the bee's knees quilting bee

One of the things I've been working on lately is some bee blocks.  I'm a part of The Bee's Knees Quilting Bee and we have a blog and everything.

I think I already posted about some of these, but I thought I would share better pictures of them along with some others that I hadn't shared yet.

Nedra sent us fabric and the pattern for Alison's Cluck Cluck Sew Spin Cycle block. I love the color combo and this pattern went together easily.

Amy E., Amy's Creative Side, sent us some gorgeous Echino and crossweaves for some log cabins.

I love the bright floral on this one.

And fussy cutting the cheetah was fun here.  I need more Echino in my life.

Amy S. sent some lovely prints and color choices!  I think you all know about my obsession with aqua/turquoise.  She asked for 12.5" or 6.5" log cabins.

I started with this 12.5" block. Love that aqua and red Flea Market Fancy.

Then I had enough scraps for this bitty 6.5 incher.  Add that to the list of things that are cute when tiny.

Here's a photo for scale.

I really love being in a bee and getting to use fabrics not in my stash and do blocks I might not otherwise do.  I've been getting a lot of my string blocks back too.  I need to get a photo of them together!

sew & tell v4.3 ~ bee block extravaganza!

I guess you could say this is the month of the bee block at my house.  I was able to get my fabrics sent out this week and have finished 3 more blocks with one more to go so I can get caught up.  Can anyone say disorganized!  It's going to feel so good to be caught up!!

I loved making this sweet block for Amy (Diary of a Quilter).  She has the best color choices, always!  I love how bright and fun it is.  I wanted to make her 2 but I didn't stretch out her prints enough and only had enough for one block.  But I love it!

I like the spontaneity of log cabins, but if you don't really plan it out a little ahead of time you might end up tearing out a round like I ended up doing so more of the blue would show once it was finished!

I also finished up two blocks for Amy (Amy's Creative Side).  These Echino prints with the crossweave solid is so fun!  I've never actually worked with any Echino and now I want to find a bunch and buy it up!

Her quilt is going to be so fun! I can't wait to see all the blocks together.

My mom is here visiting and all of our plans to get a ton of stuff done hasn't really worked out like we thought.  We have managed to take care of the littleslouwho and keep the house picked up, so there's that! She did help me get my packets mailed out.  She had never done string blocks before so she offered to sew mine up for me!  She did a fantastic job of course.

#1

#2

She discovered that the 12" scrapbook paper that I sent out was actually too thick for paper piecing.  She did the second block with a 12.5" square of newsprint and that was much easier.  I'm so excited to put these together!

So I'm planning on finishing up the last of my bee blocks today and then maybe I'll have something new to show you next week!

What did you finish this week?



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string blocks!

I mentioned that I am in another bee right?  Yes, I love bees!  I'm not the promptest bee member but I really enjoy the collaborative work!  This is my month and I decided that I wanted to have some string blocks made!

blocks I made for my first bee

I already had a bunch of fabric cut and decided that these strips would work really well.

Since I wanted to ease the workload on everyone's part I thought it would be fun to make BIG blocks instead of a bunch of tiny ones. So I asked for 12" blocks.

My favorite string block tutorial is from Film in the Fridge.  Makes it so easy.

If you want to read more about what we are doing you can check out the Bees Knees blog!

sew & tell v4.1 - bee block catch up

Hello People!!! Welcome back to the start of the 4th year (version 4) of sew & tell!  WOW.  Crazy to think we started this little share-fest that long ago! The start of the school year seems like a good time to bring us back together after a summer break.  Plus Rebecca kindly reminded me that it's time!  She's got a fun quilt to share!

I'm not going to lie, it was kind of nice taking a break from blogging for the summer.  Sometimes I think I'm over it altogether. But then I remember it's fun to take some time and some real (non Instagram) pictures of what I've been doing and document it!  Plus my mom is here for a month, YES! and I'm hoping to get some more things finished while she's here for sew-fest 2012.

