Hive 1, Pineapple Fun For Alison

Here is the Pineapple Block I made for Alison. This was such a fun block to make in the cold, dreary days of January. I didn't think I would have a lot of yellow fabric in my stash, so I was surprised to find a variety of prints.

1. Name: Stephanie

2. Where you live: Parker, Colorado, just south of Denver

3. Tell us about your family: Well, it's just me. No husband, no kids, no siblings. My parents have been married 50 years and still live here in Colorado.

4. Tell us about your pets: I have a 10 year old Pomeranian named Katrina, she thinks everything I sew is for her. So in the long run, she tests everything out. If you follow me on IG you will see her there.

5. How long have you been quilting? 15 years

6. What crafts do you do other than quilting? Embroidery, cross stitch, photography

7. Fabric line you want to buy next: It's too hard to pick.

8. Preferred quilting method (FMQ, long arm, hand, etc.): Whatever the project is asking for.

9. Where we can find you on social media: At my blog at www.quiltnparty.com, on IG at quiltnparty or on FB at Quilt'n Party and Stephanie Bertics

10. Favorite book: Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

11. Favorite show to binge watch: I'm not much of a binge watcher, but I love Modern Family, The Walking Dead, Silicon Valley, Game of Thrones, Empire, Last Man On Earth, Outlander

Looking forward to February!

Pineapple for Alison

What a fun block to begin the new year. It was a surprise to find how little green I have in my stash. Did I just hear someone say that even the slimmest excuse to shop is more than enough?  

1. Name: Jacki Bracewell

2. Where you live: Mount Pleasant, SC

3. Tell us about your Family: My husband of 39 years and I have two grown daughters, a son-in-law, and two grandsons in high school.

4. Tell us about your pets: Currently we have a single black cat named Spooky who goes by the well-earned nickname of Mr. Stupid.

5. How long have you been quilting? I made my first quilt in 1979, but then did not make another for a decade. Since then quilting has crept up on me becoming my primary creative activity.

6. What crafts do you do other than quilting? Over the years I’ve tried almost every craft involving needle(s), thread, yarn, or fiber. At this juncture knitting is my first choice after quilting.

7. What fabric line do you want to buy next? I’m feeling a batik binge coming on soon. Bright clear colors from the red, orange, yellow side of the spectrum.

8. What is your preferred quilting method? Mostly I send larger pieces out to be done on a long arm, but in the past year I’ve started practicing my free motion work with large lap and twin size quilts. Still early days quality wise, but heck, it’s only the first 500 hundred that are hard, right?

9. Where can we find you on social media? On Flickr: bracewell, facebook: Jacalyn C Bracewell

10. What is your favorite book? I don’t really have an all-time favorite book, though I’m currently binging on Terry Pratchett and rereading Lois McMasters Bujold.

11. What is your favorite show to binge watch? English crime dramas, all of them.

Hive 1- Pineapples for Alison

Yeah!  A new year and a new hive....so excited....

So I've never made a pineapple block like this before.  But that is the reason I do the Stash Bee so that I can try new blocks!

I can't wait to see what they become!

So here are my questions/answers for Hive 1

1. Name: Tori Manzi (Tori is short for Victoria)

2. Where you live: On the coast of Maine in a town called Camden.  "Where the Mountains meet the Sea"

3. Tell us about your family: I've been married for 29 years to my husband Mark who is a Pharmacist.  I have two daughters, Alyssa who lives in Brooklyn NY and Kathryn who lives at home.

4. Tell us about your pets: We have one cat which is actually my daughters named Alonzo but my husband calls him China Cat (grateful dead reference)

5. How long have you been quilting? I made my first quilt with just 5 inch squares 30 years ago.  I didn't make another one for quite a while.  I've really started up again in the past year and a half.

6. What crafts do you do other than quilting? I sew clothes (did costumes for the local high school musicals for years, I cross stitch, embroidery, and anything else crafty I can get my hands on.  

7. Fabric line you want to buy next: Alison Glass Sunprint 2016 and Elizabeth Hartman Pacific

8. Preferred quilting method (FMQ, long arm, hand, etc.): I do my best with FMQ, but my mom has a long arm so anything bigger than a lap quilt goes there.

9. Where we can find you on social media: Instagram:  Camdenmemom,  Facebook: Tori Garvey Manzi, Pinterest: Tmanzi, Flickr: hellokitkat1

10. Favorite book: Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

11. Favorite show to binge watch: Sooo many....just finished Scandal - now on to Mr. Robot....

I can't wait to "Play" with all of you this year.

