Hive 4- May Tutorial - Ooooo Hearts for Emily

 

Hive 4 May Tutorial- Ooooo Hearts

I n case you missed the convo- Doretta in May and I in June swapped months due to life being life. So please make sure you mail these to Emily in Richland Hills, Texas and not the other lovely Emily or Doretta just yet. 

I’m actually NOT a hearts and pink and lovey-dovey kinda person. I even struggled to find fabrics from my stash for this because this kind of thing is so far out of my normal realm- so I apologize for the meagerness of the fabric pull examples. But something about this pattern just made me go Ooooo….so here we are.

It’s a slightly modified version of the Candy Boxes pattern by Heather Davis in the February 26 American Patchwork and Quilting magazine- issued in December 2025. My version of the pattern should finish at 15 ½” square for you (including seam allowance). Inspo photo of her quilt here, note lighter/pastel-ly hearts with brighter/darker ribbons & bows:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fabric pull:

This quilt is really for blenders and solids, or subtle patterns. No words, holiday prints, novelty fabric, large or bold patterns. Try to think “subtle” with both color and pattern choices.   See the inspo image above for the feel I’m going for, though those are all solids and I’m ok with blenders and subtle patterns- especially for the hearts themselves.

Primary Heart pull                                                                                 Ribbons/Bows pull

Need 4 colors-

1.      Background: cream, white, light tan…. something very light. I used a Moda Grunge cream for example.

2.      Primary: light to medium pink, peach or lavender- needs to be non-directional and not too medium/dark or dark toned. Needs to read clearly as the primary color. Think soft candy-like colors-  muted pastel. Note: Like my soul, photos in my sewing room are always darker than reality- at least for light colors. The actual primary colors are much more pastel or pale than what you see here. The INSPO picture provided is far more accurate. Think soft pastels like those little candy hearts for Valentine's Day.

3.      Ribbon: medium or medium/dark tone red or purple or pink, preferably something that reads as a solid- strong enough of a difference from the primary fabric that it pops out obviously.

4.      Bow: Dark or medium/dark tone red or purple or pink, preferably something that reads as a solid- and is a little darker than the ribbon fabric.

  

Cutting:

Assume quarter inch seams for all sewing- already included in the cutting instructions

 

Background fabric (white-ish)

A  A.  6 ½” squares- need 2

B. B.     3 1/2” squares- need 4

C. C.     2” x 12 ½” rectangle- need 2 for sashing

D. D.    2” x 15 ½” rectangle- need 2 for sashing

 

Primary fabric (pastel)

E. E.   6 ½” x 7 ½” rectangle- need 1

F.  F.    3 ½” x 7” rectangle- need 1

G.G.     2 ½” x 7” rectangle- need 1

H.H.    4 ½” x 6 ½” rectangle- need 1

I.   I.     3 ½” x 4” rectangle- need 1

J.   J.     2 ½” x 4” rectangle- need 1

K. K.     6 ½” x 7 ½” rectangle- need 1

L. L.     1” x 2” rectangle- need 2

M.M.   1” squares- need 4

Ribbon fabric (darker solid-ish)

N. N.    1 ½” x 7” rectangle- need 1

O. O.    1 ½” x 6 ½” rectangle- need 1

P.   P.   1 ½” x 4” rectangle- need 1

Q. Q.     1 ½” x 2” rectangle- need 1

R.  R.    1” x 1 ½” rectangle- need 2

 

Bow fabric (dark solid-ish)

S.  S.     2 ½” squares- need 2

T.   T.   1 ½ square- need 1

 

 Let’s get the hardest part done first- Let’s make a Bow!

Start with the 4 M blocks- draw a diagonal line corner to corner on the backside of each of those. Place them right sides together on 2 adjacent corners of each of the 2 R squares. Sew along the line, trim off ¼ inch from the outer corner side of the seam, press open. Make 2 of these half snowballs.

 

 

Now the 2 R ribbon pieces are sewn to opposite sides of the S square.