As I often do, I over estimated my available time and energy to be in another bee. So last month I was able to finally get caught up on some bee blocks. I finished up these wonky stars for the last month of my Bee Tweet Bee for Frecklemama:

I love a good wonky star and I'm working on another little star quilt that hopefully I'll be able to show you soon.

Then I was asked by the lovely Amy of A Diary of a Quilter if I wanted to join a bee with some of my best blogging friends - a lot of whom I met through Sew & Tell!!  So of course I couldn't say no! And then I couldn't keep up.  So I played some catch up a few weeks ago.  The bee is called the Bee's Knees.

A Greek Cross for Sherri of A Quilting Life:

And an improv block for E. of Pinksuedeshoe:

I've still got a couple months to catch up and it's my month to send out fabric! Yikes! Got to get on that.

Can't wait to see some of your finishes!


Linky Rules.  Please follow along for a fun party!

1. Please write the post for sew & tell - or add a blurb mentioning sew & tell to a post written since the last sew & tell.  If you are linking to a post with your own tutorial, please make sure it was a finish from this week and that the completed project is shown first.

2. One linky per person. (please put multiple projects in one post.)

3. Link to your specific post.  (See here for permalink instructions - or email me.)

4. Link back here with a link or a button (HTML on my sidebar).

5. Be sure to visit and leave comments on other's posts!

Please put your (blog)name instead of your project name, it helps us get to know each other better!

sew & tell v3.29 - catching up

Hello friends! My motivation has been coming in spurts, but I was able to catch up on some bee blocks and finish up the last bit of binding on a quilt.

This block right here, I love.  These chubby Dresdens from the book Material Obsession are my favorite of all Dresdens.  Fabric is from LOVE by Amy Butler.  Finished block measures 20"

When I received these fabrics she sent a picture of a flower and asked us to be inspired by it and make something.  When I finally figured out what to do it still took me forever to actually make it up.  Why? I HAVE NO IDEA.  Somethings just keep getting pushed to the back, and I'm embarrassed that this was one of them. It's from the bee I was in before BeeTweet started last spring.  YES.  It's that late.  And it's been eating at me.  But I wanted to make good on my committment.  Luckily the person for whom I made it is very sweet and forgiving and loves it.  Whew!!

This next block is for Ali of a²(w).  She sent us this picture of a painting and said she wanted to recreate it into a quilt:

 
Isn't that a genius idea!?

It was totally free formed pieced and just grew out of picking colors and sewing and slicing!  I may need to do more like this in the future. I love the way it turned out!

And last, this quilt from another collaborative effort!  I finished the last bit of binding (it had been sitting around so close to finished!) and now is ready to go to it's new home.  Well, almost, I still need to wash it and take some clothesline photos!  Brynn chose fabrics and pieced this one.  I quilted and bound it.

I am getting into a bit of a groove with my sewing.  I have a bunch to do for next week!  Be sure to come by on Monday for my part in the NYBeauty Quilt Along!




What have you been finishing up this week?

Your turn to share ~ Show us what you've got finished!
Linky Rules.  Please follow along for a fun party!

1. Please write the post for sew & tell - or add a blurb mentioning sew & tell to a post written since the last sew & tell.  If you are linking to a post with your own tutorial, please make sure it was a finish from this week and that the completed project is shown first.

2. One linky per person. (please put multiple projects in one post.)

3. Link to your specific post.  (See here for permalink instructions - or email me.)

4. Link back here with a link or a button (HTML on my sidebar).

5. Be sure to visit and leave comments on other's posts!

Please put your (blog)name instead of your project name, it helps us get to know each other better!

sew & tell v3.23 a bee block and another {not a tutorial}

Hey friends!  I had a lot of fun feeling like a normal blogger this week and got some great feedback from my last two posts.  Thanks so much! It's so fun to read your comments and get new ideas.  I really do plan on emailing you back.  I'll get to it.  :)

I just have a quick finish for this week.  This lovely bee block for Leigh.  I am in love with every single fabric she sent.  Especially the pearl bracelets!

