The Bee experience. The good, the bad, the recap ....

I just completed the last block for the eleven member Twitter Bee and have laid my rotary cutter down with a thud of relief, but also with a feeling of accomplishment.  I started out full of great intentions of whipping off a fabulous and perfect block (maybe even two!) as soon as my fabric arrived.  By the end I was stressed and late and racked with guilt over the lateness and doubts about the quality.  It's impossible to sew with a joyful heart with those envelopes staring at you from the sidelines ...

I did enjoy opening my mailbox each month and finding the fat packet and getting a little glimpse into the life of the sender.  Although I admit sending back the completed block and wondering where it would end up was definitely better.  Stretching myself to make different blocks was a huge plus.  It's nice to try something new without having to commit to a full blown project. 

The best part is that I received thirteen beautiful and creative blocks of my own from eight fantastic quilters.  Two I never heard from although I made them blocks.  I have no hard feelings though because I have no way of knowing what the circumstances were with them. I just hope they're OK and am grateful that I've had a good year and my clan is all safe and healthy. Soon I'll have a quilt that is a lasting reminder of this great group of women.

Would I do a yearlong bee again?  Not at this point in my life.   I didn't realize how little sewing time I actually have each week until I started one extra thing.  Also spaces were reconfigured at my house over the year and I lost my dedicated sewing and fabric storage space.  Suddenly trying out complementary fabrics became an ordeal of pulling out bins, pawing through unorganized stacks and then trying to neatly fit everything back where it came from.   I had no way of anticipating this when I committed but a year can bring some pretty big changes.  I love being involved with the quilting world so an occasional swap,  shorter bees and quilt-a-longs are still a sure yes. 

All-in-all it was GREAT experience.  And I can confidently proclaim that now having completed it totally, cleaned up my last scrap pile and mailed off my final block. Whew!

This blog has been interrupted by tiny triangles

Am I crazy?!?!  I started a nice, simple quilt and whipped the top together in a matter of days (well, weeks ....  but it COULD have been days if I'd applied myself) but now I've sidetracked myself with these darn triangles.   Four corners trimmed off of thirty-eight snowball blocks = 152 two inch triangles.   Here's the crazy part ... I have absolutely no plan for them but I just can't stand to waste them.  Make a border?  Use them in the back?  Zig zags?  Pinwheels?  Spikes?  What would you do with 228 inches of tiny triangles?

You could be finished now if your maker wasn't obsessed with small triangles

I did finish the quilt that my hairdresser's mother started many years ago.  She had made all the log cabin blocks and I sewed them together, put a small border of white around the edge, pieced a back and hand quilted.  I was able to take it to it's rightful home this week and now it has completed it's journey.  It's being used by her Grandson and I couldn't be happier for them both.

Tiny, tiny triangles

With each new quilt I like to expand my skills at least a little.  I'm wondering .... do you ever get to a point where you know and can do everything?  I'd like to think that before I leave this earth I'll make one "perfect" quilt.

This picture caught my eye on pinterest and I've been going back to it repeatedly so I finally decided to make it.  I don't have a pattern but I can see that it's just nine patch and snowball blocks.  I'm embarrassed that I actually did two pages of math (plus a glass of spilled wine) to figure it out. 

After trimming the blocks I've got a nice little pile of tiny triangles.  I'm sewing and sewing in my spare moments and then anticipate trimming and trimming but hopefully will have a sweet little border someday.  The tiny half square triangles are actually taking as much time as sewing the rest of the blocks all together.

In the end I'd like to showcase a simple hand quilting design  in the blank white areas.  I'm not a fan of hearts or swirlies but all my attempts at freehanding a design look shockingly like a pentagram.  If anyone has any simple design ideas I'd appreciate a link or a picture.

Thank goodness for a snowy, snowy Sunday to have a nice excuse to stay in and sew with Downton Abbey as my background noise.  What could be better?

Another woman's quilt blocks

Last Thursday I was getting my hair cut by my long-time hairdresser Kim and I was telling her of my new found love of quilting.  She mentioned that years ago her mother was learning how to quilt when she was sick so she could make a quilt for each of her grandchildren.  She died before she finished the last one ...  for Kim's youngest son.  Recently Kim found all the finished blocks and fabric and had been wondering how she could find someone that could put them together and finish the quilt.

I am so honored to be able to sew these blocks together and complete the wishes of a woman who wanted to leave each of her grandchildren a memento of her love.  I've thought of her a lot as I've been pressing and trimming and sewing the blocks that she made with hopes of leaving a gift of comfort for her grandson. 

I'm going to add a border and hand quilt and then bind with navy blue.  I really hope I can do this quilt justice and make it as nice as she would have and that a young boy thinks of her as he snuggles with it. 

Zig Zag Value Quilt ... Well, my attempt at a value quilt

My last quilt of 2011 is completed as a birthday gift for my sister.  I used a Moda Origins layer cake and just matched light to dark for half square triangles.  Many, many layouts ensued but I settled with the classic zig zag.  You can NEVER go wrong with the zig zag.

Hand quilted with #8 Perle cotton in black and cream.  Since I learned how to trim half square triangles I have to say my points came out much pointier.  I always say that points don't matter ... but when you get a few sharp ones in a row you really want to brag a little. 

I backed it with the top sheet from my son's set.  Thanks trusty Assistant for ripping up his bottom sheet.  You and I make a great team!  

 I'm looking forward to getting my sewing area set back up and starting something new.  Better get back to scouring Pinterest for some inspiration.

Sometimes simple is so much better

I've been wracking my little brain trying to think of exciting blocks or new patterns for an adorable fat quarter bundle of Michael Miller fabric.  Finally it occurred to me that nothing at all is wrong with a simple patchwork quilt. How could it be any sweeter?

36" x 46"

Five inch squares sewn together.  Guilty glances at my Accuquilt Go Cutter that is still sealed in the box with a 5" square die.  Five inch squares are so easy to cut ... why did I pick that die??

Hand quilted with straight lines through the blocks.

 Easy and not complicated.  Just like a baby.   Now .... on to dresdens.  Come join me!

The Assistant is on the job

I'm all set to pin baste a sweet little patchwork but can't decide on my quilting lines.  Diagonals lines to make diamond shapes?  Straight lines to make squares on the squares?  I don't know just yet and can't pin until I commit to a design.   

Jada and I were discussing this and she said she was going to "sleep on it."   Alas .... no pinning for a while.