Thank you for this nice tutorial👍 I went for pinks. I hope this works out with what you have in mind!
Will be crossing the Atlantic in the next few days.
Take care,
Marie
Sunday, February 2, 2025
Hive 1 February X Stripe for Rita
Hive 1 Piano Keys for Leah
Hive 1, February block: X Stripe Block for Rita
Rita,
I have completed my block. This was fun to make. The picture looks like the colors are not all blue, but they are.
Jai
Saturday, February 1, 2025
Hive 1: Piano Keys for Leah
I love Leah's choice of asking for two colours that are next to each other in the rainbow. When they are all together it will have a cool rainbow ombre effect.
I jumped at the chance to use up scraps in my scrap pile, and made three blocks for Leah.
Blue and purple; Purple and red; Red and orange.
~Alanna
Hive 6- February Tutorial: Nautical nine-patch for Kieren
Happy February! I hope 2025 is treating you well so far. This is my second year participating in Stash Bee and my first year as a co-leader. I’ve barely made a start on my blocks from last year, and I wanted to finish it before March... I don't think that's happening 🤦
For this month, we’ll be working on a simple block with only 2 colours. Last year I made a quilt as a present for my friends who got married, but I made 12 blocks too many! The 12 blocks were a bit too small for a quilt by themselves so they’ve sat around waiting for me to get up the motivation to make another few blocks to go with them. Then I thought, why not get you all to do it?
So, onto the instructions:
Colours:
This is inspired by bleak British beaches, so you’ll need up to 4 “sand” fabrics and up to 5 “ocean” fabrics. For sand, creams and beiges are ideal, but very light browns and greys might work too. For ocean, think navy, unsaturated blues, maybe a mid-to-dark grey. If they have nautical elements like boats and fish, even better!
This photo from September 2023 is enough to make me feel patriotic.
This was mostly made using Janet Clare’s “to the ocean” collection if you want to use that for inspiration.
If you can’t find 4/5 fabrics that work for each colour, a little repetition is fine.
Cutting instructions:
- Sand: 4 squares 5.5”
- Ocean: 4 rectangles 3.5”x5.5” and 1 square 3.5”
Piecing instructions:
Lay out your fabrics in a configuration you like. Piece together the rows going across first.
Then forget about your configuration, press any way that you feel like, and sew together the 3 rows.
And you’re done! Your block should finish at 13.5” square.
This is a super simple block, hopefully it’ll help you recover after Josie’s 😉 Thanks for your help! Not sure what I’ll do with the finished quilt, but I can burn that bridge when I get to it.
Hive 5 February Tutorial - "Sixteen"
Happy February Hive 5!
I love participating in Stash Bee. The connections and inspiration are a bright spot every month. My hive last year had many “choose your own adventure” tutorials. It was great fun and allowed so much creativity. I hope my new hive will enjoy this approach (and maybe even consider it as an option for their tutorials).
Karan Bolan created a collaborative quilt last year that she called “Sixteen.” You can see her quilt and read the story here. Notice the variety of colors and scale! There are a few that contain a different amount of blocks, and I love that variation too!
This year, I’d like to create a collaborative version with you. You get to PLAY and make your own decisions. This should be super easy and quick.
Fabric
You get to make all the color decisions and decide the size (small, medium, large).
Please choose two solids. (If you don’t have solids, find fabrics that read as solid from a distance.) It’s the contrast that will make your block sing, so please choose two colors with medium to high contrast.
Here are a few ways you can play with colors:
- You can pull two colors that you like sitting next to each other from your stash or your scrap bin.
- You can pull your color wheel and have fun making pairs using complementary colors.
- You can find a cool pairing by just looking for pieces that are about the same length in your stash or scrap bin.
- You can choose a light and dark in the same color family.
Whichever you choose, please save a 2” x 5” piece of the lighter of the two fabrics for a label. (label directions below)
Construction
There are two approaches to block construction.
