June blocks

For Shorty's block, she gave me everything pre-cut with a very simple diagram to follow: a nine-patch with two borders. How did I manage to do this? Hmmm. I'm hoping she sends more fabric, I'd be embarrassed to send it back missing a side. And here I was, thinking this was going to be the simplest of all quilting bee blocks to make. Silly me.

Then, I made a spiderweb block for Stephanie:(Apologies for the bright pictures. It's been raining, and the flash needed to be on)
The gingham is so cute. She sent a lot of different fabric choices, and I feel like I met a stash twin-- we have a lot of the same stuff. I'm also really curious what fabric she chose for the kites because it was wonderfully heavy, but looked like a linen. Love.

And, if those weren't enough, I got Kat's blocks in the mail the other day. They're even more gorgeous than the pictures!

One quick request: if any of you are in southern California, or are familiar enough with it, can anyone recommend a good quilt shop? I'll be in and around Huntington Beach.

PTQB-- June

This block is for Michelle. Here's something different for my quiltalongs: a specifically-asked for traditional block. I went to my 2009 Quilting Block-A-Day calendar and found this pattern (twirling pinwheels, I believe). Originally I wanted the off-white in the location where the light blue fabric is, but part of the fun of a quilting bee is working with what's sent. I'm really happy with this-- I took my time to make sure my points match.I hope she likes it!

PTQB-- May

Here's Colleen's block:I had been giving myself gold stars for getting these quilting bee blocks together pretty quickly-- but then this one came along. Colleen sent beautiful fabric, and asked that we not add any of our own... and I came up embarrassingly short. Luckily, she was nice enough to send me some extra and I made a block I'm proud of.
This fabric reminded me of vacationing in Greece, and old-skool airlines. The squares within the green in the center remind me of windows on a plane, as do the large stripes and symmetry of it. I hope Colleen likes it!

Also, here are pictures of my wrap dress from "Chic and Simple Sewing". The front:The back:
Seersucker is hard to photograph. Also, ignore the wrinkles. Looking at the pictures, I'm afraid it looks a little like a hospital gown... does it? I will say I'm in love with the circle skirt, and you know I love anything that involves a bow and the waist. I'm going to make a matching blue and white one, too.

nine-patch madness

This nine-patch quilt-to-be is for my cousin Sarah. Click on the picture to enlarge it:Here are my first 31 blocks-- all from my stash! I'm surprised, too, because I feel like I don't have too many pinks, but I guess this is proving me otherwise. It's going to be very feminine and cheerful with the white sashing.

Also, here's Allison's block for May:
This went so easily, I kind of want to make a quilt out of nothing but circles. That'll be my next one, for sure.

PTQB-- April part two

Switching gears from the other quilting bee blocks I made for April, here's what I made for Erin:Erin asked for squares and rectangles, and sent lots of red and yellow prints. I made an 11" block with 31 different pieces. This will be such a cute summery quilt; the block reminds me of ketchup and mustard at a picnic.
Happy Easter, if that applies to you.
I've also been busy with the "Hug" needlepoint pillow... I'll be sure to post pictures soon, along with an account of my first visit to a LNS (local needlepoint shop).

PTQB-- April

Stephanie sent some great fabric that looks a lot like stuff I'd pick out. Tula Pink, polka dots, aqua, brown and green... clearly, a girl with good taste! She wanted a log cabin, but one that wasn't wonky. This is what I came up with:
The only fabric I added was the very outer border-- look familiar? This is a twist on a traditional courthouse steps pattern, but the widths of the fabric are different. I was very careful to keep the directional prints going the same direction, most notably the butterflies. This was much less time consuming than Chen's but I love it just the same.
Next up: Erin's block.

a hug and a kiss

As I mentioned in my previous post, I dislike needle-turn applique. I do, however, like spending time with my husband, especially crafty-productive time while watching TV. Look what I just bought from EmilyPeacockTapestry, via Etsy:This will be the perfect couch project (and yes, I splurged for both pillow patterns). These will look divine in the sweatshop. I really hope the pattern is clear, and that I can find all of the right DMC thread colors-- I think these are just about perfect and I really don't want to change anything. I can't wait!

In quilting bee news, I got the best mail ever: no bills, no junk, just envelopes full of fabric goodness from Stephanie and Erin!

March spiderwebs

Stephanie had March for both quilting bees. Here are her blocks, first for Another Quilting Bee 2:And here's the alphabet block for Pieced Together:This picture was taken before I did the cute embroidery, and unfortunately, it's already in the mail. Imagine a cute brown violin with pink accents, and a green V. I hope she likes them!