{not a tutorial} photo tip - how I take pictures, sometimes.
I don't pretend to be an excellent photographer, but I am trying to get better.  And learn how to use the little bit of light I do have to my advantage.  I wanted to show you something I learned about taking pictures during Vanessa's class at the Sewing Summit.

White foam board and poster board can really reflect your natural light well so that you can get a nice bright picture before you process it. So here's a zoom out of that picture up there.

The block is clothes pinned to the foam board, poster board on the table and light coming from the window to the left.  I took this picture in the late afternoon yesterday.  Zoom out again...

The room was actually kind of dark, but with that light reflecting on the white and getting up close and personal I was able to get a relatively bright picture. I didn't edit these at all post photo-taking. And didn't use a flash.  In retrospect, I probably would have lightened them up a bit more, but I wanted to just show you how a some cheap white poster board can help you take advantage of some natural light. I haven't gotten around to making an actual light box yet...


Your turn to share ~ Show us what you've got finished!
Linky Rules.  Please follow along for a fun party!

1. Please write the post for sew & tell - or add a blurb mentioning sew & tell to a post written since the last sew & tell.  If you are linking to a post with your own tutorial, please make sure it was a finish from this week and that the completed project is shown first.

2. One linky per person. (please put multiple projects in one post.)

3. Link to your specific post.  (See here for permalink instructions - or email me.)

4. Link back here with a link or a button (HTML on my sidebar).

5. Be sure to visit and leave comments on other's posts!

Please put your (blog)name instead of your project name, it helps us get to know each other better!

beetweet block catch up

Does February seem extra long to anyone else this year? 

So in my recent habit of letting things slide through the cracks I realized I hadn't blogged about my bee blocks for a while! So here's a little round up for you.

In October, Amisha asked for hexies on a solid background. She sent this really cool moda crossweave on which to put them. I really liked playing with the arrangement once I got the hexies ready to stitch down. But to be honest I procrastinated this one for quite some time. It really scared me! I only finished this a couple of weeks ago. *hangs head in shame*
I think it looks like a chemistry diagram. In a cool nerdy way.

November, Jen sent this awesome 50s/60s -ish print to use in a log cabin.  And considering my recent love affair with orange and aqua she sent me that combo for my block.  I adore polka dots!

 I just love the orange and aqua together. And the polka dots!  I said that already, didn't I?

January, Rebecca asked for some wonky houses.  This block turned out better than I expected. I've done a house block before but it's been a while.  I like doing reverse applique on house blocks because sometimes you can be a little more detailed.  Plus, it's just fun to do something different!

I was going for a stained glass look with the fabrics I picked for the windows - I think it works...

I took some pictures of the process I used to do the reverse applique, I'm hoping to put that post together soon.

Bee blocks are really a great skill builder.  It's nice to be able to focus on just a block or two and learn something new.  Hopefully, I'll be able to finish my blocks for February today!  Thank goodness for an extra day this year!

merry fall!

Well, hello there friends! I know I've been in absentia for a little too long. As has Sew & Tell. Without boring you with all the details I'll just say this. I've lost my blogging mo-jo a little bit. I'm sure you are not surprised. Things have been busy with my oldest starting real school this year, mrlouwho being gone a lot in preps for a deployment, babies at home to take care of, and still not having that sweet spot in my house for taking photos.

Plus, I know there are so many blogs out there to read, and I only want to blog about things that are fun and encouraging, so that I'm not wasting your time when you come visit.

Along these lines, dear Kim gave me a little pep talk last week, and I think we came up with a solution for bringing back weekly Sew & Tell. More details to come. THIS Friday! So get your projects and posts ready to link up.

I have been sewing quite a bit actually. It's amazing when you don't blog as much you can get a lot more things finished! I wanted to share with you today what I chose for my month of my quilt bee, BeeTweet. My month was August and I have had some Christmas prints laying around~ I actually won them in a giveaway a couple of years ago.