 

The 2 L background pieces are sewn to opposite long sides of the Q rectangle

Press all of these flat an open and then arrange them to make the bow in this order, then sew them together

 

Whew- hard part done! It’s pretty easy from here on out!

 

Unit AA

Need pieces I, J and P. Sew the 4” side of I to one of the 4” sides of P, then sew J on the opposite side of P. Pres flat and Unit AA is now done!

 

Unit BB

Need pieces F, G and N. Sew the 7” side of F to one of the 7” sides of N, then sew G on the opposite side of N. Pres flat and Unit BB is now done!

 

Unit CC

Need pieces E, H and 0. Sew the 6 ½” side of E to one of the 6 ½”  sides of O, then sew H on the opposite side of P. Pres flat and Unit CC is now done!

 

 

Combined Unit AA/Bow/BB

Next you need unit AA, unit BB and the Bow

You will sew the units together with the bow in the middle- be sure to add AA and BB to the bow by starting you stitching on the side where the bow lines up with the edge.

Tip: try to line up the ribbon in all 3 pieces so it looks like the ribbon runs straight through the bow.

There should be a little bit of extra ribbon hanging out to the right when it’s all together. I did this intentionally so that you could then trim that off for a nice straight side. It only works if you start sewing both of these joins from the bow end though. Press open and trim off the little bit of extra ribbon on the right.  Done!

 

Next we make the left half of the heart

You will need unit CC, 1 of piece A and 2 pieces of B.

Draw a diagonal line corner to corner on the backside of each of the background squares. 

Place piece A right sides together at the bottom of unit CC. Align it so the diagonal starts in the middle of the left side of the unit, and finishes in the bottom right corner. Sew down the diagonal, trim off the extra outside fabric and press open.

Place 1 piece of B right sides together at the top left of unit CC. The diagonal should start on the left side and finish in the middle of the top. Sew down the diagonal, trim off the extra outside fabric and press open. Complete this before adding the 2^nd B piece as there is some overlap and if the first one isn’t completed and pressed open- it will get stuck behind the second one and won’t open properly.

 (forgot to take a picture of the left side, but here it is on the right side.)

Place the other piece B right sides together at the top right of unit CC. The diagonal should start on the right side and finish in the middle of the top. Sew down the diagonal, trim off the extra outside fabric and press open.

Left side of heart is now complete!

 

 

Now right side of heart is pretty much the same as left side but using the AA/bow/BB unit.

You will need unit AA/bow/BB, 1 of piece A and 2 pieces of B.

Draw a diagonal line corner to corner on the backside of each of the background squares. 

Place piece A right sides together at the bottom of unit AA/bow/BB. Align it so the diagonal starts in the middle of the right side of the unit, and finishes in the bottom left corner. Sew down the diagonal, trim off the extra outside fabric and press open.

Place 1 piece of B right sides together at the top left of unit AA/bow/BB. The diagonal should start on the left side and finish in the middle of the top. Sew down the diagonal, trim off the extra outside fabric and press open. Complete this before adding the 2^nd B piece as there is some overlap and if the first one isn’t completed and pressed open it will get stuck behind the second one and won’t open properly.

Place the other piece B right sides together at the top right of unit AA/bow/BB. The diagonal should start on the right side and finish in the middle of the top. Sew down the diagonal, trim off the extra outside fabric and press open.

Right side of heart is now complete!

Sew the 2 halves of the heart together. Press flat.

 

 Add the 2 C sashing pieces to opposite sides of your heart- be careful with your points! Press open. Finally sew on the 2 D sashing pieces to the remaining sides of your heart.

 

Give everything a good press-  That’s it!! Thank you!!

Hive 4 - April Tutorial - Chicago Geese for Emily

Chicago Geese Quilt Block for Emily

There’s a certain kind of homesick that doesn’t show up all at once—it sneaks in. In the colors you reach for without thinking. In the way your body remembers a place before your brain catches up.

For me, its Chicago.

