May Block for Debbie

I really enjoyed making this block - I think it will make a super cute quilt when it's all finished!

It's on it's way to you - should be there soon! 

May 2018 Circle of Friends Block for Liz

With my mother’s unexpected passing earlier this month, it was hard for me to sew, but I get such comfort from it, that I thought I’d better start again sooner rather than later.  Liz, this was a nice block for me because weddings represent new beginnings, and that’s what life is...repeated beginnings and endings.  My prayer for your niece and her partner is as much love, adventure and happiness as I witnessed in my parents’ marriage.  Hope I’m not too late—they are being mailed tomorrow.

Hive 1

Hi all, Rose here. It took a while to get these out to Heather. I am sure she has them by now. I just never got around to posting the picture. It was a great block I love it. I made 2 because they were late. Sorry. Enjoy.

Hive 1

Finally done with this block for Liz. It was a challenge. I made it and realized that it was too small, so I had to take it completely  apart and resew it. I think it is a great block and will make a lovely quilt, but, I never want to make another. 

I haven't been sewing lately and I was not paying attention to the quarter inch seam. A little out of practice.  With all the seams in this block that does make a big difference. 

It is done and will be on its way by Tuesday. 

Enjoy the holiday weekend. 

Rose

May Hive 4 Block

Debbie, this was a fun block to make...I chose a sunny yellow to brighten things up for you!

It'll be in the mail to you tomorrow!

Meredith

Playing Catch Up

Well, I finally did it, I caught up on all my bees!  These blocks were posted on IG and received.
I struggled a bit with color choices for the piano keys and had a bit of unhappiness with matching paper pieced blocks to non-paper pieced blocks.  Overall, I think the queens are pleased.

Circle of Friends for Liz

This is a beautiful square in a lovely color scheme. Pressing seams open is my least favorite thing to do, but I have to agree that it was completely necessary for this pattern. I will put it in the mail Monday.

Hive 1 May block for Liz

This was a fun block to piece. . . .the colors Liz asked for are lovely together.

Looking forward to seeing what the finished quilt looks like with all the blocks together.

I will be mailing this out on Saturday. . . the first day I can get to the post office.

Have a lovely day.

In peace & pieces,

Sherry V.

Hive 4 April blocks for Amanda

Made some extras for Amanda's April block.  I made one of each of the 4 blocks from the tutorial. Will get them in the mail tomorrow.

-Gayle

Hive 4 May block for Debbie

Almost halfway there....

Here's May's block for Debbie.  I'd never done this block before and that is what I love most about Stash Bee...Discovering new blocks!

It will be fun to see the variety of colors that show up.   Its in the mail today!!!

Hive 4 block for Debbie

Hi all!  Here is Debbie's block for May.  I chose to use the gray for the middle.  I hope you like it! 

Happy sewing!

~Carolyn

Hive 4 blocks for March and April

I'm  a bit behind on posting my blocks from March and April so here they are for hive 4.

Here is Meredith's block for March.  This is a great block and I can't wait to see what layout she chooses.  

Here is the block for Amanda for April.  This was a great scrappy block and I bet will be awesome when put together. 

I'm all caught up now from my move.  Happy sewing all!
~Carolyn

Hive 1 Block For Liz

The block Liz asked for (she is Queen this month you know) turned out absolutely stunning.  I loved her color choices also.  The block is finished and will soon be on it's way.

Hive 4 fences for Debbie

I just love this little block. So easy to sew.  Enjoy Debbie. I will get them in the mail tomorrow.

Hive 4 - May

This block went together so quickly!  Usually I spend about two nights of on-and-off sewing working on a block, but this one was finished in one night.  I think the quilt will look great!

Circle of Friends Block for Liz - Hive 1

As much as I'm not a fan of trimming HSTs, I love all the amazing blocks you can create with them and this one is no exception. Liz is making a wedding quilt out of these blocks and it's going to make a beautiful gift.

I hope you like it, Liz!

