them pressed a certain way, which I'm happy to do. I made way too many assumptions when making this block and my primary assumption was that the instructions Caryn sent with the fabric would be virtually identical to what she posted on the Flickr discussion board. Not in fact the case. Oh well.

 



I still have to make 11 Farmers Market bitties for The Bitty Block Committee and my two blocks for the HOPE do.good Stitches Bee. I've printed out the instructions for the latter and have chosen a paper piecing pattern for the former, but still need to shrink it down and re-draw it a bit to make it more manageable for the time frame I have.



March Bee Blocks

I've completed my regular slate of bee blocks for March.

Here are my blocks for Color Bee Shocked:

 

Both blocks were for Mallory, our March Queen Bee. She asked for 8.5" unfinished blocks and sent two white on white fabrics and the blue background fabric. I ended up adding in a few of my own white on white fabrics, and I think they turned out great. The pattern for the block on the left can be found here, and the one for block on the right came from Esther at ipatch.

My blocks for the Bitty Bee Committee (I signed up for both themes this month, and let's just say I won't be doing that again any time soon):

Butterfly blocks. We only had six people sign up for the group, so we ended up making two types and sending two to each person so we still ended up with twelve total. Except for the white fabric, all the fabrics for the blocks on the right came from Anna's scrap bin. Anna blogs at Hoot'n Haller. It was really nice to end up with blocks that didn't use the same fabrics over and over.

Mushroom blocks. I made three of the one on the left and 9 of the spotted ones. I was going to make them all the same, but I ran out of the spotted fabric.

And finally, my blocks for HOPE at do.good Stitches:

The tutorial for the block can be found here. The quilter for this month asked for aqua, blue, green, orange, and yellow on a white background.

I already blogged about my blogs for one Hive of the 3x6 Bee. The other bee is getting these blocks:

This one is for Ursi, who requested aqua/azure, deep dark grayish blue, turquoise/jade, ash, and ivory. And a background of the same colors. The only color I couldn't find in my stash was the grayish blue. The pattern is the Cartwheel Block by Freshly Pieced.

Bee Blocks

I have been working on my bee blocks lately. In between I am also working on an HST baby quilt, which is my first commission piece, but I'll do a separate post for that (I may wait until it's done though).

 

My first finish was the January blocks for Color Bee Shocked. It is based on a tutorial for modified bento box blocks found here. I had asked our Queen Bee to send me fabric for two blocks. Unfortunately, she had a bit of a mishap when cutting and sending fabric, so I didn't actually have enough for both. I made it work and only had to use my own fabric for the very outer layer and the non-yellow solids in the second layer. I thought they turned out pretty good and by the second one my seam allowances had gotten so good that I think I actually ended up with a 16" square block. The left block has Kona Pomegranate and Tiny Gingham in Fuchsia by Michael Miller in the outer ring and the left has Kona Papaya and Pomegranate and in the outer layer: Square Petal in Tangerine from Notting Hill by Joel Dewberry.

 



 

Next up are the January Quatrefoil Blocks for the HOPE do.good Stitches bee. The tutorial is here. For the left block I used Kona White, Poppy, Citrus, Papaya, and Earth. For the right I used Kona White, Thistle, Pacific, Aqua, and Sprout.



Bees and Charity Quilts Galore

I was updating my Works in Progress page and realized that I have a lot of stuff going on next year.

I'm now signed up for quite a few Bees:

Add-A-Border Block Swap - which moves at whatever pace you feel comfortable. I have made several starter blocks and am actively working on one Round 2 block (it's slow, my first paper piecing pattern, so I don't want to screw it up) and have several Round 2 blocks sitting and waiting for something to happen.

Color Bee Shocked - my month as Queen Bee was in November, but it's a one year commitment with at least one block a month. I have completed the December flying geese blocks which were a lot of fun and the fabric for the January Bento Boxes is sitting on my desk

3x6 Mini Bee - I finished the first round's worth of blocks for Quarter 4 and you can hop in and out of this Bee as your schedule requires. I am hoping to sign up for 2013 Quarter 1 and have even been thinking about leading one of the groups. Each quarter is a 6 Block/2.5 month commitment, but once you're done making your blocks and have sent them off, it's just a matter of waiting for everyone else's to arrive.

