Hive 6 January Block for Sylvia

This is my first time in stash bee, and my second online swap. This is so much more fun, as we get all of our blocks at once, the other one had people partner and swap each month, so you only got one block a month. Still fun, but this rocks. It's so inspiring to see what others make. 

I'm so happy I got to be part of stash bee this year and I can already tell it's going to make me a better quilter/designer. Here is my block for Sylvia. Whew, it was a challenge, but so much fun! If I have the time, I will definitely be making a second one in a different color. Okay, here are two more I did today... I'm mailing them out tomorrow. :) 

1. Name: Jen Bianchi

2. Where you live: The Upper West Side of NYC

3. Tell us about your family: Just my hubby and I so far. 

4. Tell us about your pets: 2 old cats, Martini (female), Miles (male) and my awesome siberian husky, Dizzy!

5. How long have you been quilting? Off and on for years, but obsessively for about a year and a half. ;)

6. What crafts do you do other than quilting? Wait, what? There are other crafts? 

7. Fabric line you want to buy next: I really can't narrow it down, I love everything by Allison Glass, but I think I'd like to get some liberty of london tana lawn. I've never purchased any because of the price, and I'd like to know what all the fuss is about. Is it really worth it? 

8. Preferred quilting method (FMQ, long arm, hand, etc.):  Well, I guess right now I'd have to say FMQ, but I'm curious to try long arm, I just haven't had the chance.

9. Where we can find you on social media: mostly instagram @dizzythelaughingwolf

10. Favorite book: How can I have just one favorite book? It's impossible! Reading right now: In Cold Blood by Turman Capote.

11. Favorite show to binge watch: The West Wing. 

January Hive 7 cyndi's block

Thisis my 2nd year doing the stash bee block exchange, This month Cyndi requested the block shown. It was a fun block to put together.

January Block for Audrey - Hive 5

I am so excited to become part of the Stash Bee, and to just be participating in Bees again in general.  What amazing blocks have been requested for January ...... I see lots of them being made by me in the future as many have made it onto my To Do list!  Audrey requested the Five Crosses block and here it is!

 

 

She asked for it to be left untrimmed .... although I did really want to square it up!  It was a really fun block to make and came together quickly.

 

So a little bit about me:

 

1. Name:  Abigail

 

2. Where you live:  Stratford upon Avon, UK

 

3. Tell us about your family:  Kiwi husband, 2 daughters, one born in New Zealand and one born in UK, who we home educate

 

4. Tell us about your pets:  One cat called Smiggle

 

5. How long have you been quilting?  6 years on and off

 

6. What crafts do you do other than quilting?  Crochet mainly, but also embroidery, dressmaking, pattern drafting, fabric dying .... to name a few

 

7. Fabric line you want to buy next:  Not so up on fabric lines although I have been seeing some lovely Cotton and Steel sets ..... also love using old vintage and recycled fabric

 

8. Preferred quilting method (FMQ, long arm, hand, etc.):  Longarm, but still very new to this

 

9. Where we can find you on social media:

blog: www.cutandalter.blogspot.co.uk

instgram: @cutandalter

flickr: cutandalter

facebook: www.facebook.com/cutandalter

 

10. Favourite book:  Toooo many to mention - I am an avid reader some good reads from 2015 were Burial Rites by Hannah Kent, The Thread by Victoria Hislop and The Last Runaway by Tracy Chevalier

 

11. Favourite show to binge watch:  I don't!!  But shows I have watched regularly in the past include House, Grey's Anatomy, Revolution and The Last Ship and really enjoying Blindspot at the moment

 

Really looking forward to getting to know everyone in Hive 5 and to see what all the other Hives are up to aswell!

January Gate Crashing

Carla @Granny Maud's Girl introduced me to the concept of "gate crashing" during last year's Stash Bee. The concept is simple: make a block for someone in another hive and ship it to them when it is their month as Queen Bee. This was especially easy to accomplish in January, as I am Queen Bee for Hive 9 and not making a block for anyone in my own hive. 