Tori :)

Hive 4 - January Block

 

New block for me, I have never seen it before, but was fun to make.

1. Name: Gayle

2. Where you live: Austin, TX, but previously in Northern California and New Hampshire.

3. Tell us about your family: Me, my husband, a 21 year old son away at college and for the current school year, a 17 year old exchange student girl from Hungary.

4. Tell us about your pets: Two rescue kitties, Luna and Milo.

5. How long have you been quilting? A long time, probably close to 30 years. Have done traditional quilts, am in a small art quilt group and for the last year or so, I am in a renewed quilt making phase, sewing and completing projects. Really enjoying all of it including modern quilts.

6. What crafts do you do other than quilting? Have always liked fiber arts, currently I knit, sew clothing and used to do production weaving for a living. Still have a loom but haven't used it in years.

7. Fabric line you want to buy next: What ever strikes my fancy, but like Cotton + Steel.

8. Preferred quilting method (FMQ, long arm, hand, etc.): I either quilt on my home machine or send out to a long arm quilter.

9. Where we can find you on social media: On Facebook: Gayle Jeker Blake

10. Favorite book: The Shipping News by Annie Prouix and Northern Borders by Howard Frank Mosher.

11. Favorite show to binge watch: The Big Bang Theory, Orange is the New Black and for current shows I like Project Runway and Poldark.

Hive 4 - January block

I really like red and white quilts, but it turns out that I have pretty much no red fabric.  I had to go raid my mother-in-law's scraps!  That was quite a bit of fun though. :)

1. Name:  Amanda

2. Where you live:  Holland, MI

3. Tell us about your family:  My husband and I have two children, ages 4 and 1.

4. Tell us about your pets:  One white cat named Flurry.

5. How long have you been quilting?  I think about six years now.  I started out slowly, with plans to only make one quilt as a bucket list type item, and got hooked.

6. What crafts do you do other than quilting?  Nothing.  I used to crochet.  I play assorted computer games if I'm not quilting or reading.

7. Fabric line you want to buy next:  I don't really care about fabric lines.  I buy what I like but couldn't tell you who has made what fabric.  I really love solids.

8. Preferred quilting method (FMQ, long arm, hand, etc.):  I usually use my mid-arm.  It was a surprise birthday gift from my husband three years ago!

9. Where we can find you on social media: blog: fabricengineer.blogspot.com    IG: fabricengineer

10. Favorite book:  The Martian.  I still daydream about growing up to be an astronaut.

11. Favorite show to binge watch:  I'm not sure I'd call it my favorite, but I'm currently in the middle of watching Gilmore Girls.  It's my first time through...I'm a little behind the times.

Hive 4 - January Block for Katie

Red and white is one of my very favorite combinations for a quilt, so I was happy to see Katie's color choice.  As for the block, as much as I want to love it, I don't.  This block absolutely hates me!  I did it last year and it took two attempts to get it right.  So I figured this year it would be a cake walk.  HA!  Once again, it took two attempts to get the sizing right.  The first attempt came in at 14" square so back to the machine to get the correct size.  I do like how it turned out  in the end and hope that Katie is able to use it in her quilt.  Now on to the introduction questions!

 

1. Name:  Toni 

2. Where you live:  Houston, TX

3. Tell us about your family:  Myself, my husband of 38 years and a 28 year old daughter

4. Tell us about your pets:  The current menagerie includes Xena, a 19 year old silver tabby and Bowdrie, a French Brittany bird dog.  There is also Leo, daughter's college dog who spends a good deal of time with us.

5. How long have you been quilting?  I began quilting about 6 years ago, but have only gotten serious about it in the past 2-3 years.  This is my 3rd year to participate in Stash Bee.

6. What crafts do you do other than quilting?  Sewing, travel, scrapbooking (though now I mostly do digital photo books) and baking.  I've also dabbled in photography, weaving, knitting and crochet over the years...and still have all the supplies in case the urge to do them again ever hits!

7. Fabric line you want to buy next:  I am on a self-imposed hiatus from fabric purchases for 2016 due to the size of my stash.  However, if I were to buy something it would be Dream Weaver by Amy Butler, Water Land by Cloud 9, Chipper by Tula Pink, House of Denim by Kaufman and so many more!  Now you understand why I am on a hiatus from fabric purchases!

