Stash Bee: Hive 4 November 2020 - Improvisational Low Volume Block

Greetings Hive 4

What a year! I have really appreciated the structure and creative energy Stash Bee has provided in 2020.

This year my quilting has revolved around scraps, circles and helping. I found a way to incorporate all three of these into my tutorial.

I was completely inspired by Carolyn's Stash Bee quilt that she finished a year ago. http://stashbee.blogspot.com/2019/11/finished-circle-quilt-from-stashbee-4.html

I also want to create a quilt with two elements - a low volume background upon which I will hand appliqué many circles. The background will represent the layers of community that are essential for my wellbeing. Adding the circles by hand will provide moments of calm and focus and remind me of the larger picture.

I’d like your help building the background with low volume black & white or gray scraps. Please build a block anywhere between 12.5” - 16.5” inches. It can be a square or a rectangle with untrimmed edges. You can even send me bits (explained below).

Step One - Pull your low volumes. It’s okay for these low volumes to also include small pops of color. Here’s a picture of my black and white low volumes. I wish I had even more, especially geometrics.

Step two - Spread your fabrics and scraps to see what odd bits are available.

Step three - Now you get to play. Place low volumes next to each other to see who plays well together. You can build your block by sewing together pairs that have approximately the same size on one side. Then continue to sew pairs together to keep building. Or you can build the block log cabin style if you have some lovely strips of low volumes.

When I was building my sample block, I started with seven bits. I joined the two easiest pairs first, then worked by quarter sections.

I have lots of curved pieces remaining from a huge unfinished project, so decided to incorporate some of those. You are very welcome to just use straight seams.

I've also built some rectangular units that I'll incorporate as I build the top with your contributions. You are welcome to send sets of these instead of a joined block.