January 2016 Hive 1 - Pineapple Block

Alison from Hive 1 requested these very cute and fun pineapple blocks. They sew together quickly, and I just couldn't resist giving it a try.

January 2016 Hive 3 - Wreath Block

Diana from Hive 3 put together a lovely wreath block tutorial. I am so glad she also said that red would work for her, because I actually had a few holiday / Christmas prints in red (but none in green)!

January 2016 Hive 5 - Five Crosses Block

Audry of Hive 5 requested a five crosses block. I love the colors she selected for this block, and it also tugged at my heart that the quilt will be going to a friend going through hard times.

I look forward to seeing how all these quilts come together, and it was a lot of fun to spend a part of my Saturday sewing for others.

Hive 3 January Block from 'warmish' South Florida

I'm typing with trepidation - first blog post and first Bee. Fingers crossed!

Our Hive Mama is also our Queen this month and she requested a wreath block. Her tutorial is excellent and would make it easy to create your own Christmas quilt. This block is slightly better balanced than it looks. The tile background is making the bottom corner look darker than it is. It will be in the mail tomorrow Diana.

Our requested questions for the month:
1. NAME - I'm Linda Licht (pronounced by my husband's family like 'light'. The Germans and Scots have different ideas!)
2. WHERE YOU LIVE - I'm in Lake Worth, Florida. Pretty much due west of Palm Beach and very close to the Palm Beach Polo Grounds.
3. FAMILY - I'm crazy lucky! I've been married to my husband for 33 years. We have three grown sons, one wonderful daughter-in-law, one soon-to-be daughter-in-law and one adorable five month old grandson. I honestly think I couldn't have been any luckier in the family I have.
4.PETS - We have an empty nest gift of a German Shepherd. My husband got her for me the week after the youngest son left for college. Believe me, Emma runs the house! We also have a very mouthy blue Persian cat.
5.HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN QUILTING? - I made my first quilt when my nephew was a baby. He's now 35. Most of my sewing during the heavy car-pool years was confined to Scout merit badges, Halloween costumes and the like. It's nice to be able to quilt for pleasure now.
6.WHAT CRAFTS DO YOU DO OTHER THAN QUILTING? I've tried lots of different crafts, was a stamp demonstrator for years so my paper inclination is strong, but right now it's quilting and home DIY. (New to us house that requires a LOT of Kilz and then paint. A LOT!)
7.FABRIC LINE YOU WANT TO BUY NEXT - I'm eclectic in fabric. I like lots of the modern designers as well as Fig Tree and Bonnie and Camille. It's more about the color.
8. PREFERRED QUILTING METHOD - Honestly, I prefer to have someone else quilt it! ANYONE else! But I can't justify that on smaller pieces so I FMQ those and send out the larger pieces. I machine piece - definitely an 'ends justifies the means person in quilting' but actually enjoying hand stitching the binding.
9. WHERE CAN WE FIND YOU ON SOCIAL MEDIA - Much more of a lurker than a poster but I'm on Instagram at llsmail,  Facebook at Linda Hite Licht. and Pinterest at gatormomof4. Twitter too but only to read it.
10. FAVORITE BOOK - I'm a reader. Anything from cereal boxes on up. Favorite book is like a favorite child - can't be done. Not hugely big on sci-fi.
11. FAVORITE SHOW TO BINGE WATCH - Oh my. What a guilty pleasure Netflix is! Had surgery four times in four years. Lots of sleepless nights meant lots of iPad binge watching. Sherlock, Luther, Gilmore Girls, Downton, Bloodline, Orange is the New Black, Call the Midwife....apparently my viewing is eclectic like my reading and my fabric choices.

Hive 6 January Block

Sylvia picked out some great blocks to kick off 2016 with these awesome Union Jacks -- I'm adding in some teal and blue since this quilt is supposed to be for her husband and I was really excited because I got to bring Alison Glass to the party. 

These are great and I'm glad I got a chance to make them but I'm still not sold on making a whole quilt out of them. 

