Hive 6 August Tutorial - Keepin' It Cool!

Squares Can Be Cool!

Hi All! Tori Here!  (short for Victoria)  I hope everyone is enjoying their summer (and Winter in Australia)!!  I can't believe its already my turn as Queen Bee....Yeah!   I live in Camden Maine (Mid-Coast).  We currently have tons of tourists visiting us.  It's the busiest time of the year.  The nice thing is as you walk down the streets you realize there are people from all over the world visiting your little town and it makes me appreciate what I usually take for granted.  

Because August is a busy month with summer winding down, and the temperatures tend to get pretty hot (here in the states), I'm opting for an easy block for everyone.  In fact I did a dozen blocks in under an hour.  I could have done even more, but I had to finish up my blocks and projects before I go away on vacation the first week of August...woohoo... drinks and a pool!!!

So I've chosen the Square in Square block.  I'd like if you could make a block of 4  6.5" squares, not sewn together.  My color palette is brights/jewel tone/rainbow tone on tone or solids for the center ( batiks should be fine) and light to medium grays for the corners.   I'd ask that you not to sew the squares together but to keep them separate so that I can have fun creating a cool design with all of them when we're done.  

 A sample of my color palette:

 my corners:

Many people know how to make this block, but I've linked a great tutorial for you:

http://www.generations-quilt-patterns.com/square-in-a-square-quilt-block.html

And here is how I did mine....

cut 1- 6.5" center color block and 4 - 3.5" background squares for each block

Trace a diagonal line on the reverse side of all the gray squares and place two on opposite corners and sew on the line.

Trim 1/4" from the sewn line

Press corners open

Repeat with remaining two corners

TA DA!!!!

And Here are my blocks!

I'd love it if you could include a square of solid fabric with your name and state/country you're from written in the center so that I can do something cool on the back of my quilt.  No smaller than 4 1/2" please.... if you have questions, don't hesitate to e-mail..... hellokitkat04843 at gmail dot com

And last but not least...my question of the month.... This November I will be attending my first retreat.  I'm heading to Ann Arbor Michigan for Glamp Stitchalot put on by Pink Castle Fabrics.  There will be some great teachers and a lot of inspiring quilters from around the world.  We're creating a medallion quilt.  So my question is a two part one...1.  Have you ever been to or are you planning to go to a retreat and 2. If you've been to a retreat, what are some tips for making it a great experience.

Enjoy and Thank You in Advance!