Hive 1 - April blocks for Julia

 This was a great exercise to force my brain past normal quilt math!  You know, the usual  2 1/2 strips/blocks.  It took a minute but great use of those scraps.  Julia, hope you enjoy.

Cindy McCurdy

Hive 1 April, 2026 Colorful blocks

I loved making these blocks and it has inspired me to make my own quilt based on your idea.  What a great way to use up scraps!   Jane A. 

 

 

Hive 1 April 2026 - Colorful Squares for Julia

 

These blocks were easy and fun to make.  Julia's idea for Klimt-inspired colorwash-style quilt is great, and I can't wait to see the finished version.

Pam 

Hive 1 April Blocks- Yellow Squares for Julia

 These were so quick to make! I don't use a lot of yellows in my quilts, so there are more off-white yellows and browns here. Hopefully they'll help round out the color wash effect.

Hive 1 March Blocks- Evil Eye Block for Leah

I am really falling behind this month! I've had this one done but keep forgetting to post and mail it. I've got it in a bubble mailer ready to go out with my postman tomorrow morning. 

Super fun and easy make, thanks! 

Hive 1 April Blocks - Yellow Squares for Julia

 

Hi Julia,

These were fun making! Thank you for these 'quickies'!

They will go into the postbox this evening.

Happy sewing,

Rita

Hive 2 April Tutorial - Bagel Block for Susan

I saw a very cool quilt on Pinterest that used paper piecing to create a circular illusion type block, and looked all over to find a pattern for it.  Here's a photo:

  

Without a name of the block, I was unsuccessful in finding a pattern, so, I took the plunge and made a pattern myself. Didn't know what to call it either, so I'm calling it the "Bagel Block" although it is really more a "bagel and stars" too. Here's where you can download the pattern. The single block finishes at 9 1/2 " square and looks like this:

FABRIC: I'm thinking of this as a very scrappy quilt using as many different fabrics as you can (10 at most) if you have them. I'm looking for the contrast between the dark/bright colors and white/cream (can be solid or tone on tone, but no color accents in the white/cream background if possible, please). You can use batiks, geometric, floral, whatever you might have in your stash that is not holiday or kid thematic. When in doubt, lean toward dark and bright - so a splash of yellow, but not mostly yellow, no pastels. Here's a couple of photos of the piles of cut pieces I've been preparing so you get an idea of the colors I've got so far: 

ABOUT PAPER PIECING: If you've never done paper piecing before, you might want to check out a few other tutorials besides mine (further below). There are a number of ways to do the paper piecing, and I'm explaining it the way I know best, but you may find one of these ways makes more sense to you. The video presentation is very helpful in visualizing the process if you're new to it.

• How to Paper Piece (Carol Doak) She is a wonderful teacher, very clear and articulate, with lots of great tips.
• Paper Piecing Tutorial (Angela Walters) She goes pretty quickly through the process in a method slightly different than I describe below. Also lots of good tips!
• The Ultimate Paper Piecing Tutorial (Karen Brown) Very different way of paper piecing than I do, but she is very thorough and covers a lot of ground.
  
  
• USEFUL TOOLS: You should not need any tools you don't already have on hand. This is what you will need

• Light weight paper - the thinner, the better, but even computer printer paper will work, if that's all you can find. You need 2 sheets. You can use tracing paper, kid's newsprint paper, pages from an old phone book (remember them?!)  I've used a sheet of lined yellow paper in some of the photos to show you that works too! Your paper should fit in a printer, unless you plan to trace the pattern.
• Paper scissors so you don't ruin your fabric scissors
• Glue stick, pins, or clips to keep fabric together before you sew
• Ruler with a 1/4" guideline.  Any ruler where you have a 1/4" marking along the long edge will work.
• Thin straight edge for folding the paper pattern against - about the thickness of a credit card or index card, but long enough to extend past the edge of the paper pattern. I've used a piece of thin cardboard for the photos.
• Cutting board & rotary cutter
• Ironing surface & iron. I would recommend using a muslin or scrap fabric surface to iron on when you are pressing pieces that are sewn to the paper pattern, since some printer ink may run when the paper is heated. It wouldn't get onto your sewn pattern, as the fabric is sewn onto the unprinted side of the paper, but it might get onto your ironing board! Using a dry iron should help too.

