finally! a Bee quilt!

 Eons ago, I started a bee quilt. Blocks were assembled from this one and that one,  I had decided on a tessellated design, so backgrounds for blocks were in squares, to be finished 12" or 6", or rectangles, to finish 62 x 12". Add a restricted palate of bright cheerful hues, and then have great fun organising and arranging these.





Then, the real fun begins. Several part seams. some slightly under or oversized blocks- you may think, oversized is easy, just chop a bit off, but when a design gets near the edge,, that is not always a wonderful solution...

 Then to quilt it.
I knew I just wanted to do a cosy fleece backing   ( Quilt police , just do not look, please!), and I had some variegated thread to work with. I did simple organic wide quilting to anchor everything, and then, with trepidation, and after several practice efforts, I actually did odd bits of FMQ in a few places.

Go me!

 See that flower by the wee birdie?   yes, that is one of the bits. Or does this count more as embroidery? I am not quite certain, but it was free motion, so, that is a start.

And there you see my DS, home for the weekend, holding up the Bee masterpiece! He and his girlfriend have trotted it off down to London to cheer their wee home up a bit. I am very happy to see it go off to a happy home, to be snuggled under.

I was chuffed to bits to get the effect I wanted with those varied size blocks.

Thank you everyone who contributed.

Hipbee quilt!

You may remember this from March last year?? No? well, I am not surprised.. It was a while ago..











My bee mates made more of these with blue or mustard backgrounds, and I finally got around to putting them all together...




























and then I stopped again. Until I found a back for it. A fleece back. It is, if you like, a lazy back, but very cosy!
So, backed, quilted and bound

A mix of Liberty prints and Kona cottons, and sent off to another home, where someone may benefit from it's cosy qualities! and enjoy how cheerful it looks.

I have joined in with Finish it up Friday, over at Crazy Mom quilts

Beeing good

It is the final month for our Hipbees. This is rather sad, as I have thoroughly enjoyed being part of this little group. We have had a lovely Bee mamma, in Di, and the other ladies I have been playing along with are so friendly and a super bunch to work with. As they say though, all good things come to an end, and it is time to say a sad goodbye. As an introduction to really fun bees, this was fabulous. 

So, thank you, Di,  and all the lovely ladies, I am sure we shall continue to be online friends, and meet in other bees and swaps. 

Our final block has been the Plus block, Amy did all the hard work for us, and created thes blocks, all we had to do, was the sewing of them! Thank you Amy!

The other bee I am taking part in is the Fat Stash Brit bee. This month is Ashleigh's month. She had a panel of 'Cardigan Ladies' This was chopped up and distributed, with some additional fabrics, and we were told to get on and create!

I rather took her at her word and had great fun with this one..... I really hope she likes it... we shall see. Anyway, it is done now, and ready to be sent back to her. I wonder how she will put all her ladies together?

Early bird...

Hip bee fabric came really promptly this month, and with the help of Cindy's tutorial for this block, a mini scrappy stars block was easily accomplished. Just quoting my daughter here... a really good use of negative space...

Now, a couple of our bee members have had to drop out as we have gone along, which would leave the current queen several blocks short, we are all making two blocks per month, so two bees down, and you are four blocks out. So there are a few of us who volunteered to do a little extra. Good thing I was one of them! 

So, when I was half way through putting together the next one, and realised I had put the strips together in the wrong order... leaving me two half blocks which could not make a whole... in the block above, imagine I have the top half, and the left half.... Instead of getting the seam ripper out, I made more blocks and just matched the pieces to get the blocks as needed. Whew!

So now I have all four blocks ready to post. And quite early in the month... I better smile sweetly at my husband, he gets my Post Office duties most often!

May sewing?

Well, I did have a couple of bee blocks, one for a starter- but I made that in April... but it still counts? right?

this floaty star!

then, I had a bee block or two to make for the hipbees... 