Not just the skyline or the lake (though I’d take a gray, wind-bitten walk along Lake Michigan in a second), but the feeling of it. The noise, the closeness, the rhythm of neighborhoods stacked on top of history. The kind of place that teaches you how to be loud, loyal, and teaches you how to work hard.

I didn’t expect the Chicago Bears colors to hit me the way they have. That deep navy. The orange. It’s more than a team—it’s memory. Even when they were losing (especially when they were losing), it feels like belonging.

Being away makes you notice what mattered. The small things. The loud things. The colors that never really left you. So this year I wanted to make a Chicago-inspired quilt; I found a Chicago Quilt Block and I have my StashBee community.  

I hope that you will be able to help me be a little less homesick.  Thank you to my StashBee Hive and thanks to Chicago, you are still stitched into everything I make.

Fabric Requirements for Chicago Geese Quilt Block:

Colors:

Orange: Any shade, hue, or tint of orange you have in your stash. These are some of the oranges I have.

Blue: Any shade, hue, or tint you have. As you can see any navy, cornflower, or royal blue is fine.

Low Volume: Any shade, hue, or tint but please no holiday or religious writing (quilting or academic writing is ok). You can either use all one low volume for the whole block, or one per row, or scappy as I did in my sample block.

Cutting:

Orange:

1 - 5" square

1 - 4.5" square

Blue:

1 - 5" square

3 - 4.5" squares

Low Volume:

1 - 2.5" x 4.5"

2 - 2.5: x 6.5"

2 - 2.5" x 8.5"

2 - 2.5" x 10.5"

1 2.5" x 12.5"

Sewing Directions: 

Take the 5" Orange square and the 5" blue square and put them together right sides facing. Draw a diagonal line on the orange square from corner to corner. Sew a .25" away from the line on both sides. Cut along the diagonal line. Press to the blue fabric. Trim to 4.5". You will only need one of these half square triangles.

Place the HST (Half Square Triangle) with the orange side facing left:

Take one low volume 2.5" x 4.5" and sew it to the left side of the HST then take one low volume 2.5: x 6.5" and sew it to the top of the HST

Then take the blue 4.5" square and draw a line corner to corner.  Place it on the low volume corner on the upper left hand side.

Sew on the line.  Trim .25" from the sewn line. 

You will end up with piece that looks like this:

Take one low volume 2.5" x 6.5" and sew it to the left side of the block you just created then take one low volume 2.5: x 8.5" and sew it to the top.

Then take the blue 4.5" square and draw a line corner to corner.  Place it on the low volume corner on the upper left hand side. Sew on the line.  Trim .25" from the sewn line. 

Take one low volume 2.5" x 8.5" and sew it to the left side of the block you just created then take one low volume 2.5: x 10.5" and sew it to the top.

Then take the blue 4.5" square and draw a line corner to corner.  Place it on the low volume corner on the upper left hand side. Sew on the line.  Trim .25" from the sewn line. 

Take one low volume 2.5" x 10.5" and sew it to the left side of the block you just created then take one low volume 2.5: x 12.5" and sew it to the top.

Then take the orange 4.5" square and draw a line corner to corner.  Place it on the low volume corner on the upper left hand side. Sew on the line.  Trim .25" from the sewn line.

And your Chicago block is complete! It should measure 12.5" unfinished

Hive 4- March Tutorial- Plait block for Tara

 Hey all, I'm Tara. I picked March again, last year we did the Sunflower block, this year I've decided on the Plait block.

 Sixteen years ago when my oldest graduated high school and went into the Marines, I started teaching bag classes at a local quilt store. I hadn't quilted much. I was more crafts and garments. I'd been sewing since I was a small child at my grandmother's knee, but we didn't do any quilting. My lovely friend Jaleena said, we'll turn you into a quilter. 