• Each finished block requires 10 separate pieces of fabric - 4 white or light cream/ivory shades (which I will refer to as white), and 6 varied dark colors, cut as described below:

  • 2 squares in white/ivory/cream - 5.5" X 5.5"   (Piece #1)
  • 2 rectangles in white/ivory/cream - 3" X 5"   (Piece #5) 
  • 4 rectangles in dark colors - 4" X 5.5"              (Pieces #2 and #4) 
  • 2 squares in dark colors - 5" X 5"                      (Piece #3)

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  • Before beginning to sew: You will do this with both of your 5 X 5 dark squares which are labeled "Piece #3". Take one of the two 5" X 5" colored squares and mark the mid-point (at 2.5") of one side of the square. Then place that square (with right side up) on your work surface with that marked side at the bottom of the square as it faces you. Take a ruler and draw a line from that mid-point mark to the top right corner of the square. 
    
    

    

    Pin with red arrow marking 2.5" center line.
    Chalk marked line from that center point to top right corner
    
    

Cut along that line so that you have a piece that looks like the photo below. This is your Piece #3 shape. 

• 

  Piece #3 ready for sewing

  
  Repeat this process on the second 5" X 5" dark square. Now you are ready to begin the paper piecing portion!

STEP 1: Please read this tutorial portion through to the end before proceeding to the next step!

STEP 2: Download and print 2 copies of the pattern:  download the pattern here. Make sure when printing to set your printer to 100% scale. There is a one inch square outlined (toward the bottom left of the full page) you can use as a check for scaling purposes. Each page is one half the finished block, and a finished block requires both halves. The full block with both pieces sewn together should finish at 9.5" square.

Once printed, cut away the excess paper on both printed copies, making sure to leave at least 1/4" outside the dashed lines to give you ample margins before you make the final cut to the finished block edges.

Yellow sheet shows pattern after cutting away excess paper.

Take a closer look at the pattern. Each section of the pattern has a circled number and the pattern will be sewn by adding fabric pieces in the order 1-2-3-4-5. Each numbered piece also has a description, "white" or "dark", which will help you find which of the cut fabric pieces you will need. 

Also in the paper piecing pattern, notice there are some solid lines - these are your SEWING LINES. The dashed lines are place keepers to remind you that your fabric needs to extend beyond them. Your actual cutting lines in the final step will be measured a true 1/4" out from the black sewing line, but this doesn't happen until the very end.

STEP 3: Set your machine stitch to a shorter stitch length. On my machine, I have it set to "2" (which gives me a 2mm stitch length). This makes ripping out the paper simpler when the time comes.

STEP 4: Choose one of your 5.5" square WHITE pieces of fabric and lay the fabric RIGHT SIDE DOWN on your work surface. Look at  your paper piecing pattern and find the section that has the word "White" and a circled 1 in it (on the left side as you look at the printed pattern). Pin (or use a fabric glue stick) to attach the back side of the fabric to the back side of your paper pattern, aligned at both the top and the left edges of the pattern. Your fabric piece will extend beyond the pattern lines at this point. If you're using pins, flat headed pins will work best for the next couple of steps. At this step, you have one piece of fabric and the paper pattern only.

Fabric is right side down, pattern is printed side facing you.

STEP 5: Leaving your pattern as shown in the photo above, find the solid line in between piece #1 and piece #2. Take your thin straight edge (cardboard, bookmark, etc.) and lay it along the line between pieces 1 and 2. 

Laying straight edge along the line between pieces #1 and #2

Next, fold the paper pattern back along that line, exposing the white fabric underneath.  Get your ruler with the 1/4" edge line and lay the ruler line along the folded edge of your paper piecing pattern so the outside edge of the ruler extends beyond the folded back paper edge by 1/4".  When you cut along the ruler line there, you should be cutting through one thickness of fabric only, no paper at all. In the photo below, you can see the ruler lined up against the paper pattern and the cutting line on the back side of the white fabric.

Cut along your ruler line, and remove the cut scrap (which is no longer needed for this pattern).

Cut edge of Piece #1.