- Use strips of the same width.
- Or use strips of different widths (creates visual interest).
Think of these width measurements as guidelines for three different sizes of blocks.
- minimum of 1.25” wide strips for a small block
- 2” - 2.75” wide strips for a medium block
- 3”-4” wide strips for a large block
I used slightly differently widths for each strip when constructing my sample.
You can even make a block with more than 16. Sometimes the fabric lets you create variations. Let the fabric tell you what to do.
Cut two strips approximately the same length.
Sew the two strips together and press towards the dark.
Fold the two strip unit in half and cut along fold (fold is shown below the rotary cutter). Since none of these blocks need to have distinct final measurements, use every bit that you are able.
Lay out the units so that the colors are alternating and sew those two together, continuing to press towards the dark.
Fold that unit in half and cut on the fold again.
Fold the remaining two units in half and cut. You will now have four repeating units of four strips with four blocks each.
Place them in an alternating sequence and sew together.
Do Not Square Up! I want wonky . . .
Label
I finally figured out a way to remember who created which block. Please use that 2” x 5” piece of the lighter of the two fabrics in your block to write your name and city. Leave .5” perimeter to allow for the seam allowances. I think I’ll have just as much fun assembling the labels on the back as I’ll have assembling the front.
If you create more than one (which I do not expect no matter the size), please send a label for each block.
These are blocks that I’ve created so far. There’s not a lot of color variety at this point, which is why I will appreciate the colors from your stash. I’ve enjoyed experimenting and had fun adding two flying geese to one of the blocks and creating one that contained 32 squares.
These can be addictive.
Thank you very much for contributing to my quilt. Message me if you have any questions.
With much gratitude,
Cathleen
@KitchKouture
Hive 2 February Tutorial: The Blues
This is my third year participating in an annual declutter challenge by Just Get It Done Quilts, which requires sometime in managing Mount Scrapmore. While gathering all of my scraps from all nooks and crannies in my sewing studio, it was obvious that I have worked with a lot of blues over the years. I saw a very simple block on Pinterest, which I thought would make a lovely quilt using one color, and based on what I have on hand, that color is blue. Please feel free to use all shades using any prints, but please steer away from teals. The neutrals should be any off-whites or creams. The above is a sample of some of my blues and the following is a sample of my neutrals.
Cut nine strips from various blues 2.5” inches by 7” inches. Then subcut each strip to make a matching set of one 2-1/2” inch square and a 4.5” x 2.5” inch rectangle.
Cut 9 neutral 2.5” inch x 2.5” inch squares.
Lay out the blocks in rows. Sew three rows and then join the rows together. You should end up with a 12.5” inch x 12.5” inch block.
Hive 4 February Tutorial: Big Bear Paw for Em
Hello Stash Bee friends! I'm Em, you can find me online at www.instagram.com/moonlightsewing.
I have participated in Stash Bee since ... the beginning (?) ... I think (?). And now, I have a long enough streak going that even if I'm not sure I can fit another project on my plate, I am sure to make space for this one. I love this bee because it gives me the opportunity to interact with quilters I wouldn't otherwise have the opportunity to meet. I love that I get the chance to try out techniques, blocks, or color combinations in just a block or two that I might not pick for myself.
I like big blocks and I cannot lie. This is a big block. The individual sections are 9-inches, finished (9.5 inches, unfinished) and the sashing both between the 4 "paws" and around the blocks will be 1.5 inches, finished (2 inches, unfinished), including that wee little 1.5-inch quarter square triangle in the middle of the block. Cute, right? Anyway, since this block is outside of the 16-inch parameters for Stash Bee, I'll ask you just to make two of the four paws that make up each block.
The color theme I've chosen was used in a traveling quilt that I worked on this past year, and I loved it so much that I decided to adopt it for my Stash Bee blocks. I tried a sample block where each paw was one color, and one where the colors are mixed together, and decided I liked the single color paws best.
