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.



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.

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.

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.

Fabric, Fabric Everywhere

'Tis the season... to be shopping.

I got started quilting just under a year ago and at first I would only buy what I needed for the particular project, but I am slowly building up my stash.

My first serious stash building came about because I needed unwashed fabric for my 3x6 Bee. I usually pre-wash everything the second it comes through the front door, so that was a problem. It also wasn't high quality quilting fabric, so that was another problem.

In the process, I got a chance to go back to Tomorrow's Treasures, my new favorite LQS.

Here is what I walked away with, partially for the blocks I was making and partially because I just loved the fabrics and couldn't not buy them.

The fabric I didn't use for the bee blocks is still sitting unwashed in my closet for my next bee. I also decided to stop washing my fabrics until after I had decided on what I wanted to use for a particular project so that I could use my stash for future bees.

Then came my first give-away win. Which I had previously blogged about here.

I also found a great sale at Pink Castle Fabrics, where I got the following:

I am totally in love with text prints and I love 1001 Nights, so I was in heaven all around. I have also decided that I need to start a collection of house/building fabrics as well as a text fabric collection and use both for quilts for myself. My goal for next year is to be selfish and make at least one quilt for myself (and not the cheating way of participating in bees).

Next came Christmas shopping and in the process of getting presents for a friend, I stumbled across these on sale:

I just couldn't resist. More text fabric, and I love the Mama Said Sew line. I've never tried using a charm pack before, so I decided to go for it. We'll see what happens with it. The text fabrics in the line may just get hoarded for my text quilt.

I also just ordered several half yards of fabric from LiMa Sews on Etsy. Three of the new Saltwater by Tula Pink line and three other random ones. I will post pictures once they arrive.

Thanks to a friend, I stumbled onto a nice deal for a full FQ stack of Nightshade by Tula Pink at the Fat Quarter Shop which has been on my wishlist from the second I first saw it on someone's blog. I had to get it!

Equally exciting is that the December Stash Stack Club bundle from Pink Castle Fabrics just shipped. December is brown, and I don't think I have a single bit of decent brown fabric in my stash yet. I took a look at the fabrics that are being shipped and I'm really happy that I decided to sign up. I like some more than others, but it's a great way to fill in some colors that I'm sorely lacking. They have several options for joining, and I went with the 12 FQ a month option. These are the fabrics that are winging their way to me right now:

1. Pearl Bracelet in Brown - Guising by Lizzy House (Andover)
2. Tiny Diamonds in Brown - Town and Country (Dear Stella)
3. Squiggles in Brown - Indochine (Dear Stella)
4. Dot in Brown - Fly A Kite by October Afternoon (Riley Blake)
5. Bike Path in Brown - Lucky Penny by Alison Glass (Andover)
6. Jewels in Shadow - Guising by Lizzy House (Andover)
7. Damask in Brown - Fly A Kite by October Afternoon (Riley Blake)
8. Loft in Brown - In My Room by Jenean Morrison (Free Spirit)
9. Line Work Stripe in Brown - Bukhara (Dear Stella)
10. Nap Sack in Timber - Modern Meadow by Joel Dewberry (Free Spirit)
11. Nook in Tan - In My Room by Jenean Morrison (Free Spirit)
12. Spot on Tiny Dot in Khaki (Robert Kaufman)

3x6 Bee Blocks Finished

Yay, for pictures...

I finished the 3x6 Bee blocks today. Here are the rest:

Block for Deb - Colors: blue-green and aqua, Background: white.

Block for Erika - Colors: green, blue, and fuchsia, Background: white.

Block for Joanne - Colors: warm (red, orange, yellow) and cool (grey, green, blue), Background: any neutral.

Block for Nicole - Colors: aqua, grey, and red, Background: white.

And here is a picture of all seven blocks. Top row: Deb, Joanne, Erika. Middle row: Nicole, Laurel and Jenn. Bottom Row: mine. I think Erika's, Laurel's and mine are my favorites of the blocks. I just can't seem to get behind the aqua for some reason, and Joanne's would not have been a color combination I would have ever attempted.

All in all, a great experience using color combinations I have never tried before. Lately I've been on this pink kick (fuchsia or other bright pinks, not that horrible baby pink), which is kind of surprising. I usually shy away from anything pink, but the bright pink against the cobalt blue and green really pops.

Walking Foot and 3x6 Bee

After a little bit of confusion, I managed to attached my new walking foot to my machine. Threaded it and started wavy line quilting my secret lap quilt. At first I thought the walking foot was broken because it hardly moved. That's when I realized that my stitch length was still set to 0 from my free-motion quilting adventure (the outline quilting is done!). I like the wavy lines and walking foot so much that I may skip the pebble quilting on the bottom of the quilt.

 



I also managed to get the rest of the fabric cut for the 3x6 Bee the other day. Here's a picture of the goodness that is waiting to be pieced.

I am also considering making a few wonky log cabin blocks for the Sandy quilt drive hosted here. I almost registered to make blocks today, but I really need to figure out if I have the time to make them in the next 2-3 weeks, what with a trip to Michigan planned for Thanksgiving. I also want to finish my secret quilt project by Thanksgiving as well. So once that's done, I can register to make log cabin blocks with the knowledge that I will actually get them done.

Free motion quilting and 3x6 bee block

So I finished the top of my secret quilt project. Finally! Jig-sawing the top together was incredibly boring. It is now pin basted and I've started quilting. I'm outline quilting and decided to try free-motion because there's so much bulk that turning the whole quilt 360 degrees for every outline just isn't feasible. I'd practiced a bit before-hand, but the quilting is still sloppier than I like it to be, but it's so much easier than trying to turn the fabric all the time.

I finished another block for the 3x6 bee yesterday. Colors requested were turquoise, purple and black.
Although I managed to turn the center square the wrong way, I'm still quite pleased with it.

3x6 Bee

I finally have some pictures to share. Work continues to progress on my secret quilt project. Unfortunately I had to run back to the fabric store to buy yet more background fabric. I did get the backing flannel sewn together though, and I'm almost done with the front. Just need to finish putting everything together, figure out how to deal with crooked edges, and quilt.

I went back to the quilting shop I found nearby, to get fabric for my 3x6 Bee. Although it totally goes against the grain, I did not pre-wash the fabrics I bought, since the rules for the bee includes fresh (not washed) fabric.

I made the first block using my own colors of cobalt blue, white and black.

The image is slightly blurry, but you can tell what's going on. The pattern is Autumn Jewel Box and the tutorial can be found here.

Then because that had worked out so well, I made Jenn's as well. Her colors were aqua, orange and white and she requested a grey background. The quilt store didn't have a single solid grey and Joann's only had the charcoal grey in the Kona Solids line. I could have wished for something slightly lighter, but other than that, I'm quite pleased with it.