~ Diana @ Red Delicious Life

Hive 1 May Circle of Friends for Liz

Dear Liz,
I enjoyed making this block again (I made it as part of the Sewcial Bee Sampler).  I do like to press my seams open as I find the block finishes much flatter.  This green fabric is one of my favorites and I have only a little left in my stash.  I was glad to use some of it for your block.
Best wishes,
Kathie L in Allentown

Hive 1 May Circle of Friends

I finished this today.  (Sorry the pic is so b.a.d.)  Hope the green is not too dark--it's the lightest I had ... Love the look of this and can't wait to see all your blocks from both years together!  It's headed your way as of tomorrow.

Circle of Friends block for Liz

Once again, colours I would not have thought to put together.  My hivemates certainly keep expanding my horizons!  I really like the "minty feel" of the pate green and grey.

I used the "Magic 8" method for making the HST units.  I had never done it before.  As I am a trim-it-down kinda girl, I used 7" squares to start with.  This is the pile of trimmings after making all 32 units.

Liz asked that we press our seams open.  I had a hard time getting my intersections to line up, and I had a lot of bottom seam allowances flip over, so... there may have been a wee bit of cursing and a whole lot of unsewing going on in my basement today.  It all worked out, though.  Yay!

I hope you'll share a picture of Anne & Kristen's quilt once it's complete.

~Kathy

Hive Crash for Sue

I have become really fond of blocks that look like things so I was really excited to see Sue's toadstool block this month.  I had never seen a toadstool bock before!  I had a red floral print that I thought would look great; I hope Sue agrees!  I'm also a big fan of novelty prints, so I used some of my "novelty neutrals" in the block as well.  I'm sure Tilly will love her quilt!

Emily, Hive 6

Hive 4 - Amandas April Block

The last day of the month, but I am happy to report that Amanda's block was put in the mail yesterday.   Was a fun block to make.

Hive 5 May 2018 Tutorial: Star Block Choose Your Own Adventure

My name is Julia and I’m a librarian living in the Boston area. This month’s block is a bit of a choose your own adventure. I love star blocks and the night sky. I’ve planned various star quilts but can never decide on what block to use. So, inspired by T's post last year I’m asking my hive to choose a star block they want to make. I’m including links to some of my favorites but feel free to make any star block that you love.
I’m thinking of a twilight quilt. My fabric pull/palette is a deep blue background and yellows for the star. You can make the block scrappy, use fabric with metallic accents, use solids, use multiple prints, low volume or high contrast. Whatever inspires you.


Any size block is fine with me. In terms of how many to send, it depends on the size.


Make one if your block 10" or larger


Make two if your block is 6"-8"


Make four if your block is 5" or smaller






Here is my fabric pull







Here are a few of my favorite star block tutorials

• Thought and Found created a quilt-a-long called Oh My Stars that has tutorials for a variety of star blocks.
• Here is a ribbon star block tutorial by Becky of Patchwork Posse
• This tutorial is for a 12.5" wonky star block. Created by Victoria Gertenbach of Silly Boo Dilly and is based on Gwen Marston's liberated star.
• A tutorial by Lynn Carson Harris for little star blocks based on the tutorial above
• Cath Hall of Wombat Quilts has created an array of beautiful paper pieced star blocks that are available to download from her site.
• This is a great way to make a LeMoyne Star from Natalia Bonner & Kathleen Whiting's blog Piece N Quilt.
• This tutorial by Bec of Chasing Cottons makes a friendship star with a cute fussy cut center
• This tutorial will give you a block with one or two wonky stars. It's created by Dominique of Running Thimble.

Hive 1 May 2018 Tutorial - Circle of Friends

Hive 1 - Circle of Friends
Happy Spring to my Hive 1 friends!

My name is Liz and I live in northern New Jersey. I'm a school nurse and work at a school for students with special needs. This is my sixth year there, and it gave me a whole new perspective on life and made me realize just how lucky I am!

This is the post for the block that I used in my hive last year. I'd like to make Anne and Kristen's quilt larger, so I'm asking for your help. Please let me know if you have any questions, and thanks again for pitching in!

Liz

PS. Maureen and Sharon are currently doing a second QAL  -  Community Sampler. Check it out - https://www.sharonhollanddesigns.com/sew-along/ 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Happy September everyone!

I’m very excited to have you all help me make a quilt for my niece and her wife! I had made them an Ohio Star quilt before I knew they planned to get married. When I make a wedding quilt, I try to make one with intertwining circles. I told them I would make another quilt with circles.

