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.

Liebster Award

I've been awarded the Liebster Blogger Award from a fellow blogger, Erin at Sew at Home Mummy! This is a fun award, given by bloggers to bloggers as a way to acknowledge and network other 'little' blogs... and by 'little', I mean those blogs with less than 200 followers. A huge thanks to Erin for honoring me with this award.

This is a way for all of us to discover new and up and coming blogs and bloggers, and to make new 'virtual' friends!

So this is how it works.

If I choose to receive the award, which I have!, I have to answer some "get-to-know-you" questions that Erin has asked of me. Then, I nominate 11 of my favorite 'little' blogs, and ask them to answer 11 of my questions - and they link back to me.

To participate:
1. Thank and link back up to the one that nominated you (me).
2. Answer 11 questions asked to you by me.
3. Tell us 11 things about yourself.
4. Nominate 11 of you favorite blogs that have less than 200 followers.
5. Ask them 11 questions.

Here's what Erin wanted to know about me:
1. What's your favorite movie?
My favorite movie right now is V for Vendetta, before that it was Ever After.
2. Tell me something about the town you grew up in.
I'm not sure I have a set home town, we moved around too much. But I guess East Grand Rapids, MI is where I spent most of my childhood. It was a middle class suburb of Grand Rapids, that the locals called "the Bubble." For all that it was pretty insular, I loved going to school there.
3. Where do you think you got your "quilty" or "crafty" gene?
Crafty genes I come by from my mother and my grandmothers. My mother knits, crochets, and used to sew her own clothes and doll/Barbie clothes. My grandmother's both knit. One of them also crochets and sews. I always loved looking at her ancient Singer treadle.
4. If you had to pick a movie star who's most similar to you (in any way), who would it be?
Natalie Portman. She's intelligent, classy, moved around a lot as a child, is a first generation immigrant, and has brown eyes and hair. The similarity ends there.

5. What is your most favorite quilt block you've ever made?
The applique bug blocks I made for a baby quilt.
6. Do you have a name for your sewing machine?
My new Brother machine is called Beauty.
7. How many sewing machines do you own (and what brand(s) are they)?
Two, my old machine is a Euro-Pro. And I recently bought a new Brother.

8. What kind of space do you create in?
My craft room, aka our guest bedroom.
9. What does your significant other think about your crafty ways?
I think he's bemused by it. However, he is generally supportive and appreciative of the finished product.
10. Have you ever participated in an online/virtual Bee? Which one(s)?
Several, [3 x 6] Sampler Quilt Mini Bee, Color Bee Shocked, The Bitty Block Committee, and HOPE at do.good Stitches
11. If you had to pick one word to describe you, what would it be?
nerdy

11 things about me:
1. I was born in Karlsruhe, Germany, and since then have lived in 5 countries (including the US), 4 states (if DC counts), 10 cities, and at least 13 different houses/apartments (not counting multiple different dorm rooms and stays at my grandparent's while waiting for Visas)
2. I speak German fluently and enough Spanish to get by
3. My favorite class in college was Water Resources, and I currently work in the environmental field dealing with water quantity issues
4. My first introduction to quilting happened in 6th or 7th grade when my mother enrolled my sister, my brother, my brother's best friend, and myself in a sewing/quilting summer class
5. I costumed two full theater shows, one in high school and one in college
6. I read voraciously, and tend to go through about a book a week
7. We have two cats and a dog, all named after characters from the Arthurian legends (Merlin, Gwenevere, and Sir Galahad)
8. I am a night owl and generally can't bring myself to go to bed before midnight. I don't believe in mornings and think that anything before 10am is a joke on humanity.
9. I am in love with spreadsheets, science and math. I come by this love honestly: my father has a PhD in physics, my mother and brother are accountants, and my sister is a vet. I have a degree in environmental policy, but often wish I had gone the more scientific route and gotten a degree in environmental science.
10. I'm more scared about being pregnant than being a mom.
11. I hate talking on the phone, I would rather prefer to communicate with people in person, via email, or texting/IMing.

These are the 11 bloggers I've nomiated to receive this award - please, head over and visit their blogs! They are awesome people with great things to say:
1. ZeedleBeez - She makes some amazing rag and t-shirt quilts
2. With Arms Open Wide - Caryn is part of my Color Bee Shocked Bee and she does great work
3. Becky, Queen of Socks - An irl friend from high school, whose art work is jaw dropping
4. Amy & Bear - Another irl friend, military wife, and scarf knitter extraordinaire
5. A Handle On It - Fellow quilter, found her blog through the Easy Street Mystery Link-up
6. Bryan House Quilts - She makes amazing quilts, including some using only solids
7. Citric Sugar - Her thread paintings are beautiful
8. Displacement Activity - Creator of the Fracture Quilt pattern, she also has some great tutorials
9. Hobble Creek Quilts - Love her most recent finish, a "Starry-Eyed Christmas Quilt"
10. In the Desert - Another Easy Street Mystery Blogger
11. Mini-Mobile Cottage - One of the few small house blogs I follow

11 Questions for you to answer:
1. What is your "crafty" outlet of choice?
2. Who taught you the basics?
3. How many siblings do you have?
4. What is your favorite food?
5. Do you have a designated crafting area (Picture)?
6. What's your favorite color combination and is that reflected in your home?
7. Who is your favorite artist?
8. Do you have any pets?
9. What would you do with a surprise day off?
10. If you could choose anywhere in the world to visit, where would you go?
11. Did you graduate from college? If so, in what field and are you currently using your degree?

3x6 Mini Bee 2013 Q1 Hive B Blocks

Although I haven't been blogging recently, I've been pretty busy sewing. So to catch you up on a few projects, here are the blocks I made for Quarter 1 of the 3x6 Bee for Hive B - Stars. I am also in Hive D - Paper Piecing, but haven't finished (or started) those blocks yet.

Block for Jane (Colors: Red, Mustard, Dark Green; Background: Gray)

 

Block for Jane (Colors: aqua, red, pink; Background: white)

 

Block for Jo (Colors: aqua, red, light green; Background: white)

 

Block for Sara (Colors: Muted Brights; Background: White)

 



Block for Suzy (Colors: pink and white solids or polka dots; Background: same)

 

Block for Tanyia (Colors: Orange, Gray, Yellow; Background: White)

 

The two color combos that gave me the most headaches were Sara's and Suzy's. Sara's, because muted brights seems like an oxymoron to a person who loves saturated colors. Suzy's because I had all of one pink polka dot fabric and three pink solids when I saw her color request. However, after buying some additional polka dot fabric, I think that's my favorite block. Plus she's using it to make a quilt for the cancer department at her local hospital and that cause is near and dear to my heart.