 I sent my group this inspiration mosaic for what I wanted. I was thinking, whimsical and Christmas (obviously).

I was late (of course) sending my fabric out and they are starting to trickle back in.  These are the 3 I've gotten so far, and I'm so excited to get the rest!

I'm thinking of a square in square type of sashing. I hope it will be as cute in my head...

See you soon!  Sew & Tell on Friday!!

of bee blocks, hurricanes, head colds, and excuses

There is a reason I wasn't going to join any more bees or swaps this year. You want to know why? I am TERRIBLE with deadlines! I can blame it on the power being out during the hurricane, getting my first child ready for kindergarten, this horrible cold I've had for a week now, or downright fear of doing blocks I've never done before. And then there's the keeping up with 3 kids and trying to keep my house clean.

Okay, those all played a part, but the real excuse? Procrastination. And I feel REALLY bad about it. So to dear Darci and John, I'm SO SORRY!!!

I've actually had these stars done for a while. I love doing them - we used this tutorial.  I love the green background she chose.  It's a bold choice and one that will work well with all of her fun bright things!

I haven't sent them off yet, because Darci and I are doing another little separate swap and I have yet to finish up my part of that. UGH. The guilt. She already sent me what she made. AND IT. IS. AMAZING. I can't wait to show it to you.

Now John (aka Quilt Dad) asked for spider web blocks. And I. Was. Scared.  But once I read the tutorial and started sewing, I realized they aren't much different from a string block.  And I love the way they turned out!!

As always, I put off starting them because I was afraid of ruining them!  Especially since he sent this gorgeous Tula Pink Flutterby fabric which is out of print.

Once these are all put together it is going to be stunning.  I can't wait to see it.

So now that school is getting in full swing, I'm at the end of this cold, and I don't think we have a hurricane hitting us this week, I might actually be able to get some more sewing done.  Let's hope so!

sew & tell - march 2011 - the bird quilt

EDITED TO ADD: I fixed it so the linkies are showing!! I'm so sorry!  I'm out of practice and just forgot to check a little box!! And I've been gone all day! Come back and link up!  :)
It's finished.  FINALLY!  And I don't think I'm going to do it justice in this post.  I learned SOOOOOOO much doing this quilt.

The biggest thing I learned was not really about quilting so much but about myself.  And I've known this somewhat already but it was totally reinforced.  I AM NOT A RISK TAKER!  If I haven't done something before I procrastinate doing ANYthing because I don't want to mess it up.  That's part of the reason this quilt has been TWO years in the making.  Really, if you added up the amount of time I spent on it, it's probably only about a really full week, not doing anything else.  If you count all the time I spent hemming and hawing over it and thinking about it, it's totally a 2 year quilt!

Some things I did for the first time on this quilt:

• Put together blocks that other people sewed.  There was some trimming and fixing to make them all the same size.
• Mitered corners for the window pane effect (that I'm not even really sure works).
• Free-motion quilting on my machine.  This is the first quilt I've ever done the whole thing on my machine.  (With the exception of a few block's I did at Kim's - who by the way, now has a BLOG!!!)

So, on the FMQ I tried a few different things.
a little stippling,

a lot of loop-de-loops,  (which I think hides more mistakes)

and I even tried my own pattern of leaves, trying to convey the birds in a tree idea.  But this design was trickier and I only did a couple like that.

There are a few things that I would do differently if I had it to do over.

• I used a varigated green Gutterman thread.  I love the thread, and I think it looks great on the back, but because of all the white in the blocks, some of the dark green REALLY shows my mistakes.
• I would scrap the shadow paned idea, since I don't think it really worked.

I do love this fabric on the back.  It's from IKEA.  I originally had a large brown bird print and bought the green for a friend.  But I HAD to go back and get this for the back because of the green, it was just too perfect.  Next time I'm near an IKEA, I'm stocking up.

