Where Ya Been?!

Interesting that my last post was a travel pillow finish as I have made five more trips since then!  Throw in a couple of bouts with the common cold and I wonder why I am so tired ;-))

There is so much to get caught up on here on the blog.  I have been making bee blocks, finished a small project or two, took a knitting class, made an "appearance" on a podcast, started our guild's newsletter, received some quilty gifts, bought cool fabric, and oh took a class with Gwen Marston!

Today I'll share the Mid Century Modern bee blocks made through April.  January's block was for Elizabeth, and I showed a sneak peek here.  The quilt top is still a secret.

Cindy asked for Books for Baby blocks from Ayumi's Patchwork Please! book for her sweet granddaughter.  One block made for MCM and one block for the Sew Sisters Bee.

Linda requested tiny churn dash blocks with a few Gwen Marston influences.  Perfect to make right after my class with Gwen.  Love these!

Stephanie is making a quilt to raise money for the Kalamazoo Academy of Rock and sent a palette of Paintbrush Studios solids to create a 12.5 x 18.5 HST block.  Gorgeous colors.

That's it for now.  I hope everyone has been doing well.  I have missed you.
Thanks for stopping by,

Friday Finish: Not One but Two Bee Quilts

I am SO excited to share two Mid Century Modern Bee quilts completely finished!  The binding was finished up over the Thanksgiving break and photographs taken with family help.

First up is my Dresden quilt (which has shown itself to be extremely difficult to photograph!) made with blocks requested in December, 2014 from Anne, Carla, Carla, Cindy, Debbie, Elizabeth, Linda, Mary, Mary, Susan and myself.

I requested fabrics using this color palette as a guide and suggested this tutorial for making the dresden plate blocks.  After mulling over many layout ideas in my head, I got tired of waiting for some brilliant plan to emerge ended up stitching the dresdens in a random placement onto a wideback Carolyn Friedlander print.

I handed over my quilt top and Tula Pink wideback yardage to Frank and told him to work his quilting magic.....which he did!!!

Like the quilt top, it was difficult to photograph the quilting properly.  Frank used green thread on the top but not the bottom.  This closeup of the backing gives you an idea of how wonderful the quilting is.  The binding is a Carolyn Friedlander botanics print.  Finished quilt size is 72 x 90.

My Bubble Bee quilt is also finished making me all caught up with my MCM Bee!!!

These blocks (pattern by Aylin and used with permission for bee purposes) were requested in June, 2015 and made by Anne, Carla, Carla, Cindy, Elizabeth, Elizabeth, Mary, Mary, Michelle, myself, Stephanie and Susan.

The paper pieced pattern has templates for multiple size bubbles, but I sent each member the same 12.5" finished instructions and asked them to select a color and use fabrics in that color for the bubble shape and low value for the outer section.  When the blocks were returned, I enlarged the blocks to finish at 18" by adding low value strips in a log cabin fashion.

My original plan was to make additional blocks in various sizes more in keeping with the pattern sample.  In the end, I chose to stay with the twelve blocks and a three block across and four block down layout.

I am so glad because I love it!  With both these quilts, I can look at each block and remember which friend made them for me!

Again, I gave the quilt top and back to Frank, and again I am not disappointed.  He has some mad quilting skills!!!

I love that the backing fabric is my friend Amanda's.  It is the wideback print from her Good Neighbors fabric line for Connecting Threads.  I don't think I could have chosen a better print for the back.  Can you see the gorgeous quilting!  The binding is a Carolyn Friedlander crosshatch print.  Finished quilt size is 54 x 72.

This morning I attempted to get a photo of the Bubble Bee quilt by the pool with bubbles from my grandson's bubble maker.  It was not a huge success ;-)

Thought I would share them anyway (along with the bubble maker).  You have to look really hard to see any bubbles.

Thank you SO MUCH Mid Century Modern Bee friends!!!  I love and treasure you and my quilts!  Y'all are the best!!!

Spiraling Butterflies

Spiraling Butterflies is my finish for the QuiltCon Michael Miller Glitz Fabric Challenge.

The butterfly blocks were made using Little Bluebell's paper pieced Modern Butterfly pattern.  I just love this pattern and have so many other butterfly quilt plans!

The background fabric is Michael Miller Cotton Couture in Blush and also in Love.  The color variation is quite subtle, but I like the depth using two different colors provides.

I finished making the blocks and determined the layout while at our Orlando MQG retreat (still need to post about that!).  Having creative input from others was awesome!  After that, the top came together quickly.

I used my walking foot to quilt spirals (THANK YOU Jacquie and Craftsy for the refresher) starting a little offset from the center.  Aurifil 2410 in 40wt was the thread I used.  I had just enough left over from this quilt and the color matched perfectly.

Twice before, I quilted spirals, but one was a mini quilt and the other was just on a portion of the quilt.  I said I would never do it again, but this time I found the process quite therapeutic.  Crazy, right?!

