Just one more block

Last month it was my turn to be Queen Bee in the Siblings Together Quilting Bee and I asked for Merry-Go-Round blocks, which I had found in a collection of old quilting blocks. The original blocks were made from templates, but, as I am sure my Bee mates were pleased to find, I updated the instructions to facilitate rotary cutting!

I requested low-volume fabrics for the background of the block, the rest of the block was up to them, although I did make a plea for avoiding girly pinks :)

And here are the blocks my wonderful Bee mates have sent. Aren't they lovely?

As you can see there is one block missing, which is because whilst all of my Bee mates made two blocks each, I have only managed to make one so far. It is easy to see what's next on my to-do list!

This month's Queen Bee in the Siblings Together Quilting Bee is Carol, who has asked for Wonky Log Cabin blocks. I took my fabric scrap bags to the last meeting of my Quilt Group intending to get these blocks done and dusted there. However, as is the norm at the group, there was too much talking and not enough paying attention as I found when I discovered that I had added the log cabin strips in the wrong order halfway through both to the blocks I had worked on!

 So, I have just one more block to make this month and my Bee commitments will have been met, how hard can that be??

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First Bee blocks of the year

New Year, new blocks. The request for blocks in the Siblings Together Quilt Bee was for 4 x 10.5" blocks in gender neutral colours and prints. The blocks were pieced from 2.5" strips and for two of them the strips were enclosed by off-white border strips.

Here are my first two blocks,

and here are the second.

These were really quick to put together, as ever it took longer to select the fabric than it did to make the block :)

Before making these Bee blocks, I thought that I had better try out the new machine so rustled up another Scrappy Trip Around the World block to add to my almost quilt sized collection.

I reckon another 4 blocks should do it!

The Queen Bee in the Fat Stash Brit Bee has been ominously silent this month, so for now I have my January Bee commitments done and dusted and we are only just into double figures in the month, perhaps 2015 will be the year I finally get organised after all :) Then again, I doubt it!

Speaking of organised, check back on January 18th for the first post in this year's Christmas Link Party

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Confessions of a (bad) Bee

One of the joys of blogging for me is to connect with like-minded individuals around the world and having the opportunity to take part in online Bees is an added bonus. The first Bee that I signed up for, in my early days of blogging, was the Star of Africa Bee set up by May. The Bee was inspired by a board game and included quilters from all the corners of the globe. At the time the Bee was set up I was living in Latvia so was very glad of the chance to spend time with other quilters even if it was only virtual.

The blocks requested by my fellow Bee members were always challenging as I strived to represent themes such as home for Sana or a postcard for Leanne so as the Bee went on the timescales definitely slipped. Eventually though I had only one block left to make to complete my Bee commitment. Irene in Guatemala asked for a block on the theme of music, and this is what I finally came up with for her.

When I was very young (a very long time ago!) one of my great-uncles played the accordion and no family gathering was complete without at least one or two tunes from the old squeezebox. so that is what I ultimately decided to depict in my block.

As for the confession of the title, well I am thoroughly ashamed to admit that this block is one year, that's right one year late! My guilt is assuaged a little by the fact that I am still waiting for several blocks from the Bee and it was my turn to receive them nearly 18 months ago! Most of that time I have to say was taken up with actually trying to decide what to make for the theme, the actual making itself once I had decided upon the accordion didn't take that long.

So, I am wondering what is the longest time period that you have waited to receive or send a Bee block? I am hoping that I am not the only one who is this tardy, but perhaps I am. When do you decide to cut your losses and give up on receiving a block or swap? In my first ever swap I never received the swap despite being promised not once but twice that a swap angel would be stepping in to replace my negligent swap partner. It certainly made me more wary of swaps ever since.

I cannot claim to be entirely innocent of negligence though. I totally misread the instructions for the Siblings Together Quilt Bee ,that I joined this summer, and discovered too late that I was supposed to be making 4 blocks for Jo in June to kick off the new Bee year. As Jo wanted to take the finished quilt top to the Fat Quarterly Retreat in July and I was in France without access to the block instructions (or any suitable fabric!) the quilt top was completed thanks to extra blocks from Jo without any input from me.

Thankfully, not all of my Bee activity has been so shameful this last month.  I have completed my first ever granny square block for Hannah in the Fat Stash Brit Bee,

As well as this Liberty Cat block to add to her quilt for her cat-loving friend.

Then in a burst of Bee activity I finished Ashleigh's blocks for August in the same Bee.

Ashleigh sent us the panel in the centre of the block and some matching fabric and asked us to make up blocks from them. So I added a border of 2.5" squares around the panel, mixing in fabrics from my stash.

Then as I had managed to get a bit carried away with cutting the 2.5" squares I was able to make a second block to pop in the post with the first.