Sometime last summer I took a poll on how I should bind it.  I took many of your suggestions and went with the Amy Butler Full Moon Dots in Cherry.  And I LOVE it!  And I really have learned to love hand-stitching down a binding.  And Burt's Bees Shea Hand Repair cream works just as well as beeswax or thread heaven to condition your thread.  In case you don't have the other two in the car with you but have some lotion in your purse!

There have been many times during the making of this quilt that I was so sick of thinking about it, sick of looking at it, and sick of quilting it. I told a friend yesterday I was going to stick it in a closet so I didn't have to look at it for a while. But really, I like LOVE it. Just not how long it took me to finish it.

And I do love how crinkly it is fresh out of the washer!!

My new goal: start and finish a couple quilts in a few months instead of a few years. But, oh yeah, I have another top I made 2 summers ago. I'm going to get on that.

What are you going to share with us today?

PLEASE READ THIS POST IF YOU ARE NEW TO LINKING UP!  :)

NEW RULES FOR LINKING UP!  Please read carefully.  The delete monster will be eating non-compliant links.

1. Please write the post for sew & tell - or add a blurb mentioning sew & tell to a post written since the last sew & tell.  If you are linking to a post with your own tutorial, please make sure it was a finish from this week and that the completed project is shown first.

2. One linky per person. (please put multiple projects in one post.)

3. Link to your specific post.  (See here for permalink instructions - or email me.)

4. Link back here with a link or a button.

5. Be sure to visit and leave comments on other's posts!

i miss blogging - Kim, this is for you.

I miss having the time to sit down with a picture or two and tell you all about a current project!  Making a change in my habits has helped me be more present for my life here at home, but I'm finding it hard to post as often as I used to, or would like.

I finished a really cool project for the Spicing Up the Kitchen swap I was in on Flickr.  And guess what I did?!  Took some awesome pictures and then formatted my memory card without uploading them!  AAAAHHHHHH!! I've never done that before!  At least my partner can take pictures for me.  I hadn't wanted to post them yet, because I think a couple things I sent might have given away my secret identity.  Soooooo, now I'm waiting not so patiently until she receives the package and then I can tell you all about it.

My friend Sara of Sew Sweetness started a Heather Ross quilt-along that I promised to be a part of.  A lot of people are already finished (like Sara, productive-queen) and I have yet to start.  Next week.  Maybe, or the week after. And if you don't follow her blog yet, you should.  She's amazing.  She just started blogging a few months ago and has so many cool projects and great pattern reviews.  Really, go check her out.

I also started a non-sewing project with a group of friends that is helping me get back into the groove of taking pictures (not on auto) and I'll be able to share more about that soon.  That is if you are even interested!

Here's two more quilt blocks I finished (late) for last year's bee.

And remember that post I wanted to write about what I learned while I took a break (2 months ago!), yep, haven't done that either.

The upside?  I am getting more sleep, I've started working out, and the sun is shining more! YAY!

Oh and I FINALLY got around to making one of these cake plates.

ask me about how I didn't know the leprechauns were coming and then we made a trap and didn't catch them but they left these nice cupcakes because they had already given out all their gold.  yep, mom of the year, right here.

Actually two.  I *heart* them so much!

Seriously so easy.  Candlestick holder (thrifted) + cute plate from Marshall's + gorilla glue.  Total cost? approx. 5$

and this little crumbsnatcher will be 1 next month!! REALLY? Where has the time gone?

I love her happy face.  She is a such a joy and has won us all over, without question.  And can you believe that sweater?  We rescued it from certain neglect at a thrift store before she was born.  Hand crocheted and never worn. We love it.

Oh yes! And then there's the amazing antique store I went to selling all things distressed in white, turquoise and green!  AMAZING.  I need to tell you about that too.

Soon.  I promise.  And next week?  I'll show you some progress on my HR quilt (because I haven't started yet and need someone to keep me honest).  And maybe we should have a sew & tell in March!  I almost forgot!

Thanks Kim, for chatting today and telling me you missed my posts.  Hope this one tides you over.