COLOR THEME
Bear Paws:
**Bright Pink
**Peach/Coral/Orange
**Golden yellow/mustard (reads mustard yellow not mustard brown)
**Teal
Background:
Black prints: white on black, gray on black, or black on black on black.
A bit of the colors of the block are okay as well, as long as the fabric reads black.
Note: If you have scraps, go ahead and use as many different fabrics as you'd like. Stash Bee rules say I can't require more than 10, so I'm not saying every fabric must be different. No need to buy new fabric for this. Duplicates are okay.
CUTTING DIRECTIONS
From each of 2 bear paw colors:
(2) 4 inch squares
(4) 3.5 inch squares
From the background:
(4) 4 inch squares
(2) 3.5 inch squares
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: The cutting directions above are for the Stash Bee group. I'm going to include alternate cutting directions to make the full 4-paw block below in case someone reading this tutorial in the future wishes to make the whole block.
From each of 4 bear paw colors:
(2) 4 inch squares (for HSTs)
(4) 3.5 inch squares (for bear paw 4-patch)
(1) 2.75 inch square (for center QST. Trim to 2-inches. Will make 4 QSTs - use others in additional blocks)
From the background:
(8) 4 inch squares (for HSTs)
(4) 3.5 inch squares (for corner background pieces)
(4) 2 inch x 9.5 inch rectangles (for sashing between paws)
CONSTRUCTION DIRECTIONS
1. Make half square triangles (HSTs).
Match each 4 inch bear paw square with a 4 inch background square, right sides together.
Draw a diagonal line from corner to corner.
Sew ¼ inch away from the line on both sides.
Cut the HST apart on the line. Trim the corners. Press the HST open. Trim to 3.5 inches.
2. Use the (4) 3.5 inch bear paw color squares to make a 4-patch.
3. Arrange the HSTs so the bear paw colors touch the 4-patch and point toward the corner.
Please arrange so the same prints are not touching one another.
4. Sew the block together.
Note: Since I am not asking for the whole block because of size constraints, I would love an extra 2-inch strip or two of your black print to add some variety to the sashing between paws and between blocks. Thanks!!
Friday, January 31, 2025
Hive 3 February tutorial: Sawtooth Star Block for Nina
Hello, Hive 3! I'm working on a queen sized quilt for my granddaughter and she has requested pink and purple. I'm going to throw a little aqua and white in there, too :)
I've chosen 16" finished Sawtooth Star Blocks, which I will alternate with 8" blocks. Here's my concept mockup:
And here's my original inspiration - a quilt largely based on Ruby Star Society fabric and aesthetic (although that's not required at all!)
Compose each block with three contrasting fabrics:
FABRIC A: 8.5" centre square -- can be patterned, possibly fussy cut, but doesn't have to be. This 11 year old girl loves cute things, especially cute animals, so if you have a cute fabric that works generally with the colour scheme, have at it!
FABRIC B: Background -- solid or something that reads like solid. All the same fabric. Can be a colour, doesn't have to be white or off white.
FABRIC C: Star points -- solid or something that reads mostly like solid. All the same fabric.
You can make the points of the star in two ways: 4 at a time flying geese, or 2 at a time HSTs.
CUTTING AND CONSTRUCTION INFORMATION TWO WAYS
16" Sawtooth Block with Flying Geese
Cut one 8.5" square from Fabric A for centre.
Cut four 4.5" squares from Fabric B for corners.
Cut one 9.5" square from Fabric B for flying geese
Cut four 5.5" squares from Fabric C for background of geese (which become the star points)
Making four at a time flying geese: https://www.modernlymorgan.com/four-at-a-time-flying-geese-tutorial/?srsltid=AfmBOoo2xY61raNsBot5t9Wdpn9JT6HLO9uVovfIIwtqV688y0RElQ2X-- these units will measure 4.5" x 8.5" trimmed, before they're sewn into the quilt.