Although I mucked up entirely the first month of the Siblings Together Quilt Bee in June, I have managed to redeem myself a bit by completing the Snowball blocks for July in time for Jane

And the log cabin block for Sue for August, so fingers crossed that I will manage to keep to the timetable from here on in!

Now I feel a lot better for getting those confessions off of my chest :)

The Last Blocks

It seems like a very long time ago I joined my first ever Bee, the Sunday Morning Quilts Bee where we were making blocks based upon the book of the same name. In Round 1 we made rainbow coloured slabs.

 To my shame this is as far as my Round 1 blocks have progressed!

In Round 2, each Bee member was asked to pick a quilt from the book to which her fellow Bee members would contribute blocks.

 

These are the blocks that I received when I was a Queen Bee in May.

This month is the last month of Round 2 and as our August Queen Bees went AWOL, the Queen Bees for September were able to get ahead of themselves and post their requests early. 

A couple of weeks ago I sent off these blocks for Jennifer's Up, up and away Quilt, which left only two blocks to be completed for Denise.

Denise asked for 2 x 10.5" blocks in low-volume fabrics for the quilt which the book was named after.  I am never quite sure if I have hit the mark with low-volume requests, so I am keeping my fingers crossed that these fit the bill.

And these are the last blocks for this Bee.

It has been fun being part of the Bee and I have certainly tried blocks and fabric combinations that I would never have otherwise tried. If I can get the last of the Star of Africa Bee blocks done and dusted, which is a much taller order (!), I might even make some progress with those Round 1 blocks :)

Linking up to

A low-fat quilt diet!

Working on my Bee blocks has fallen by the wayside recently but as we are now in a new month it is time to get to grips with a whole new set of challenges.

Fortunately February in the Star of Africa  Bee is my turn to receive rather than send so that means I am only 1 month behind still. As ever with the Star of Africa blocks the difficulty is getting what is in my head into a block but I have a plan, which I hope to share you with you soon!

The blocks for the Sunday Morning Quilts Bee , however, are at first glance much more straightforward. In theory, the blocks should all be pieced from my stash but in practice that is not quite so easy. This month I was asked to make a slab block for the Missing U quilt from the book in cream fabrics. Patently I am not a cream person as I had next to no cream fabrics in my stash. My fridge would tell a different story! Fortunately I now live within easy distance of a Quilt Shop, so one quick trip and several pounds later (because those bargains will always come in handy!) and I now had cream fabric :)

Which meant that I could make this

The second block request for the Bee didn't involve any shopping at all as I was asked to make an entirely scrappy block for the Scrapper's Delight quilt from the book. In some ways it was harder to put together as with the cream block there was no agonising over whether the placement is right or the values evenly spread, but maybe that is just me overthinking it!

Two very different blocks, which is I guess part of the fun of being in a Bee!

With these blocks completed and my package for the Modern Scrappy Bits Swap in the post

This is what my WIP list looks like now

• In Color Order HST BOM - Top Completed
• (Almost) Irish Chain quilt basted
• Tsatime quilt pieced, backed and basted COMPLETED
• 5 blocks of NY Beauty QAL completed and fabric cut for remaining 5 blocks
• 14 blocks of Craftsy BOM completed (way behind schedule) 
• Sunday Morning Quilt Bee blocks received
• Sunday Morning Quilt2 Bee blocks sent (on schedule)
• Star of Africa Bee blocks completed and sent (1 month behind schedule now!)
• Friendship Bag Swap - Bag made ready to be filled COMPLETED
• Modern Scrappy Bits Swap 3rd Round COMPLETED
• Triple Zip A Long pouch  COMPLETED
• Curved Seams Challenge signed up COMPLETED
• And And Sew On BOM - first block completed (one block behind schedule)
• Just my Type paper-pieced block  COMPLETED
• Everything but the Kitchen Sink SAL - 2nd block designed ready to be sewn

One of these days I am going to get around to that Craftsy BOM quilt!

Linking up to

  and

Beeing happy and winning!

Well you certainly carry around a strange assortment of items in your handbags ladies! With the amount of cash found at the bottom of bags I think many of you need new purses and wallets as well as a new bag :)

Mr Random Number Generator has done his stuff and the winner of the Sew Sweetness pattern pack is

True Random Number Generator Min: Max: Result: 44

Powered by RANDOM.ORG

LindseyAnne22 February 2013 17:25

I love the bag. I once discovered the partially chewed leg of a Barbie doll in my bag when out for the evening. I think the dog rather than a daughter had done the chewing but I'm not certain.

LindseyAnne I will be in touch!

There has been lots of inspiring and fun link ups in this months

The link up will remain open for a few more days yet, so if you have tried something new this month link it up and inspire us!