STEP 6: Attaching dark fabric piece #2

Take out the cardboard, and unfold the paper, then turn the whole piece over to view the right side of Piece #1. It should look like this (sorry the white on white paper is a little difficult to see, but I forgot to take this photo when I did the yellow paper photos): 

Right side of fabric up, printed side of pattern down

Now, take one of your dark rectangles (should be 4" X 5.5" piece) and lay one long edge of this piece RIGHT SIDE TOGETHER along the straight edge of the white fabric (Piece #1) that you have just cut, as in the photo below. 

Clip or pin temporarily, then turn the whole piece over so you can see the paper pattern again, and pin all 3 layers (Pieces #1 & #2 and paper pattern) together with the pattern side on top, taking care that your pins do not block the sewing line between piece #1 & #2 on the pattern. In the photo below, you can see the red-arrow pin pointing to the sewing line. I had to remove that pin before sewing, but I wanted the photo to show it. Sew down along the solid line to the other edge of the pattern piece. Snip your threads. 

Sew on the solid line between piece #1 and #2

STEP 7: After sewing piece #2 onto piece #1, take out any pins and press the seam, then open out the fabric and press it open so that you are now showing both piece #1 and #2 with right side up. 

Return to your cutting surface and place the fabric side of your paper piecing "sandwich" right side down (paper side up) as in the photo below. Look for the solid line between piece #2 and piece #3. 

Using your straight edge cardboard, fold paper back along the sewing line (between piece #2 and piece #3). Set your ruler with the 1/4" margin line running along the folded paper line  and trim Piece #2 to ¼”. (See trimming example below).

Ready to trim excess fabric from piece #2

Trim away the excess fabric, unfold the paper and turn your sandwich over to show the right side of the fabric up again. It should look something like this: 

Pieces #1 & 2 ready to attach Piece #3

STEP 8: It is time to attach Piece # 3.  Take one of the dark squares that you cut down on one side to become Piece #3, and, with right sides together, line up the longer (diagonal line) edge against the straight edge on Piece #2, as pictured below.

Piece #3 ready to be sewn onto Piece #2

Once you have the pieces aligned, clip or pin temporarily, then turn the whole piece over so  the paper pattern is facing you, and pin all 3 pieces together so that your pins do not block the sewing line between piece #2 & #3 on the pattern.  (Once again, I forgot to take a photo of this step until I had already sewn the line (blush), so don't look too closely or you'll see my stitching already!)

Ready to sew the line between Pieces #2 & #3

Sew along the solid line between pieces #2 & #3, snip threads, remove pins, press the seam, open out your fabric and press open. Your pressed piece should now resemble the photo below:

Piece #3 attached to piece #2

STEP 9: Time to trim again. Turn your sandwich so that the paper pattern is face up, and find the solid line between piece #3 and piece #4. Using your straight edge cardboard, fold the paper pattern back along the that solid line.

Fold back paper along the straight edge set
 on the line between pieces 

 #3 & #4

 Set your ruler with the 1/4" margin line running along the folded paper edge and trim Piece #3 to ¼” (photo below):

Open out the paper pattern and turn fabric side up. Your trimmed block should now look like the photo below. 

STEP 10: Now you are ready to attach piece #4. Take another one of your dark rectangles (should be 4" X 5.5" piece) and lay one long edge of this piece RIGHT SIDE TOGETHER along the straight edge of piece #3, as in the photo below. 

Right sides together, piece 4 aligned on long edge of piece 3.

Once you have the pieces aligned, once again clip or pin temporarily, then turn the whole piece over so  the paper pattern is facing you, and pin to the pattern side so that your pins do not block the sewing line between piece #3 & #4 on the pattern.  Align at your machine and sew along the solid pattern line between pieces #3 & #4

Ready to sew piece #4 to piece #3

Remove from machine, snip threads, remove pins, press the seam, open out your fabric and press open. Your pressed piece should now resemble the photo below:

STEP 11: It is time to attach the last piece to this half of the block. Using one of the 3" X 5" white rectangles (which is Piece #5), center the long edge of Piece #5 (right sides together) aligned along the remaining unsewn edge of Piece #3, as in the photo below:

Piece #5 ready to be pinned to pattern.