HOPE at do.good Stitches - I was just accepted into the HOPE circle for do.good Stitches. This is a 1-year/2 blocks a month commitment starting in January. It's a great cause and will let me play around with the fabrics I'm slowly accumulating.

Bitty Block Committee - I logged onto Flickr today to find a message waiting for me. I had requested to join the Bitty Block Committee and after being judged by my peers I was deemed acceptable. How cool is that! This one is great because you can jump in and out at any point for a 1-month commitment. They post two themes a month and you can sign up for 12 of one type, 24 of one type, or 12 of each (24 total). The blocks end at 3.5" square, hence the "bitty."

That's it for Bees, although I had considered joining Nubees, where you sign up to make 5 blocks every month. Looking at my current list, maybe that plan will have to fall by the wayside for a bit.

I also signed up as a quilter for the Hurricane Sandy Block Drive hosted by Michele at the Quilting Gallery. I have received my first stack of blocks and plan to do QAYG to put the quilt together.

In addition, I have started a baby quilt for a Charity Drive hosted by Pigtales and Quilts. I have all of the scrappy log cabin blocks done and have even sewed on a solid purple border. But I want to do a second scrappy border and then of course it needs to be quilted and bound.

I am also working on various other projects, both quilting and others, including two baby quilts with two more planned. I'm clearly crazy! But I love it.

Color Bee Shocked - Full!

I think Color Bee Shocked is full! I'm so excited. I started filling out my questionnaire for November, I guess I'll be going fabric shopping this weekend.

Now I'm just hoping that everyone who signed up still wants to participate, since at least two one of our members have yet to post anything on our discussion boards. A little worried, but November is still a ways off, so even if I have to find replacements, that shouldn't be a huge problem.

My questionnaire so far:

What is your theme (if you want everyone to make a specific block type please provide a pattern to follow)?Circles, there must be at least one full circle on every block. They can be pieced, machine- or hand appliqued. Think outside the box (windows, the sun, the moon, and many other things can be circular). Many links for inspiration below.

Is there anything you don't want on your block (things sticking off the surface of the fabric, applique, etc.)?
Things sticking off the surface (definitely no yo-yo's, no buttons, etc.), flat applique and embroidery are fine.

What size block would you like (unfinished v. finished)?
12.5 inches square unfinished (you can also leave a little more room if you'd like, but I'll be cutting it down to 12.5x12.5), I also want a signature block of some sort (details TBD once I have the fabric, but will likely end up being a set size of one color fabric with your signature on it separate from the main block so I can incorporate it into the back of the quilt)

Do you have any particular instructions for the fabric (don't use a certain color as a background, use some of every fabric sent, etc.)?
TBD (don't have the fabric yet)

Can members use their own fabrics, or should we stick with yours? If yes, should it be washed or unwashed?
Yes, as long as it follows the same color story, is 100% cotton, and is pre-washed.

Can members make more than one block if they are feeling inspired?
Absolutely, go nuts.

Do you have preferences for thread color (white/off white/etc.)?
Whatever is in your sewing machine is fine.

Would you like people to send back any scraps?
TBD (don't have the fabric yet)

Please share any links that inspired your theme (flickr/pinterest/etc.).
Wonky Circle
Fussy Cut Center
Circle is only indicated
Pieced Circle
Many Circles
Rocket with a circular window
A birdhouse with a circular opening
Not a block, but could easily be turned into one (aka tree with circle leaves)
If you want some great nature photography as inspiration

Online Quilting Bee

I have been trying to find an online quilting bee for some time now, and since I wasn't finding the type of group I wanted that was still looking for members, I decided to start up my own group.

 

It will be a one year project, with each of the 12 people in the group choosing a theme for their assigned month and sending out the fabric needed to make at least one block. I will likely be going first, if we can fill up the group (we need 2 more people). I am already playing with various ideas for my blocks.

 

The group is housed at www.flickr.com/groups/colorbeeshocked. One of the members made some really cute buttons too.

 

I plan to post my blocks on here as well as in the Flickr group.