There hasn't been much in the way of sewing done this weekend as a crucial rugby game in Edinburgh was in the schedule! Ireland v Scotland is always a tense game in our household with both sides equally represented in the family.  This year instead of shivering on the terraces though I was snuggly settled in front of this in Edinburgh.

A much cheerier outlook than 30 muddy men! It turns out too that the champagne was well deserved. For a change the Scottish side of the family were the happier at the end of the afternoon. and that wasn't just due to the champagne and cakes!

Another shot of cakes to whet your appetite :)

A pleasant surprise arrived in the post yesterday.

The October blocks from the SMQ Bee, which means I now have the full set!

These will, hopefully, now become one of my finishes this quarter in the FAL.

Fingers crossed.

So this is what my WIP list looks like now

• In Color Order HST BOM - Top Completed
• (Almost) Irish Chain quilt basted
• Tsatime quilt pieced, backed and basted COMPLETED
• 5 blocks of NY Beauty QAL completed and fabric cut for remaining 5 blocks
• 14 blocks of Craftsy BOM completed (way behind schedule) 
• Sunday Morning Quilt Bee blocks all received
• Sunday Morning Quilt2 Bee blocks sent (on schedule)
• Star of Africa Bee blocks completed and sent (1 month behind schedule now!)
• Friendship Bag Swap - Bag made ready to be filled COMPLETED
• Modern Scrappy Bits Swap 3rd Round Bag made ready to be filled
• Triple Zip A Long pouch  COMPLETED
• Curved Seams Challenge signed up COMPLETED
• And And Sew On BOM - first block completed
• Just my Type paper-pieced block  COMPLETED
• Everything but the Kitchen Sink SAL - 2nd block designed ready to be sewn

Linking up to

Mine's a triple!

This week I have been a bit of a bag lady, in the nicest possible way of course.

I signed up for the Triple Zip A Long at a Quilter's Table, which kicked off last week. As my zip order arrived on the first day of the ZAL I had no excuses not to tackle my first ever Triple Zip pouch.

The last step for the pouch really had me puzzled, but a quick look at the discussions in the 3ZAL Flickr group where an alternative for the last step was posted and hey presto! a Triple-Zip pouch. I have already cut out the fabric to make two more of them!

There are over 70 pouches posted to the group already so it is definitely worth checking them out if you haven't already seen them. There are some brilliant combinations of fabrics and zips. Patti's  mixed-up zips will have you looking at your zip stash in a whole new way!

In my quest to keep ahead of things and not be frantically trying to complete projects just before the deadline I have been trying my hand at a quilted Friendship Bag for the Friendship Bag Swap I signed up for recently too. The bag is quilted before being made up so I took the chance to try out quilt marking with a Hera marker for the first time. The marking itself was fine but I had some difficulty seeing the marks under the glare of the light on the sewing machine. I wonder if it is time to finally admit that maybe glasses are called for!

The instructions for the Friendship Bag are available here

It was a joy to put together and I am really looking forward to seeing what my swap partner has come up with for me.

Speaking of partners my blocks for November for the SMQ Bee finally arrived a couple of days ago despite the best efforts of the US and UK postal system! The first time they were sent they were returned to sender but they managed to make their way through unscathed this time. Now all I need are the blocks from October, and they are apparently due to be sent out soon, and I will have the full set.

 

The voting is now open for Rikka's Curved Seams Challenge, which turned out to be more of a challenge than I had anticipated. You can check out the challenge entries here (Pam's curved seams dress is just lovely!) and maybe cast a vote or two whilst you are there ;)

Linking up to Fabric Tuesday and Sew Cute Tuesday

Snow Progress

Now if this isn't the perfect weather to stay indoors and snow I don't know what is!

So that is what I did :)

I have added the sashing to my In Color Order HST BOM quilt, but for reasons which are obvious from the photo I haven't ventured outside with it for a photo.

I did though venture outside (very briefly!) to take a photo of the strip I pieced for one of the February blocks in the SMQ2 Bee. That's right, February, I am going to be so ahead of myself next month I won't know what to do.

Jessica asked for strips of 40 2.5" squares, alternate white and print, to go towards the Checkerboard quilt that she plans to make from the book. So, I set too and cut out 20 white and 20 print squares.

Then I convinced myself that I had mis-read the instructions and that what she wanted was 40 white and 40 print squares, so I kept on cutting and sewing.

And sewing! To end up with this. Needless to say I had been right the first time, so instead of 1 strip, Jessica will get 2. I am just glad that it was such an easy block to do and next time I will read the instructions several times.

The other block for February is for Kimmie, who asked for slabs of green in various sizes plus two charm squares in red, magenta or purple to make the Leaves and Vines quilt from the book. Thankfully, even I couldn't get the instructions wrong this time.