8. Preferred quilting method (FMQ, long arm, hand, etc.):  I prefer to quilt by checkbook.  I have done a couple of quilts myself, tried to love FMQ and recently took a class on shashiko quilting by machine (which I did love), but my true love is the planning and piecing of a quilt top & backing.  For me, it is better to support my local quilt shop for the quilting and get more quilt tops done!

9. Where we can find you on social media: Instagram:  gypsygirl6923  or Flickr:  gypsygirl6923

10. Favorite book:  I tend to only read blogs or online articles and magazines these days and have lost all interest in fiction.  From years past though, Gone With the Wind is my favorite.  It is the only book I have ever read multiple times.

11. Favorite show to binge watch:  House Hunters International, Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown, and The Voice when it is on.  Nothing intense, scary or crime related for me!

Hive 2 Block from Paulette

Hello Hive 2
I am Paulette from western Canada. This is my first year in the Stash Bee. I belong to a few other on line bees but we post everything via Flickr so I am new to using a blog. Karyn asked us a few questions so I will give you a bit of information about me. I have seven grown children (one set of twins) and seven grandchildren. I work in my home doing bookkeeping for my husbands business and I have a part time job in a stained glass store where we teach classes, do repairs and custom work, make giftware, and sell supplies to glassers. I buy fabrics because I like them. I do not consider the designer and never buy whole lines. I almost entirely buy fat quarters and only larger pieces for backings and borders. I do not have a blog and only follow about half a dozen or so. I try to sew a bit everyday. My studio includes a lot of glass too but sewing is at the top of my list. I made my first quilt in 1983. No stopping me since then. My stash is vast and my UFO' s are piled high. I am looking forward to sewing for everyone and have to admit that although I am quite experienced, this block took me more than an hour and a half to complete.  I only made one though so I hope you like it Karyn. 

Hive 6 January Block for Sylvia from Karen

1. Name: Karen

2. Where you live: Santa Rosa, California, USA

3. Tell us about your family: I share my life with one sweet husband, an adorable cat, and a hungry tortoise.

4. Tell us about your pets: Are they not family? My kitty is a Siamese and therefore very loud. My tortoise is, well, a tortoise, so he doesn't make any noise.

5. How long have you been quilting? I started in 2013, so we're going on three years now. Wow! I've been sewing much longer than that, but I took my first quilting class in March 2013 and bought a new machine so I could free motion quilt a few months later. 

6. What crafts do you do other than quilting? I've done many crafts in the past. Sewing, knitting, photography, and ceramics have been my favorites. I'm trying to focus on quilting right now, but I see myself weaving in the future. 

7. Fabric line you want to buy next: This is the year of the stash for me (and many others, I see) so I'm trying to limit buying fabric. That said, I'll probably end up with at least part of Carkai by Carolyn Friedlander pretty soon.

8. Preferred quilting method (FMQ, long arm, hand, etc.): It's all about the FMQ for me. I would love to use a long arm some day, but I don't know anyone with one I can play around with. I think I'll be trying out a sit-down mid arm in a class at Quiltcon in February. Who's going to Quiltcon, by the way? This will be my first time. 

9. Where we can find you on social media: I'm still kind of in the stone age when it comes to social media. I am on flickr but I actually am not sure how to tell you how to find me. I'll update if I grow some internet savvy. 

10. Favorite book: It's so hard to choose one! I have a hard time choosing favorites in any category, so let's go with a random good book instead: Barbara Kingsolver's Prodigal Summer. 

11. Favorite show to binge watch: Again with the favorites! I really enjoyed Bones for a while. 

Now on to the Union Jack. This block was Scary. Yes, capital S Scary. I don't know why it intimidated me so much, since the tutorial is very detailed. Once I actually started the block, after a week of worrying, it wasn't so bad. I breezed through it, actually. 

However, when I started this blog post, I noticed my Quadrant 2 didn't look quite right. After almost convincing myself nobody would notice, I decided to redo Quadrant 2. It took a while, but I figured out that I had used the wrong side as the "anchor." 

For those of you who haven't started yet, pay attention to the anchor side! It is easy to accidentally use the wrong corner as the anchor and then you end up like me. Here is my first rendition of the block. See how one dark orange diagonal goes into the corner like that? Not good. 

After all is sewed and pressed, I actually feel quite fond of the block, and hope Sylvia and her husband enjoy it. 

