Hive 9 May

Hi everyone, Grace here. I'm posting while waiting for the ferry home from the South Island of New Zealand. I suddenly remembered that I hadn't posted on here yet.

Here is my block for Angela, I hope you like it. 

We have just moved into a house that we are renovating and I'm really itching to set up a sewing room. I want it to have a wide bench and cutting table, as well as a design wall. The third thing I'm planning is to have a wooden floor so that its easy to sweep away threads and bits of fabric! But first comes wallpaper stripping and painting and rewallpapering etc.. Will keep you posted on how it goes! 

Hive 9 - May Block for Angela

Hello, all! It's your friendly, neighborhood last-minute poster here! Hehehehe... I have to admit this is only the second paper piecing project I have attempted and I abandoned the other one last fall as it was clear I would never finish more than one block of the quilt before Christmas! Twenty YouTube "How to Paper Piece" videos later, I had a block :) And only had to rip out one row of stitches ;)

    This block also told me that I am a "matcher"... the longest part of this block for me was choosing the right fabrics! I kept picking pretty ones and then I would put them next to each other and the colors were nearly identical! Whoops! Background fabric is very old Kaffe Fasset and then there is a variety of different prints from Anna Marie Horner (Florigraphy) to a batik (I pre-washed, don't worry!) I might attempt a few more of these, once I got the hang of paper piecing this block was pretty fun!

My creative space is the open main room of our basement so I have to share my space with the whole family, and my space reflects that :)

In my space there is:

1) Television! Honestly, I don't ever watch TV, we don't even have cable. But there is something about having a documentary (the BBC nature ones are my favorites but I'll take a good crime drama too) on that I am not really paying attention to but I can occasionally glance up at is the way I have always crafted the best. My mom used to listen to the radio so I think I learned it from her... it just seems too lonely to sew in silence :(

2) Toys and tiny chairs... Though I generally sew while my kiddos are napping, every once in awhile in a pinch I have to bring them downstairs and entertain them while I sew. Of course, all two toddlers want to do is touch the sharp rotary cutter and the sizzling iron, so I have to get creative with what I have them play with. The eternal favorite is dumping out and sorting my button jar <3

The infamous button jar...

3) A cup of coffee... this one is simple. It just ain't quilting if there ain't coffee! ;P

View from my back deck of Pikes Peak, 14,114ft straight up!

Gotta Love Colorado! 

Hive 3 May Block

Oh I was cutting it close with this one but am so glad to have made this today!  There is something about a churn dash block that is so satisfying and making 4 small ones into one block makes a really great bee block.  Thanks Jennifer for a great block choice!

Our question this month was where we sew.  I sew at the kitchen table but have pretty much taken up a permanent residence at one end, tv and kettle for a cuppa and a biscuit at the other!  Some day when I can figure out how to get G out of the man cave that was meant to be our study/office, I'll have my own craft room! Some day...

Hive 8 - Catch Up!

Sometimes life gets in the way.......

For Melodee (April), I had so much guilt I made four blocks.

I think these blocks reflect how I've been feeling lately - a bit out of control.

And the answer to her question - I FMQ on my home machine - love the walking foot and straight lines!

For Willa (May), I managed to get this out on time.

This block was quick and easy.  I was glad to find a variety of fabrics for her. I'm definitely making this block again.

As for her questions -  I love flowers!  I'm thrilled to receive any type, anytime and in any container.

Looking forward to my next challenge,

RobinSue

Hive 4 May block

Hi, it's Laura and I am almost late posting even though the block was mailed this week.  We are in the middle of renovations to our house. Barb said she likes Amy Butler and I was able to pull from my ("keep me sane while the house is upside down project")  to make her blocks.

I make my quilts to be used and loved, there is no greater compliment than to have family wrapped in something that I made.  White is my go-to background and stains are just reminders of memories in the making.

 

Hive 4 May block

Hi, Kathy here from iamacraftykat - May block for Barb!