The store were gathering orphan blocks for a lady who had cancer to make her a quilt. I decided I wanted to do one, so I looked up free quilt blocks on the internet and found the plait block. I did the block and was very humbled. I took it up there to the store to turn it in and the owner was very sweet and added it to the quilt although it was an absolute mess. I'd picked the seams out so many times, had no idea about a quarter inch seam, most of the patterns I used were 1/2 or 5/8 inch seams, it wasn't square, so many things wrong. This memory popped into my head the other day for some odd reason and I decided I should do it.

 I asked in our group chat about partial seams and the responses were so positive. There are other patterns that work around the partial seam, but it requires a lot more cutting and I really like the look of the block with the partial seam method. 

https://fabric406.com/blogs/fabric406-blog/plaited-quilt-block-tutorial-a-modern-wedding-rings-design?_pos=1&_sid=b724a0288&_ss=r

 This blog is the 406 Fabric blog and is such a good resource. She has a lot of free patterns and blocks, and she's explained everything so well. 

Fabric Requirements: 

This is a three fabric quilt, a dark, medium, and background. For the dark, I'm looking for more medium blues, true blues, no teals, aqua, or pastels. For the medium, I'd like a true yellow, it's ok if it leans lemon or true yellow, but no gold or pastels. I'd like the background to be white. It can be solid or very low volume with a very small print. I used a white with gray or gold to go with the fabrics I pulled.

 I'm fine with prints or solids, I'd just like the prints to be yellow or blues, ie to work with the  palette.

You'll need about a fat quarter for the white, but only a 2.5 inch by wof for the blue and yellow.

 

White:

(4) 4.5 x 8.5

(1) 4.5 x 4.5

(4) 2.5 x 2.5

Blue and Yellow (each):

(2) 2.5 x 6.5

(2) 2.5 x 4.5

(6) 2.5 x 2.5 

 

Corner Units:

 Take two of the yellow 2.5 in squares and match them with a two white 2.5 inch squares. Sew and press towards the yellow fabric. 

 

 Add a 2.5 x 4.5 blue rectangle to the bottom of the the two patch with the yellow on the right, press down towards the blue. You'll have two units.

 You are going to repeat this step with two blue 2.5 and two white 2.5 squares, pressing towards the blue. Add 2.5 x 4.5 rectangle to the bottom with the blue to the right. Press towards the yellow. You'll have two units.

 

Side units:

With the remaining yellow and blue 2.5 squares, and the white 4.5 x 8.5, snowball two corners on each 4.5 x 8.5 rectangle. They should be snowballed on the same side.

 

 

 

 

 

Press and trim.

 

 

 

 

 When finished, you will have two sets of yellow and blue snowballed rectangles.

Center Unit:

You'll need the 4.5 inch white square and the (2) 2.5 x 6.5 yellow and blue rectangles. Lay out as per the following picture:

 First, take the white square and the top yellow rectangle. Place right sides together with the square on top. Sew down seam, but stop an inch from the bottom. This will be your partial seam.

 Finger press towards the yellow strip.

 Next take the blue strip on the right and place it right sides together with the yellow strip at the top.  

Sew and press towards the blue strip.

Rotate to the right and take the yellow strip and place it right sides together along the block with the blue trip at the top.

 Finger press towards the yellow strip and rotate to the right again. Place the blue strip right sides together with the block with the yellow strip at the top and the partial strip at the bottom. Fold the partial strip out of the way and sew the strip to the block.

 Finger press towards the blue. Next, take the partial strip and fold it right sides together with the un-sewn blue at the top. Sew the seam down to match up with the first seam.  Open and press the block. You did it!

 Assemble the block:

Assemble the block and sew together like a nine patch block. Press. The block should measure 16.5 x 16.5. 

I know the top block is reading aqua, but it's not, it's more of a cornflower blue.

I did so much better this time than the first! This is a fun, easy block and a great way to learn a new technique. The blocks go together fairly quickly. I was able to cut all three out, take pictures as the block progressed, and finish in about an hour and fifteen minutes. I had to take a break to watch the USA beat Germany in hockey. 

Blessings to you all!

Tara