On to the questions and a bit about me:

1. Name:  Katie Yoakum (Hive queen in March)

2. Where you live: Winson Salem, North Carolina 

3. Tell us about your family: Just me and my husband. We have been married for 7 years.

4. Tell us about your pets: 5 crazy cats currently -- 1 grey Main Coon (the biggest), 2 orange tabbys (kahn and Nugget though they think they are people), a Brown tabby girl (monkey -- the oldest) and our latest addition is a black female (Luna Moon) 

5. How long have you been quilting? about 25 years, even though I'm only 33.

6. What crafts do you do other than quilting? I crochet some and paint a little but I used to be big into scrapbooking and card making. 

7. Fabric line you want to buy next: I'm looking forward to North Woods coming out in June so I can start my christmas quilt. I'm also looking forward to Alison Glass' next wave of sunprints and of course Tula Pink's Chipper

8. Preferred quilting method (FMQ, long arm, hand, etc.): Currently I only FMQ but I am making it a goal to learn long arming this year

9. Where we can find you on social media: Blog: karmawillowdesigns.blogspot.com Instagram: @karmawillow, Pinterest: katieyoakum

10. Favorite book: Alice in Wonderland, though I never get tired of rereading Harry Potter or Twilight.

11. Favorite show to binge watch: Big Bang Theory, The Walking Dead, Top Gear and Master Chef -- I'm currently binge watching Ennterprise on Netflix but will be going to TNG next.

January block for Hive 2 by Mary Ann

First posting "Take Two"  (I have no idea where Take One went.)

Hi - I'm Mary Ann from Fayetteville, North Carolina.

My husband and I have two children - Our daughter is 47 and has three daughters (two of our granddaughters are in college and the third in this set will start in the fall.)  Our son is 44 and lives in CT.  He has four daughters... 10 - 16 years of age.  Yes - we have seven granddaughters.  :)

I am a retired teacher... my positions ranged from 1st grade to teaching teachers... never a dull moment.

I fall in love with fabrics.  I could stand and pet them like many of us stroke a cat or dog :)  I don't know how it happens but so many of those beautiful plant products end up at my house!!

I'm not linked to any brand, though I do feel a magnetic attraction to batiks.

There are three blogs that i particularly enjoy:
Aby Dollinger's can be found at Abyquilts.wordpress.com  She lives in our area and is a member of our guild.  Her method of creating her patterns is fascinating.
Annette Ornelas also lives in Fayetteville.  She has developed a peel-back patchwork method for sewing 1/4" straight seams that turn into beautiful dimensional curves.  Her blog is Southwind Inspirations.  (southwindinspirations.blogspot.com)
Irene Grimes has a bi-lingual blog called Patchwork and Pastries.  She is an amazing cook and is a paper piecer (primarily).  (Yes - she lives in this area as well - aren't we fortunate?)  Her blog can be found at irenegrimes.wordpress.com.
I can usually find time to quiet my nerves and sew a while at least five days a week.  I recently had rotator cuff surgery and my husband broke his shoulder in three places so quilting time has bee a challenge but the sun is peaking out behind those clouds.

My husband's grandmother taught me some quilting basics 40 + years ago... but I have been quilting with more dedication for at least 15 years.  I am intrigued by the colors and how they interact to create effects and tell stories!!

I thoroughly enjoyed this block.

Hive #2 Block from Holland.

FUN this is but also a little bit scary, never done this before.

{and my English is not that good sorry}

A little bit about me....I am a young girl from 57 years, merried for 35 years with a handsome guy {at least in his younger years, still won't swap him for someone else}

Together we have two lovely girls, both living on their own.

We still have three hairy friends in the house,

Wollowitz, Gandalf (the grey) and Bilbo {cats}

I work for 24 hours a week as hostess at the university of Amsterdam.

How long do I quilt long but since we started a quiltbee in 2005 I am really addicted.

It didn't fit under the Xmas tree but in december I got my own BerninaQ24.

Hope to start my own business with it.

On my blog [link] you can find more about it.

I follow too many blogs and clicker die click, more blogs to follow.

I think you know how that goes.

Making the January block took a little bit more time than the 1½ hour.