I’ve been following Sharon Holland and Maureen Cracknell’s Sewcial Bee Samplers sew-along and when I saw Sharon’s block #19, I thought it would be a great block for Anne and Kristen’s quilt. I have contacted Sharon Holland and she has graciously given me permission to use her block!

Here’s the link to the sew-along https://www.sharonhollanddesigns.com/sew-along/

If you scroll through and click on block 19, you’ll open the pdf for Circle of Friends.

I would like to make the block bigger-15x15 finished, so all HSTs and center square should be cut to 3” so they finish at 2 ½” in the block.

For my block, I would like the following colors – Fabric A-pale green, Fabric B-grey, and Fabric C-pale yellow. The colors were Anne and Kristen’s request, placement was my idea!

These are my two sample blocks:

For the one the top block, I decided to make HST the traditional way-cut 16 squares each of grey and green to 3 ¾”, marked diagonal from corner to corner, right sides together and sew ¼” on either side of line. Trim to 3” squares.

For the bottom block, I decided to use Sharon’s method—this was my first time doing HSTs this way. Cut 4 squares each of grey and green at 6 ¾” and follow her directions. I did trim these to 3” after cutting although they were very very close to 3”. There’s much less waste with Sharon’s method as you from this picture! You decide which method you want to use.

For this block, please don’t use a scant 1/4”-I did on the top block and it ended up at 16” rather than at 15½”. Also, please press the seams open. On the top, I pressed to the dark and some of the seams were very bulky—came out much better on the bottom! I’ll end up taking the right block apart and re-sewing. No need to trim your blocks-I’ll take care of that when I get them all.

Please contact me if you have any questions.

I look forward to putting all the blocks together and gifting it to Anne and Kristen! Thank you so much in advance!
Liz

Hive 7 May Tutorial

Hi everyone!  This month I'm asking Hive 7 to make the Wanta Fanta block from Blossom Heart Quilts' The Bee Hive patterns, designed by Janice from Better off Thread.  I had chosen this for a bee I was in last year, and I love the blocks I received so much that I'd like more so I can make a bigger quilt!  I'm aiming for 25 blocks in total, and I have 12 so far.  I considered making the rest myself, but I'm hoping everyone else's fabric stashes can help me achieve a scrappier black and white look!

I've chosen blacks and very dark grays for the “background”, and whites and off-whites for fabrics A, B, C, and D.   I’d ask that your choices mostly read black and white, and that other colors are kept to a minimum if possible.  Please also avoid lighter grays and anything that reads more cream or gray than white.  

This block involves a little bit of paper piecing but it goes pretty quickly (and the instructions in the link above are great!).  You'll need two copies of the template page; when printing, make sure the test square measures 1".  It may require some adjustments to your printer settings to get it right, but if the printing size is off the block will finish at the wrong size.  

I can’t wait to see what you make!  Feel free to email me or message me on Instagram if you have any questions.  The photo below shows a selection of my other blocks together for more fabric selection inspiration.

-Alicia (@qvilt)

Hive 6 May block tutorial - M-Cat block.

Hi gang!! I have recently been really into making quilts for Project Linus, Ronald McDonald house,  etc. So I would ask you all to help me make one for a little person please.

I made this block in about 30 minutes tops, I actually made 2 at the same time as it is easier to sew 2 blocks so I am honestly requesting for you each to make 2 blocks as if I asked for 4 it would end up being a request for an 18 inch block and that exceeds our maximum block size so if you could make 2, that would be completely awesome!!

I am asking for fabrics in yellows, golds, rusty colors. I guess when I thought about it, a certain cat came to mind. Do any of you remember the yellow cat named "Morris the Cat" from the Friskies Cat food commercials? So I am requesting your version of Morris the cat. We actually had a beautiful cat like that named Milo who went to kitty heaven not too long ago. He ended up diabetic the last year of his life and I said I would never give insulin shots to a cat, but  I lied. We all loved Milo so much and he was like my 4th child as my kids grew up with him. So this is the M-Cat quilt.