Hive 6 Union Jack blocks, by Cheryl

Hive 6: Union Jack for Sylvia

I was indeed freaked out about this block and all of this skinny strips, but the tutorial is very good and they were much faster than I anticipated! Our Hive is off to a good start in getting me out of my comfort zone (which is one reason why I joined), so thank you Sylvia.

1. Name:  Cheryl

2. Where you live: San Jose, California

3. Tell us about your family: Myself, hubby, and an almost 11-year old daughter.

4. Tell us about your pets: We have a lot of pets including a lazy coonhound, a 20-year old and very loud black cat, two giant rabbits, and a sometimes class pet/our pet albino leopard gecko. My plan is for chickens this year, too.

5. How long have you been quilting? About 6 years, but I learned to sew in 4H in fourth grade.

6. What crafts do you do other than quilting? I do crafts with my daughter sometimes, usually involving glitter. I like to make bags, especially those by Noodlehead or s.o.t.a.k. handmade. I used to make my daughter clothes on occasion, but she has gotten pickier and I don't like to make clothes unless they involve elastic.

7. Fabric line you want to buy next: I bought Carkai and Blueberry Park (but not all) just before Christmas, so I feel saturated for now. It won't last long, I'm sure. 

8. Preferred quilting method (FMQ, long arm, hand, etc.): I like to "big stitch" hand quilt and am trying to make myself practice something besides the meandering stipple in FMQ.

9. Where we can find you on social media: Instagram: @1strongcheryl, (but I really have no idea how to use this yet), Flickr: cstrongla. I am a lazy social media-er.

10. Favorite book: I listen to a lot of books while sitting in Bay Area traffic. I am currently listening to 

Hollow City (Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children #2). I recently read Gone Girl, which was awful and I couldn't put it down.

11. Favorite show to binge watch: We don't have a TV, but watch movies. When I am home sewing alone I binge watch Dr. Who or the X-Files (on netflix).

This is me looking grumpy in Yellowstone.

Hive 8-January 2016 Block for Laura

Hello from Peas and Carrots Farm in Broad Run, VA!  I'm super excited to be part of this online bee this year!  I stumbled across it one day while looking at quilting blogs and loved the idea.  Here is my block:

When I went to my vast.. and I mean vast stash, I was surprised that I didn't have very many "low volume" choices.  I used some cream prints and I really like how it turned out!  Hope you love it Laura. 

Now, here are my answers to our questions.

1. Name: Lisa

2. Where you live: Broad Run, VA (about an hour west of Washington, DC)

3. Tell us about your family: I am married to my wonderful hubby with 4 kids between us and 3 grandkids but they are all in California so we use technology to stay in touch and of course travel several times a year.

4. Tell us about your pets: We have wonderful dog we rescued a couple years ago.  His name is Jethro and is a Basset/Shar Pei mix. (Jethro.. as in Jethro Leroy Gibbs/NCIS) :-)

5. How long have you been quilting?  I made some quilts when I was in my early 20's but didn't get back into it until we moved to Virginia and I was looking for a way to contribute to the community and make friends.  I became involved in a charity that made quilts for children of deployed service members as I really connected with that since my husband had been deployed.  I then got more involved after a trip to Alaska to see my daughter who wanted to learn to quilt.  So we bought some supplies and dug in and love that we have this passion to share.  She has gone on to become a YouTube crafting maker and can be found at MelaniekHam.com if any of you are interested.

6. What crafts do you do other than quilting?  I have dabbled in crochet, home decorating crafts, chalk paint and a few things like that, but quilting is really my passion.

7. Fabric line you want to buy next: My stash, my stash, my stash... yep, you got it, must use my stash! But I really like Anna Maria Horner fabrics and would love to get some of her recent line, Luminous.

8. Preferred quilting method (FMQ, long arm, hand, etc.): My longarm machine, Handi Quilter Avante which I've had a little over a year now and love it!  I'm starting to do quilts for customers, so if any of you are interested in having me finish up some of those lingering tops, just let me know!

9. Where we can find you on social media:  Instagram @llmarkham2, Twitter @llmarkham, Email: lisamarkham2@gmail.com and hope to have my blog up soon.

10. Favorite book: Not much of a reader but when I do, it's typically managerial, quilting or other non-fiction.  Probably one of my favorites from many years ago is, "Who Moved My Cheese".

11. Favorite show to binge watch: I don't "watch" much TV but often have HGTV or Food Network shows running in the background while I'm quilting.