The Cotton Couture solids are SUPER soft, so possibly that made a difference in the quilting?  All I  know is, the {continuous} turning of the quilt through my Juki didn't seem as difficult as I remembered.

 
The backing fabric is Michael Miller What's Your Angle? and the binding is the pink pearlized dot from the Glitz line.

 The binding was hand stitched to the back while on Thanksgiving break.  I finished just in time to photograph and upload before the deadline.  This is my first time entering a quilt into a show.  I must admit, it was quite exciting and nerve wracking at the same time.

I saw on Instagram this morning that a record breaking number (1,810) of quilts were entered in QuiltCon 2016 and approximately 300-350 will be accepted!  What an incredible show it will be!

To me, it's a win-win.  If my quilt gets in...Cool!!!  If it doesn't....I don't have to make a hanging sleeve and ship it have to part with it!  Good luck to all who entered!

June Blocks

Our MCM Bee added new members this year and rearranged months, so I get to be Queen Bee sooner.  That's the reason I am giving for not having my Dresden quilt finished before requesting new blocks!  I was so proud of completing my first bee quilt before the second round that I wanted to keep it up.

bubble block in blue

I chose Aylin's bubble block this time around and my bee mates have been gracious in making this block for me.  It's not the quickest that's for sure. 

slightly crooked picture of Elizabeth and Susan's blocks

Susan pointed out that four of these blocks make up our bee logo.  Very cool!  The pattern can be purchased here.  You can search Instagram using the hashtag #MCMBee or #midcenturymodernbee to see other blocks made by our bee members and #aylinnilyabubbles to see other blocks made using this pattern.

House block 1

House blocks were requested for Wish Circle bee.  I made these while out of town so my fabric choices were quite limited, but I think they are quite cute.  We used this tutorial if you'd like to make some yourself.

House block 2

Amanda Jean's block for Sew Sisters bee will be made while on retreat.  This is the first time retreating since our bee started so it should be quite fun making bee blocks together.

It's nice to have my blocks completed and blogged in the same month!

Thanks for stopping by,

MCM Bee Blocks

I'm in the process of determining which projects I have actually blogged about.... Bee blocks for MCM Bee are current, but January was the last block I shared here on the blog.

Lemon cake with raspberry filling

Carla requested cakes...

Dresden block in blues and low volume

Cindy combined two bees for making Dresden blocks...

quite a few pieces in this block ;-)

Stephanie asked for the Gorgeous Gertie blocks...

so happy to pull my Liberated Quiltmaking II off the bookshelf

Carla wants baskets for what I know will be a beautiful quilt.....

June's Queen Bee is me!!!  I will be posting my block details in the next day or two....

Stay tuned for that and for an update on my Wish Circle bee blocks.

Thanks for stopping by,

What's Up Wednesday: April blocks

April bee blocks finished in the knick of time.

favorite fabrics of Anna Maria Horner, Carolyn Friedlander, Riley Blake

Rolling Diamonds (tutorial by knotty gnome crafts) for Debbie's month in our MCM Bee.

crooked photo

Courthouse Steps (using this tutorial but 2.5" strips) for Kirsten in the Wish circle at do.Good Stitches.  I love this oversize version of the block! I promise my blocks are square...just a lopsided photo ;-)))
Making this block brought back memories of one of the first quilts I ever blogged about - the Silver Anniversary/Courthouse Blues quilt made for my husband and our 25th wedding anniversary.

still with paper backing

Here are a few Aerial blocks I completed while at Sew Down.  This paper pieced pattern by Carolyn Friedlander is great for a beginner like me and fun for a workshop setting.  See...I occasionally am productive in workshops....although I do prefer to chat and get to know my quilty friends ;-)  I haven't decided where I am going with this quilt, but I liked using combinations of shot cottons and Carolyn's fabrics.

Thanks for stopping by.

Happy stitching,

What's Up Wednesday: NOT skiing

It's winter break for my daughter's school, and we are back in Montana for the week.  My injured hand has been the perfect excuse to get out of skiing and spend time sewing.  There are other families here from school so my husband has friends to ski with and everyone is happy!

ready to sew

I keep a little machine here in what I call my sewing closet.  It's not my favorite, but I love being able to sew when I am here, and it is fine for block making.

gathering supplies

This month I was invited to join the Wish circle group of do.Good Stitches {a charity bee}, and I am super excited to participate!  February's blocks are quilty cross blocks made with masculine fabrics in orange, olive green, royal blue and navy.

do good stitches

A few days ago I received an email reminding me of the approaching deadline for the ALL SHIRTS. no shoes. swap.  Oops....forgot I had signed up for that!  I brought supplies enough to make ten shirts but stopped after making one.  Think my Juki is better equipped for sewing over the bulky seams when joining the two halves together.  I don't think one shirt is worth swapping though.

shirt block

For Christmas I received this lovely quilt rack and it is finally put together.  Thanks Mom!  I love having a place for my quilts.  They have been getting used quite a bit this week.  

Christmas gift

Thanks for stopping by,