Janaury Quilting Bee

Dear fellow bee members:

I'm very excited for January being my month in the bee.  I had a lot of fun designing this quilt - and I thought I"d share the process with you!  So here we go :

I want to do a valentine's quilt that is inspired by the colors: red/pink and gray.  So I went to a LQS near my parent's house in NJ and pulled fabrics. (This was so much more fun than buying fabric online).

Then, I had to come up w/a  design.  I don't have any fancy quilt designing software - so when it comes time to design a quilt I have to go the old fashion way: paper and pencil.  I usually draw somethings up in paint, so I can print off a couple templates.  But the majority of it is done w/markers, pencils, crayons, etc.  

Here is a picture of the final design I chose: 

And then some research on flickr led me to this quilt.  I liked the variability in the block colors.  

So, I'm keeping my design and color palate and will end up w/blocks that look something like: 

Included in everyone's packet is: 

1 large rectangle of fabric

4 strips of contrasting color fabric

4, 8x8" paper pieces

assignment: X or O

It requires the sewer to make 4 paper pieced blocks and then assemble them into 1 larger quilt block in the shape of an X or an O.  I drew the lines on only 1 of the paper squares.  So you will need to add the lines to the remaining 3 blocks to complete the pattern.  The center lines are drawn 1" away from each corner.  Does that make sense?? I hope so.

This block is pretty easy to make.  I know paper piecing sounds scary to some folks, but really this block doesn't even really require it.  Think of this as more of a string block w/only 1 string down the center.  I chose to paper piece these blocks because I thought it was the easiest way for me to make my blocks equal ensuring that the letters lined up nicely.  Plus it made it easier in sharing directions w/you guys.  

If you aren't familiar w/paper piecing, here is a tutorial I used when I was first learning: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJM6QJbBgE0&feature=fvwrel

A few notes on the paper pieces I included: 

1. I did not include numbers.  Since there are only 3 sections, you can just sew in a line (triange -> strip, then add 2nd triangle).  Please let me know if anyone has any questions - I can post more pictures if needed. 

2. I didn't draw seam allowance lines.  Just sew 1/4" seam allowance to assemble the 4 blocks.

3. I didn't include a TON of extra fabric - so be mindful when placing your fabric and paper.  You can "test" it out before you sew to help make sure all corners will be covered w/fabric. 

4. REMEMBER - turn down your stitch length to ~1.4-1.8ish - this way it will help perforate the paper, making it easy to rip off in the end, w/o ripping your stitches.

That's it!  Please don't hesitate to ask questions here or on Flickr!  Happy sewing!!

Sewing updates! =)

I feel like I've been cutting a lot and sewing a little . . . but here are some pictures of my most recent projects.  I'm linking up the Quiltstory - check out the button on my sidebar over there to the right!

1. Summer Quilt - - LOTS of cutting, not that much sewing - but hopefully soon!

I think I'm getting the hang of HST (half square triangles)

This a random assortment of fabric lines - - this is only a sneak peak - I'm keeping the final idea a secret - but let me just say - I think it will be awesome!

2. Sew-2-Speak's April block for April! =)

my first attempt @ applique!

  

3. New Wave Quilt - WIP - If you are Nicole - stop reading now!!

That's the hubby holding the quilt - keep in mind he is 6'5"

This is going to be a wedding present for my friend, Nicole.  She is getting married in 2 weeks ... and I'm pretty sure (~95% positive) she doesn't know about my blog - she loves to go on picnics and she appreciates homemade - and she doesn't have a picnic blanket.  So I thought this would be a perfect wedding present.  **If you want to make this - check out the tutorial from Oh Fransson here.  I used the suggested the fat cats ruler.

And that's what I've been working on in the sewing world.  Thanks for reading!

PS: here is a link up to the amazing quilt that Erin made from all of our blocks from the March 12 Month Quilting Bee - - I'm impressed w/not only how amazing the quilt turned out, but how fast she got this done!!!  Here is the post about my block.

My First Month of Quilting Bees - DONE! =)

Have I mentioned that I joined some online quilting bees?? Hm, I can't remember.

Well - in case I haven't, here's the low down - - I joined 2 quilting bees - each 12 months long.  They are both "virtual bees" meaning that we all sew on our own (in our own parts of the country) on a montly joint project.  Each month someone is the "Queen Bee".  The Queen Bee is in charge of picking the pattern and fabric for the month.  She will send out fabric and directions to each of the bee members at the beginning of the month.  Once the bee members have finished making their quilt block(s) they will mail them back.  Then the queen bee has 12ish beautiful blocks made by her fellow bee members to sew together to make a quilt!  There are 12 members and 12 months - so everyone gets 1 month to be in charge.  I joined 2 of these - "Sew 2 Speak" and "12 Month Quilting Bee".  I found both of these on Flickr.

Soo - anyway - now that I caught you up to speed - here are the blocks I made ..... 

The gray and green one above is a wonky log cabin block (tutorial by Quilt Dad) made for the 12 Month Quilting Bee.  Without a real pattern, this quilt lends itself to lots of room for creativity and freedom.  not to mention the fabric is so fun!  This was made w/Ty Pennington's Impressions line - one of my many coveted fabrics.  so of course I was v. excited to get to make something w/it.

These pink and yellow quilt blocks were made for Sew 2 Speak.  These will be added w/other blocks to make a "pink lemonade" quilt.  There are all different yellow and pink combinations.  I think this quilt will be so fun when it is done.  I would never have thought to put yellow and pink together - but I think it really works!  I can't wait to see this finished quilt! 

All-in-all this was a lot of fun!  I am eagerly waiting for April's quilt packets to come out!!  But alas, there are still 15 days left ... I'll just have to be patient.

Stay tuned for updates on my most recent completed project - the Central Park Quilt!

So many exciting things =)

1. It's officially a snow day from work - which means LOTS of time to quilt! Hmm - to start a new quilt or work on one of my WIP's .... I'll let you know what I decided.

2. I have joined 2 quilting bees and the first person has sent out her fabric!!! You can find a picture of it here on her flickr page. It's one of the ty pennington lines - which is on my fabric wish list! =) =) =)

I love snow days!