Virtual Quilting Bees
June 2, 2010
I am now in 4 virtual quilting bees! One is wrapping up in the next couple of months and I will probably not rejoin so I can spend more time on the other 3 bees and the many projects I need to get started/work on. I also started a virtual quilting bee with my modern quilt guild. I’ve had the chance to make some fun blocks recently using some different techniques so it’s been fun working on all of them. I still need to finish one bee’s May blocks, I am hoping to get them done today so I can get them in the mail because I am late again! I think I will be late less when I am not in so many bees.
In April’s Block Swap bee, Paloma wanted tiny random scraps on a white background. I added a lot of my own fabric scraps, and pieced the blocks improvisationally – one log cabin style, the other just strips. I like the log cabin one better.

The Block Swap April Block 1

The Block Swap April Block 2
The blocks by themselves don’t really look like much, but you can see how the quilt is coming together here.
For the Bee Pieceful bee, I got to make some old fashioned quilt blocks, one is called shoofly and the other is called churn dash. It was interesting to use these classic patterns. I think that they could look very modern depending on the fabric choices.

Bee Pieceful April Block 1

Bee Pieceful April Block 2
For Bee Pieceful May, Andrea wanted wonky stars, which I love to do!

May Bee Pieceful Block 1

May Bee Pieceful Block 2
That’s all I’ve been working on sewing-wise lately. Next post I will show you the blocks I have received from two of my virtual bees. They are gorgeous. I am lucky to be in groups with such talented and creative sewists!
Virtual Quilting Bees
March 29, 2010
I’ve been mostly working on blocks for my assorted virtual quilting bees lately…I just signed up for another! I’m first in the new bee, so I need to figure out what I’m going to send and what kind of blocks I want so I can get the fabric in the mail by April 15th. It’s fun to get the mail when I’m doing bees. I do have a top-secret project in the works, but it will be a long time before anyone gets to see it. But for now here are some of the blocks I have made for others with their fabric in the bees that I am in.

The Block Swap March Block 1

The Block Swap March Block 2

The Block Swap February

Bee Pieceful February Block 1

Bee Pieceful February Block 2
March was my month to get blocks in my Bee Pieceful group. They are amazing! Check them out:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/antijamsect/galleries/72157623728515632/
I haven’t gotten blocks back from everyone yet, but the ones that I have received are beautiful. I love what they did with the fabrics I sent.
October Bee Pieceful Blocks
October 23, 2009

Poinsettia Block

Morning Star Block
I mailed these out on Monday to this month’s bee, Kim. She sent us Christmas fabric and asked for “traditional” blocks. I looked around online and settled on these two patterns, Morning Star and Poinsettia. I think I have finally gotten over my mental block about this virtual quilting bee – I think you are able to see the vast improvement I’ve made over August and September’s blocks. The seams and points all line up (almost) :). But where they don’t it is not that obvious. I like how I arranged the fabrics, and for the first time in this bee, I was happy to send these out. Hopefully I will be able to keep it up. Next month’s fabric is going to be sent soon, and she wants string piecing, something else I have not tried yet. I want to get it done as quickly as possible, so I can send it back before I move.
I am moving! I finally found a new apartment that has almost everything I wanted, and its only about 1/4 mile from where I am living now! I finally got lucky, I had almost given up because I had been looking since May. It is a duplex in a neat little neighborhood called Cottage Home, and has a really cool loft area that I am going to make my sewing room. I can’t wait to move in and get settled. Moving Day is only a few weeks away. I’m moving on Friday the 13th!
After next month’s quilt block, I only have one more project I need to get done before the move. It’s the Poky Puppy quilt my mom wanted me to make for her. I will have to post about that later.
on point
October 16, 2009
I just wanted to share this. Its one piece of a block I am doing for this month’s bee. The points match! I’m glad I am getting better at this. Lets see if this block will be the one where all the seams line up for once.
Bee Pieceful October Block
October 6, 2009
I also managed to get my block done for my virtual quilting bee. This month’s bee wanted stars, any way we wanted to do them, as long as they were stars. I decided to do a maverick star, because after the disaster of trying to do triangles in last months block (which I still feel horrible about), I thought this would be the best way for me to do something that would turn out halfway decent.

my wonky star
As you can see I still messed up matching a seam in the upper left hand corner. But it is still definitely better than my last one, so I will give myself credit for that. It’s just so hard when everyone else can do these beautiful and complex blocks, and I’m struggling in the proverbial kiddie pool. I had been watching the bees before I decided to join ones, and the blocks I saw in the pools made me feel like it was something I could do to improve my skills but within a group of people who were entry level to intermediate ability. Somehow I ended up in a group of super-quilters. I feel so bad, because even if this block is an improvement for me, and looks pretty ok, I go to add it in the pool and look at what everyone else has done…I hate being the weakest link. Maybe next time around, I’ll find a group that makes me feel less inadequate.
deer valley project
August 25, 2009

keeping blocks in order
This is the start to the wedding gift for my cousin who requested something “maroon”. I’m using the persimmon colorway of Joel Dewberry’s Deer Valley line and Oh Fransson’s mixtape quilt tutorial. I am really like how this arrangement really shows off the fabrics. I am using a neutral (not white!) sashing, and I think it really brings everything together. I’m excited to finish this top. Its outside my normal color choices, so it has been a fun challenge trying to get it all to work. I pinned the blocks up to keep them in order, and also to give me some perspective, it really helps! My “design wall” is actually just my living room wall, between the couch and my sewing area. I need a bigger place to live so my sewing stuff can have its own room!

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