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To answer the question - I tend to make quilts to be used - though I am doing my first show quilt at the moment! I am not a big fan of white, I tend to go with greys more. I guess it depends on the fabric and the look you are trying to achieve!

Hive 9 June Block Tutorial

Hi, Jacki here – in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. My husband of 30+ years and I just moved down here from Northern Virginia. I’m still a little ‘grumpy cat’ about the move, but as soon as I’ve got my studio set the way I want, and my yard under control this will be a great place to live. I’ve already found the local fabric shops, and there are some great ones.  When everything seemed to be falling to pieces I'd run to a quilt shop. Just touching the fabrics helped restore balance. (lol) If you downloaded the address list at the beginning of the year please double check the address you have for me. I updated my info in February, so the Google doc is currently correct, but if you saved it to your computer before then your copy might be out of date.

      This month I’d like you to make a black and white block with a twist, using one black-on-white fabric and one white-on-black fabric. If you have them I would prefer geometrics and other fabrics that read modern rather than florals. Here are a handful I pulled from my stash. If you don’t have any, let me know and I’ll send some right out to you.

        The block I’ve picked is one of Jenny Doan’s Disappearing Pinwheel series with a simple size change to make your measuring easier. I’d like you to use 10½ inch squares. The block we are making is the Disappearing Pinwheel 3, a friendship star with an Illinois roads as the secondary block.  The fabrics should give a modern spin to this traditional block, and I have an avian inspired setting in mind for the finished piece.

You can check out Jenny’s tutorial here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrOasfMpyXo - then come back and we’ll walk through the steps using real numbers.

Caution: Near the end of the tutorial the quilt hanging behind Jenny changes to a different block.  

Step 1

Cut two  10 ½ inch squares. Place them right sides together, and sew around all four sides using a scant ¼ inch seam.

Step 2

Cut the sewn fabric diagonally in both directions. Iron the pieces open (press to the dark, or with open seams), arrange in a pinwheel and sew the pieces together.

• Jenny zips through the rest of the steps without mentioning that from here on out every edge is a bias edge. Just go slowly, use your sizing liberally and don’t pull the fabric too much. It all works beautifully if you are gentle. <Insert Zen gong here?>

 For my purposes when you arrange your pinwheel it does not matter which direction the blades are spinning.

Step 3

Your assembled pinwheel block is a little larger than 13 ½ inches. Square it off to exactly 13 ½ inches. Please do not skip this step, it makes all the difference in next step.

Step 4

Now we cut the squared pinwheel into a nine-patch. Each piece will be a 4 ½ inch square.

Because you’ve squared the block you can measure in from each side. Or, if you are unsure about the square-ness of your block, make your cuts 2¼ inches in each direction from the center line (math mavens instantly saw how that measurement worked, the rest of us just take it on faith, lol)

• In her tutorial Jenny makes two cuts, rotates the fabric and slashes away boldly producing perfect squares. Being more timid, I first cut the pinwheel into 3 strips (4 ½ by 13 ½) and then worked with each strip separately to cut the 4 ½ inch squares.

Step 5

Now comes the fun part.

The friendship star may be black or white. The flat (vertical?) side of the top point may be on the left or the right.

Keeping the center piece in the center, follow the pictures and/or check back with Jenny (at 6:10) and rearrange the outer pieces to make your friendship star.

Arrange the star first, then add the corner blocks. Notice how the corner blocks create a frame around the star. Also, the corner block next to the flat side of the point is parallel to that flat side.

Now, for this month’s question.

This month the question is less about sharing facts and more about expressing personality. Look at my concept below. The working name for the quilt is Friendship in Flight. My question is this: are the blocks landing, taking off, or just milling about? Tell us why, feeling free to be analytical, or Zen in your answer. Oh, and don’t take the question too seriously, we’re not analyzing anyone.  I’ll add my answer at the end of the month to avoid undue influence. LOL. I hope you have fun with this block. JackiB