16" Sawtooth Block with HSTs
Cut one 8.5" square from Fabric A for centre.
Cut four 4.5" squares from Fabric B (background) for corners.
Cut four 5.5" squares from Fabric B (HSTs)
Cut four 5.5" squares fro Fabric C for star points (HSTs)
Make two at a time HSTs with the 5.5" blocks, pairing fabrics B and C. Trim each unit to 4.5"
 |
| Sawtooth Block made with HSTs |
After you've put the block together you can trim them to 16.5" or, if you don't have a large enough ruler, don't worry about it, and I'll trim it!
Thank you so much for contributing to this quilt!
Hive 1, February Tutorial: X Stripe Block for Rita
Hello Fellow-Bees!
I hope you’ll have as much fun sewing this block, as I had designing it.
I call this block ‘X Stripe Block’ and it's finished size is 11” x 14” –
with seam allowances: 11 ½” x 14 ½”.
Now, you are probably wondering, why this odd shape?
Well, I intend to make another quilt for ‘Quilts for Care Leavers (Northern Ireland)’ out of these. Their requested ideal finished quilt size is 70” x 44” – so, you can do the math! 😉
Fabric Selection:
You’ll need 6 fabrics, light to dark,
from one of the colour families from the colour wheel.
Please use solid fabrics or fabrics that read as solid, e.g. blenders.
(Left over Jelly Roll strips come in handy for this, if you have any ...)
See several example fabric pulls, below.
Cutting:
From each of the 6 fabrics cut one strip: 2 ½” x 16 ½”
Block Assembly:
Arrange the strips from light to dark.
Sew the lightest strip to the second-lightest strip, right sides together, with a ¼” seam allowance. Press the seam open.
Sew the darkest strip to the second-darkest strip, right sides together, with a ¼” seam allowance. Press the seam open.
Take the lightest strip set:
Trim the second-lightest strip to be 2” wide, measured from the seam.
Take the darkest strip set:
Trim the second-darkest strip to be 2” wide, measured from the seam.
Take the lightest strip set:
Sew the 3rd-lightest fabric strip to the just cut edge (to the second-lightest strip), right sides facing, with a ¼” seam allowance. Press the seam open.
Take the darkest strip set:
Sew the 3rd-darkest fabric strip to the just cut edge (to the second-darkest strip), right sides facing, with a ¼” seam allowance. Press the seam open.
The strip sets should now be 6 ¼” wide each.
On the Light Strip Set:
Mark a point:
1” from the folded edge
and ¼” from the edge of the darkest strip.
On the Dark Strip Set:
Mark a point:
1” from the folded edge
and ¼” from the edge of the lightest strip.
On both Strip Sets:
Make a 45-degree cut:
aligning the 45-degree line of your ruler with the folded edge
and so, that the cut is going through the marked point,
from here angling away from the folded edge.
Open up your strip sets and arrange them as in the picture below.
(You are swapping the middle parts.)
The easiest way to align the angled pieces for sewing them together, is to mark the ¼” seam allowance where the strip seams are, then pinning the angled edges right sides together, matching up those marked points on the strip seams.
On Both Strip Sets:
Sew the side-Strip set pieces to the middle Strip set pieces, right sides together, with a ¼” seam allowance. Press seams open.
Nearly there!
Sew the resulting strip sets together, so that the narrow sides of the middle pieces meet.
Matching up the angled seams, sew the two strip sets together, right sides facing, with a ¼” seam allowance.
Trim the ‘dog ears’. Press the seam open.
Trim the resulting Block to 11 ½” x 14 ½”, with the middle seam running horizontal and the points where the angled seams meet, centered.
It might help to crease the middle between those two points for this purpose.
And the block is finished! Yay!
Thank you so much for sewing for me!
If you have any questions, give me a shout.
Happy Sewing,
Rita
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