So for the cat body, yellows, golds, rusts... Anything that makes you think of Morris and Milo.
For the back ground any low volume fabric would work just fine. You can also use a light solid as well, but I do prefer the low volume.

This pattern is geared to using a layer cake fabric (10 x 10) so if you have some left over layer cake sized pieces, please use them.

For the cats you need 2 - 10 inch square fabric pieces.
For the background you can get the background for both cats with 1 - 10 inch square block.

Cutting for the Cat:1 -
place 2-10 inch squares on top of each other and cut in half. you will have 2 - 5x10 inch pieces.
From one 5x10 cut off 1/2 inch and you will have 1- 5 x 9.5 piece for each cat. From other 5 x 10 inch piece cut 1 - 3 x 5 inch rectangle and 2 - 2.5 inch squares.

 From the background square again cut it in half resulting in 2 -5x10 inch pieces. Stack them on top of each other and cut 1 - 5 inch square, 1 - 2.5 x 5 inch rectangle and 1 - 2.5 inch square.

You will have a total of 3 - 2.5 inch squares. 2 cat and 1 background fabric. Draw a diagonal line on the back of each small square.

Next take the 2.5 x 5 inch background square and line them up as if to make a flying geese block and sew on the diagonal lines. Trim the seam allowance.

Now take the background 2.5 inch square and choose which way you would like your cats to face, and line it up and place on one corner of the solid 5 x 9.5 background, trim and press away from the center of the blocks and you will have these. 

Now it's simple block assembly time. Take the cat ears and sew them to the 3 x 5 inch cat piece to make the cat head. 

Then take the 5 inch solid piece and sew the head to the background again being aware where your cattail is so as to sew the background to where the white triangle is on your cat body. 

We're almost done! super simple, right? Easier to do then it is to write this tutorial! :) 

Next take the cat head and sew it on to the body, again the white corner lining up with the background fabric. 

And now, tada!! You did it! Here are the 2 that I made stacking my fabrics when I cut. Super simple and quick. Thank you for helping me to bring joy to little people! 

Any questions, please let me know. Thank you again and I truly appreciate your efforts! 

Hive 3 May Tutorial - Scrappy String Block

Hi,

Gayle here and this is my third year in Stash Bee and for this month I would like a scrappy string block. I would like to make a quilt similar to the one on the cover of Today's Quilter magazine issue 31. I contacted the designer Carolyn Forster and she granted me written permission to share this block. 
http://www.todaysquilter.com/magazine/issue31/

This is very scrappy so go through your scrap baskets. For color choices, you will need some low volumes, whites, off whites, prints or solids for the center strips. For other strips mostly light mediums to mediums with an occasional dark or bright in any colors (except black or browns and no juveniles please).

To start you will need to make a paper pattern. If you don't have a large enough piece of paper you might need to tape two pieces of copy paper together. Cut a 9 1/4 inch square and cut diagonally once to make the triangle. The base of the triangle should be 13 1/4 inches. You will NOT be sewing to the paper, it is just used as a guide and for the final trimming of the triangles.

Cut all strips between 1 1/4 to 2 1/4 inches wide. The center low volume needs to be at least 7 1/2 inches tall. The block can have a bit of a wonky look, so the center strip can be cut at a slight angle. And see below when trimming block.

Sew strips together using the paper triangle as a guide to make sure each colored strip is tall enough to allow for trimming later. Each strip can be slightly shorter as you add to the edges and I found if you have any half square triangle pieces lying around, they work well for the outermost strips. Iron both sides away from the center strip. It usually takes 4 or 5 colored strips on each side to cover the paper.

Lay paper guide over the strips and cut an even straight cut along the bottom. Then lay your ruler over the two angles and trim to the paper piece. For more wonkiness the tip of the paper triangle can be offset from the center of the white strip like shown below (or centered if you like). You will need to make 4 of these triangles.

 

At this point you can send me the four triangles not sewn together or sew two together like below and then sew these pairs together to make the final block. Please be careful sewing these edges as they will be on the bias.

The block will be 12 1/2 inches (12 inch finished). I think this is an easy block and gets you to use up small scraps, so have fun.  Here are some blocks I have already made.

If you have any questions, please contact me. Looking forward to see what you all make.
Thank you - Gayle