Once you have the pieces aligned, once again clip or pin temporarily, then turn the whole piece over so  the paper pattern is facing you, and pin all your layers together on the pattern side so that your pins do not block the sewing line between piece #3 & #5 on the pattern.  Align at your machine and sew along the solid pattern line between pieces #3 & #5.

Ready to sew on the line between Pieces #3 and #5

Once you've sewn that last line, remove from machine, snip threads, remove pins, press the seam, open out your fabric and press open. Your pressed piece should now resemble the photo below - OK, maybe it's a little ragged . . . 

But it only needs the edges trimmed, using your ruler with the 1/4" line along the SOLID line around the perimeter of the block.  YOUR FINAL CUT ON EACH SIDE SHOULD BE 1/4" OUTSIDE THE SOLID LINE ON THE PATTERN.

Ready to trim the first edge

Ready to trim edge 2

Ready to trim edge 3

All cleaned up

What a little trim can do!

And you have completed the first half of the block. Repeat the same process on the second pattern piece you printed out, and you are done! You do not need to sew the two parts together, since I will probably want to mix and match halves, depending on what fabrics people use and how they all fit together.

And, you don't have to worry about ripping out the paper- just leave the paper on when you mail your square to me. However, if you do decide to rip out the paper (for instance, if you have a problem fitting it into an envelope with the paper backing still attached) please use a basting stitch around the outside perimeter of the finished block to protect the edges from stretching.

A fully completed square would finish at 9.5" square.

Please contact me if you have any trouble downloading the pattern or have any questions about anything in the tutorial. 

Thank you so much for venturing with me into Foundation Paper Piecing. I'm hope you find this fun! 

Susan Lewis

Hive 3 April Tutorial - Double Diamond

 

Hello Stash Bee Hive 3! Welcome to your April Tutorial. We are making this 16-inch finished (16½ inch unfinished) double diamond block. I'll have you leave the two halves separate, please, as I might decide to stagger the diamonds when I put the quilt together. 

I was supposed to be your lead bee for March, but life is rather more chaotic than usual at the moment, so I'm happy to have swapped months with Joanne, who apparently has her ducks in a row. Have you seen this meme: 

Yeah, that's a pretty accurate representation of how I'm feeling right now. 

Anyway. Color palette. We're doing cool colors. Prints or solids, whatever you've got. Green, mint, teal, aqua, turquoise, blue, indigo, periwinkle, violet, lavender ... you get the idea. Please stay away from greens that lean into the yellow-green or lime territory and purples that have a lot of red (NO magenta, fuchsia, etc.). 

Accent fabric will be black solid, or a black and white or black and gray print that reads mostly black. 

CUTTING DIRECTIONS

Choose 4 fabrics from the cool color palette. From each of these 4 fabrics, cut TWO (2) 5" x 9" rectangles. (Note: if you want a little more wiggle room for trimming you could cut the length at 9.5 inches, but I found this size large enough for these blocks.)

From black or black prints, cut EIGHT (8) 1½" x 12" strips. These can be all the same. They can be all different. They can be some the same and some different. I do not care. 

Stack up ONE of each fabric from the cool tone rectangles you cut out above. Cut one stack diagonally bottom left to top right. Cut the other stack diagonally top left to bottom right. 

SEWING DIRECTIONS

Choose one fabric for the inside of a diamond, and another fabric for the outside of the a diamond. Rotate the half rectangle triangles so that the layout shows one fabric forming the inner diamond shape and one fabric forming the background. 

Place a black strip between each diamond-background pair. 

Sew a black strip to the long side of each of the half rectangle triangles that make up the background of the half-block. 

Flip each of the inner half rectangle triangles (the 4 that will make up the inner diamond) right sides together with the pieces you just sewed and line up the long edge on the other side of the black strip. Be sure the tip of this triangle does not extend beyond the base of the outer triangle or your rectangle unit will end up too short. 

Sew the long edge of each of the inner half rectangle triangles to the other side of the black strip. Press open (or to the side, whatever feels right to you). 

Trim each section to 4½" x 8½", unfinished. 

Sew four sections together to make one diamond, and one half of the 16 inch block. It's absolutely okay, and probably expected, if the pieces don't line up exactly right. This is a little bit improv-y when it comes to alignment. 

Repeat for the other half of the block, but please keep the two halves separate. I've not yet decided on final layout for this quilt!

Done! Great job!