No problem loved making this block.

First starting to make a mess on my sewing table.

Than 8 blocks are done.

So nearly there.

Some fun fabric in it [at least I think it is fun]

So happy it is exactly the right size. ;o)

So Karyn I do hope you like it, I do.

Have a nice day ♥

Union Jack blocks for Sylvia

Hi Everyone!

My name is Tracy and this is my first time in Stash Bee, or any online bee, and I could not be more excited! I'm excited to meet more quilters and try some new blocks and of course put together a scrappy quilt with your help.

I have been admiring the Union Jack blocks for quite a while and had them on my "someday" list as they looked a bit intimidating.  They were MUCH easier than I thought they would be and I'm so glad that Sylvia asked for them!

Here is what I came up with:

Sylvia mentioned that she would love some "sciency" material and I thought this green fabric looked like atoms.  I hope she likes it.

Getting to know me:

1. Name - Tracy Hansen
2. Where you live - Spring Hill, TN
3. Tell us about your family - I've been married to my husband Steve for over 20 years and we have 3 boys (16, 13 and 11).
4. Tell us about your pets - We have 2 two-year old dogs named Doctor and Captain (As in The Doctor and Captain Jack for all of you Doctor Who fans).
5. How long have you been quilting? -  I made my first quilt my freshman year of college with ZERO sewing experience.  I actually just blogged about it here recently if you'd like to see its amazingness for yourself.  About 2 years later I discovered a local quilt shop and with it books and classes.  I continued to learn and play with fabrics until the babies came.  Then it mostly went away until about 5 years ago when I decided they were big enough to not eat my needles and thread. LOL!  I haven't stopped since.
6. What crafts do you do other than quilting? - Quilting takes up most of my time, but I do sew other things for craft fairs and take A LOT of pictures of my boys.
7. Fabric line you want to buy next?  All of them! But I am really excited about Mendocino coming back in March!!
8. Preferred quilting method - I love to hand quilt and I with I had time to hand quilt everything! Since I can't. my amazing friend Cyndi does my longarm quilting for me.
9. Where can we find you on social media - Blog: tracysbitsnpieces.blogspot.com and Instagram: tracysbitsnpieces
10. Favorite book:  Way too hard to chose, I love to read.  But a few of my favorites are Winnie the Pooh, Narnia and Harry Potter with my boys and for myself, Half Broke Horses, The Glass Castle, The Help, and The Time Travelers Wife to name a few.
11. Favorite show to binge watch - Friends, that show will never, ever get old.

It has been so much fun to start to get to know everyone through these introductions and on Instagram.  I can't wait to get to know you better.

Pineapple Block - Yum!

When I saw the block that Alison requested, I was both excited (seemed simple) and nervous (do I have yellow and green fabric?).  I quickly went through my fabrics and got to work.  I love making HSTs and this block went together easily.

1. Name: RobinSue

2. Where you live: Oak Park, California

3. Tell us about your Family: Married with an almost 22 yr old daughter, graduating in May.  

4. Tell us about your pets: We have two active German Shorthair Pointers, Cola & Mini. 

5. How long have you been quilting? I started making simple quilts when I was in high school, more years ago than I care to admit.  I took a long break from needle and thread and when my daughter was in high school (almost 8 years ago) I took my sewing machine out of the case and haven't stopped since. 

6. What crafts do you do other than quilting? I'm not into other crafts.

7. What fabric line do you want to buy next? What a tough question. I'm starting out this year sewing from my stash, and of course, now that I've decided that, I love everything I see!

8. What is your preferred quilting method? I do all my own quilting on my home machine.  I use both straight line and FMQ designs.

9. Where can we find you on social media? Truthfully, I'm not very active on social media.  I can't quite get into it.  I can be found on Flickr: robinsuequilts, Instagram: RobinSue58

10. What is your favorite book? There are so many wonderful books, I can't choose a favorite! 

11. What is your favorite show to binge watch? When I'm sewing, I "listen" to NCIS, Castle, HGTV shows and seasons of shows I've saved on the DVR.