They are still arriving, my blocks from April as Queen Bee of Scrappy? Sew bee it!
First there were a set from Jess in Tasmania
Followed by a set from Deborah in California
Totally gorgeous...
And here they all are together - such a happy and international quilt...
I keep changing the layout - can you still spot yours!?
I made one more block too!
It does seem to shout a bit - think it might be the black - it may not make the quilt but it will be made into something!
A few more to arrive yet I think! Just how big is this going to be?
I joined up Ali's Textile ATC Swap!
How could I resist??
I have my partner assigned to me and while waiting to pick up children from school I tried making one...
Ok it is fairly basic - just a bit of FMQ but it only took a few minutes. It is the wrong size for the swap but I sort of like it. Seed-podish I thought. Hence the name I've given it....
Maybe for the real thing it would need further embellishment. Waiting for Ali to allow me into the Flickr group and I'll post it and see what reaction I get.
In case you want to make one - it should be 2.5" x 3.5" - a very mini quilt if you like. I think this could be addictive....forget moo cards...ATCs are the new me.
As usual I get totally distracted trying out blocks - sort of sampling how they would look in a quilt together. So here is the latest update on those pieced triangles called Arrowheads
I have added a few more in different colours for a rainbow effect but also to try out an idea I woke up with this morning!
Yes I woke up seeing stars! No-one hit me on the head (thank goodness) but I thought if I carried on with yesterday's layout this is what I would see!
It works for me!
Now I'm thinking some LV ones interspersed with rainbow ones or maybe stars of one colour or hot colour and cool colour stars !
More playing required! The quilt idea is evolving! Well I need to know what to ask for when I'm Queen Bee - I'm calling this forward planning!
If you want to see more blocks made from this book why not visit this flickr group or this bee! Have fun!
After some lovely and encouraging comments on my last post in a few idle moments I made some more pieced triangles....
I mixed them up with some plain solid ones as I cannot see me making a quilt out of these little darlings (each side is about 7.5") - I'm just not that patient!
But then I thought this would make a great border and what if I sized them up a notch for the main body of the quilt and then asked some bee mates to help me out? Either Modern Stitching Bee or Bee a Brit Stingy Bee?? Or both??
I will have to work out how to scale them up but I'm hoping my maths is up to it and if it isn't I know someone who can and has offered to help me on the maths front in the past! Shhhh! I haven't told her yet!
This pattern is called Arrowhead and can be found in brown (not so pretty) on page 18 of the Modern Blocks book compiled by Susanne Woods.
The book looks like this:
And you can get your copy here!
There is another block that caught my eye in this book - might get a chance to try that one out soon!
It seems that bees help you try different things when making blocks for others but also when trying to decide what to ask for! Have tried out at least four different options already and must decide for July and August - that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it! Anyway if they don't become quilts they can always become UFOs cushions!
Now I have finished Rhonda's second block - almost twice over !
Unfortunately this morning I forgot I needed to trim the HSTs before sewing them together! Which meant I put four rows together and then wondered why it wasn't coming out at 12.5" square! Duh!
Really I should try sewing with my brain engaged.
Lots of unpicking and trimming followed this discovery!
For some reason I am not so keen on this block anymore...
But I am glad I have finished it.
And while I was in bee block mode I knocked up an extra Road to Tennesse Block for Jan. She wants her quilt to be a bit wider but isn't sold on the idea of having a border and was quailing at the idea of making another six blocks....not surprised with 32 x 2" background squares to cut and 16 x 3.5" print squares.
I also tried out another little block from the Modern Blocks book compiled by Susanne Woods
This one is a study in value - should I be making more? Or asking bee mates to help? Not sure yet!
Now I'm ready to ponder on how to translate a Scottish castle into fabric and a few other things!
I have been busy making bee blocks. I thought it would be good to get them out of the way and sent off before the middle of the month.
I have made two blocks for Jess in the scrappy? sew bee it bee. She asked for winged square blocks using the tutorial by Amy Friend found here. The colour scheme was quite select but I was fortunate to have two FMF prints by Denyse Schmidt that fitted the bill for the central square and I am well supplied with orange, red and grey prints for the HSTs.
I went with Kona Snow for the background to show up my pale grey prints as otherwise I thought they'd disappear!
Next I have made two Pineapple blossom blocks for Catherine in the bee_a_brit_stingy bee - they were super fun and super quick using Bonnie Hunter's amended tutorial (the one using the measurements in red).
I managed to mess up the first set of bonus blocks that can be made at the same time. I was on auto pilot, it was the evening and I trimmed quite a lot off the HSTs before realising that I was trimming my blocks to the original block measurements not the larger sized block. Oh well I made one small pinwheel block from it and left the bonus blocks from the second block untrimmed - the way Catherine wants them!
Then I pushed ahead yesterday with yet another block as I seem to be on a roll! I made one of the blocks Rhonda asked for in our modernstitchingbee. We are using the Modern Blocks book compiled by Susanne Woods on and off!
Rhonda cheekily chose two different blocks from the book but I can't blame her! They are both cute and most people in the bee have chosen blocks from elsewhere.
Here is my version of Checkers (p40) designed by Monika Wintermantel. Rhonda wanted an all white background and something to represent ourselves as the centre square. I went with my Flickr icon - Little Red Riding Hood! And have embroidered my blog name as well, as requested.
I managed to represent Rhonda (owl lover supreme) in the little surrounding squares with a little owl at tree level and then a square with hoot in it!
Darn it I was going to add a brown square as Rhonda likes brown (long story) - forgot it, but hope she is pleased nonetheless!
Next I need to finish off the HST extravaganza that is the Diamond Nipples Ripples block on p47 by Lorna Finlayson .... - maybe I should sneak the brown in there! Darn - forgot again!
Sorry Rhonda - absolutely failed on the brown front but hope you still like the blocks.
Phew exhausted but happy to be up to date with these bees as sadly I am several months behind on the Star of Africa bee! Working on Eilean Donan Castle for Fiona next....then Brinda's tree and Cindy's celtic knot! Don't know why I'm sitting here still...do you?
I have been wondering just what I have done sewing-wise this past month!?
I have blogged quite a bit so I must have done something surely?
Well I certainly received some lovely blocks from two bees I am in:
from Bee mates Lucy, May, Carla, Helen, Annika, Jeanne, Tina and Veena!
My Charming Quilt now looks like this
Made using the this tutorial and with more blocks to come!
And here is what I worked on this month....
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Starting from the top left ....
for the challenge in the London Modern Quilt Guild we needed to make something to celebrate 150 years of the London Underground - Sherlock Holmes' profile can be found on the tiles at Baker Street Station....as he lives at 221B Baker Street, doesn't he?!
next up I finished the main part of my Wonky House quilt and made a little house for the border of this quilt.
I cut out lots of equilateral triangles to make a quilt - still got to stitch these - inspired by this lovely quilt by Annabella!
I tried to make my old UFO basket blocks more to my current taste by framing them in grey.
Next is a new, new project - more of that later in May!
I started some cross blocks...
Row three shows my spiderweb blocks for Sarah and Scottish dancing pumps - called ghillies (so Katy tells me) for Tina
Finally row four is all for Di - sprout blocks and a basket made in exchange for a lovely Liberty infinity scarf received way back in January ...
Phew! Not so bad after all.
But I started this past month with a finish I squeezed into my FAL Quarter 1 - in the no-man's land between the end of one quarter and the beginning of the next!
No other UFO finishes sadly so I will be very busy next month!
Linking up with Lynne at Lily's quilts for Fresh Sewing Day!