As I am now so ahead of myself, I have joined two swaps - The Friendship Bag Swap and the next round of the Modern Scrappy Bits Swap and I may just have signed up for the Triple Zip-Along too!

I would hate to be bored if this weather is going to be around for a while :)


Linking up to BOM's away and the Let's Get Acquainted Link Up

Being a busy Bee

Although I am only in 2 Bees, there has been a bit of a backlog in the block making thanks to all the festive sewing. So, this week the mission has been to crack the outstanding Bee blocks. That is easier said than done for the Star of Africa Bee blocks, as they require a big input of imagination, which has been in short supply around here recently.

For November Janine asked for a butterfly block and was even good enough to provide us with templates for the block. So, in theory, it should have been fairly simple to put together. The imagination part came in though with the "local" flavour needed for the butterfly wings. Flag stripes were suggested, but as I am not the only Scot in the Bee that was a non-starter, and as I am no longer living in Latvia I couldn't cheat and use their colours instead. I am, though the only Bee member living in the North of England so that is where I started my search for local flavour.

For December, Sana asked Bee members to make a block that says "home" to them. Well, although I have not lived in Scotland for many years I would still talk about going home when I am going there. On our many trips North of the Border taking our youngest son back to University in Edinburgh the "Welcome to Scotland" sign at the border always makes me feel a little bit emotional, so that was a thought for the block. The sound of bagpipes has the same effect but I dismissed a bagpipe block fairly quickly! In the end I decided that home was where our sons grew up and where they would definitely call home - the North East of England.

So the blocks I ended up with represent North and South of the River Tyne.

Magpie Butterfly block for Rainbow Hare

In Newcastle upon Tyne (North of the River) the only colour to be is Black and White! The local football team are known as the Magpies and the support is fervent. The stadium is next to the Town Centre and on match days the town is a sea of black and white before and after the game. Recently the team's performance has been less than stellar, but the support is still as fanatical.

Janine asked us to include our name, date and other details on the body of the butterfly so to reflect all of the different aspects I brought to this Bee the block has a phrase in Scottish Gaelic, Latvian and Geordie!

Several years ago the very imaginative Gateshead Council (South of the Tyne) commissioned an art installation by the renowned sculptor Anthony Gormley which was to become the Angel of the North.




Public opinion was very definitely divided when the sculpture was first erected, but I have to admit that I have loved it from the outset. It is positioned right next to the A1, the main road South, so is easily visible. Our most recent trips home from Latvia generally involved a flight from Riga to Stansted Airport then a car trip up the A1 to home. When the Angel came into view I knew I was nearly home :)

Angel of the North block for Sana

So this is my version of the Angel of the North for Sana. The metalwork is made by sandwiching a pleat of dark brown between strips of rust cotton. I thought I had worked out all the angles but patently not! Still, I think it is recognisable as the Angel so I hope it adds a bit of North East flavour to Sana's quilt.

I have also been stitching up some little pouches as an antidote to all the brain power required for the Bee blocks.

Sometimes quick and simple is just what I need :) How about you?

Before ending this post I must thank everyone who voted for my Celtic Applique scarf in Rikka's Ring your Neck challenge, I was awarded bragging rights for joint 2nd with Linda from Desert Designs. A well deserved first place went to Marisa's amazing water-soluble fabric scarf. Rikka's next challenge is Curved Seams if you are looking for something new to try this month! Check out the details here

Have a great weekend.

Buttons, Blocks and Bows

On my recent visit North I managed to have a rummage around in my mum's button box. There were buttons in there that had belonged to her mum. So with a bit of encouragement on my part I "acquired" some of them to add to my own button stash :)

They came in very handy when I had a go at making some Origami Fabric Flower brooches from Knotted Cotton. I was lucky enough to be the recipient of a kit for three flower brooches from the lovely Catherine, but they were so quick to make that I whipped up another one in no time.

If you are looking for a really quick, last-minute make these definitely fit the bill. You can find Knotted Cotton's tutorial here.

This month sees the final blocks of the Sunday Morning Quilts Bee and this month's colour is pink. I discovered that pink is not a colour that features heavily in either my stash or scraps, so all I can say is thank goodness for fabric swaps!

This was the first Bee I ever joined and it seems like ages since I nervously put together my first blocks, although it was only 6 months. Round 2 kicks off next month when we are making blocks for specific quilts from the book. As my book is still somewhere in storage I will need to get a move on and find the box soon.

The first Bee request for Round 2 is for low-value fabrics, which I have discovered I do not possess, so some fabric shopping will be called for in the New Year sales!

In the meantime I am planning to get some last-minute sewing done before my son comes home and reclaims his room :)

Hope you are all having a relaxed run-up to the Big Day, or if not that you are at least enjoying some festive spirit!