Also, here's Sara's block for Pieced Together:
Spiderwebs are such a great block for a bee, because they are pretty fool proof and won't stand out individually once you have a whole top pieced. Since I've already made two, and it's just March, I know that I won't be doing these for my month. I think people might be a little burned out by then. I think this could be a cool block if the kites were patterned, and the wings were solid (basically, opposite what's in the pictures).

For some sad news, the Flea Market Fancy was sold out. No Denyse Schmidt for me. Boo.

PTQB-- March part deux

There are two different quilts going on for March for the Pieced Together Quilting Bee. I got my fabric from Sara and she wants a 1930s spiderweb block. She sent lots of fun fabric strips to make it scrappy. This should be fun-- not only do I not work with repro fabric very often, but I've never tried these before. Lots of fellow quilty bloggers say that they've gotten kind of addicted to these, and before even cutting into the fabric, I can see why-- these are great for those last tiny little bits and pieces that I can't bear to throw away.
An update on my grandpa's scrappy quilt: I finished the quilting, and have been sewing the binding by hand while I watch TV (one of my favorite ways to spend time on the couch, actually-- with my husband, two dogs, and a quilt to bind).
I also got the new triangle block for Geese in the Forest, so I have plenty of sewing to do. I really enjoy being in the middle of projects, so this is a happy place for me.
And, because I don't like a post without a picture, here's a picture of my newest baby, delivered to me on Friday.

PTQB-- March

For the Pieced Together Quilting Bee, this is the fabric that Stephanie sent me. I took the pictures at night, and if you know me in real life, then you know that my vision is absolutely horrible (that's my apology for the bad picture). These were some interesting fabric choices-- I know that everyone got an alphabet block-- which I ADORE and have no idea where Stephanie got them-- and are supposed to construct some sort of block around the letter.I made this block last night, but I don't want to post it until I know that Stephanie has received it. Plus, I'm still going back and forth on whether or not I'm brave enough to embroider that cute V.
I'm also in the process of making the quilt sandwich for my grandpa's quilt. I've decided to keep in the true scrappy style and pieced my batting and my backing. I've pieced my batting before, and while it's probably not my first choice, it's nearly impossible to tell after it's been quilted and washed. If you've never done it before, try it once. I'm thinking about quilting it in straight lines on the diagonal, to make diamonds. Stippling with all of those tiny pieces is making me tired, and it's gotten to be a little larger than I expected. I seem to have a problem of making long, skinny quilts. I added some of Max's "macho border" to make it a little more of a realistic size. Pictures soon, I hope!

Also--thank you guys so much for all the blog love! It's just so motivating and makes me want to continue to create and write about it. I hope I don't disappoint!

swap yumminess

This was a good mail day! First, I got an email from Katie saying that she got the block I mailed for the Pieced Together Quilting Bee. She seems pleased, which makes me very happy. Here's what I made for her:
I think it looks much better if you click on it to see it full size. My favorite part is the bit of selvedge I included on the left-hand side.

That alone would've made me happy, but then I got home from work and had a package waiting for me from Heather, my spring fat quarter swap partner. I finally have my very own Katie Jump Rope! YAY. I've been loving this forever but haven't owned any. Plus, the VW bus fabric is great, too. I've enjoyed petting these fat quarters today (what, is it weird I pet fabric?) These are going to be very hard for me to cut into-- I just adore them. Even my husband said these look fancy.Weirdly enough, these coordinate nicely with my latest work-in-progress. Is everyone thinking about pink and orange these days? I thought it was just me.

2 new projects

The start of February brought about two new projects that I'll be working on, craft-wise. The first is Twiddletails' Geese in the Forest BOM and the second is See Katie Sew's Pieced Together Quilting Bee. I'm very excited about both of them. I like feeling like I'm connected to other creators around the country (world?) doing roughly the same things at roughly the same time. But at the same time, it's all my own. I think that's partly why I create.

I got my fabric for February's block, which happens to be Katie's, today in the mail. So much fun in one little envelope: Denyse Schmidt's Flea Market Fancy, which is kind of a cult hit and hard to find these days, along with some solids and some other cute ones. I adore the brown and white polka dots! Katie wants a wonky log cabin-ish block, which is right up my ally. I won't post pictures of the finished block until I know she's receieved it, because I think it's more fun that way. I'm free to add fabrics from my stash, too, and the finished block will be 12.5" square. Here's a picture of the fabric sent to me:

I bought my fabric tonight for the Geese in the Forest. I'll post pictures after I make the first block!