Foundation paper pieced- I am not a keen doer of this technique, but I do love the end result!

and that bag- yes I will do it a post of it's own, promise!


and I think that is all I achieved- between various other activities...



so here is hoping for a more productive June!

oh, and having met Lynn from Lily's quilts, I thought I would go mad, and join her 'fresh sewing day' once more!  see you there!

May hips

Okay, I admit it, I have a love/hate relationship with foundation paper piecing. I love the result but oh, how I resent the waste! I resent the waste of paper, and I also resent that there tends to be a waste of fabric. Though those little extra scrappy bits really would never have been used anywhere else.

But a very simple and pretty star was chosen for this month, and the paper was printed and sent with the fabric. You may find the pattern  at Fresh Lemons

A neat package arrived..



























and pretty turquoise and vibrant green fabrics appeared, , which may be used in whichever position we feel  is best.

 I folded the papers, to make the positioning of fabrics easier,

and I got sewing...













and sewed the pieces together... wrong...


a little stitch ripper action and a little more sewing... and you get






this!

and a day later  this also appeared!

I am holding on to these for a short while, as it is my month next month, and I shall plan to send my fabrics back with these...

Bee blocking

At the moment I am taking part in two bees. These each run a little differently, and one asks for one block to be made, and the other, two blocks. This is very straightforward, but I seem to have trouble remembering that they do not both want two blocks!

So, first, the ' fat Stash Brit Bee' . For this one, you send a FQ's worth of gift fabric, and ask for what you wish, and the bee members create a block, 12.5", using fabrics from stash, with or without using the gifted fabric. Clearly, you want to send fabric which will help tie together all the blocks when they return, so, this month, Celtic Thistle sent fat quarters of cheerful plains, to be made to her pattern, adding in low volume neutrals, to really make the solids pop. I was lucky enough to get red through my letterbox, and quickly got a block made. However, my careful planning just missed...




 Do you see where I went wrong? I transposed two quarters.. Now I need to get that stitch ripper busy. Not having spotted that one, I happily got on with number two..

I had forgotten that only one block is needed...
and happily this one seems to have behaved itself. So, I shall have to sort that first one, but not just yet, as I have had to pack away the sewing machine for a short while. More on that later...











The other bee is the HipBee. With that one, we are sent a sufficient quantity of fabric to create a block, and return any extra with our TWO blocks. Jill waned beach huts, and sent a pretty selection of fabrics for us to do our worst, and create whatever our imaginations may come up with. There were also two pieces, one blue, and the other white, as backgrounds for the blocks.  So, a good bit of thinking, and a little bit of drawing, and these blocks came up.

  I had great fun working out how to introduce the 3 D effect on the parasol

There would be room for a little extra on this one, but, on balance, I am going to leave it now, quite apart from the fact that my machine is in hiding.








Why is the machine hiding away?

because of this! That is a hole in the ceiling




We are to have a plasterer coming in tomorrow, and she will be repairing this hole. So, my usual sewing haunt will be out of commission, and I think, once the ceiling is done, I will probably need to continue and redecorate the rest of the room.. It is a good job the Easter break is coming, and should give me time to do it.. With a bit of help I hope!

Wish me luck getting my sewing back up and running soon!

spring is coming... slowly!

Some early signs of spring..

 Winter flowering honeysuckle,

 Berberis,


















Rhubarb starting again!












And snowdrops are out!








And, yes, I have done a little sewing too!

The February hipbee block was chosen by Di, She chose a really pretty block, and sent us all we needed, including comprehensive instructions.

Now, I have to say the instructions were extremely good, and clear. I read them twice before I started in on her beautiful fabric. I am fairly careful cutting, as I also do dressmaking, and two right sleeves when you need one left and one right really does not work. You do have to check and cut correctly.

So, can you explain why I had a brainstorm, and sewed a section wrong. Four times over?  and did not realise until I had irrevocably chopped it, and was trying to make the piecing work?


Luckily I was able to get replacement fabric, and carefully unpick the triangles on the end, and resew correctly!

You see those two pieces on the left there? Top one is correct, lower one is the wrong way round!

Thank goodness it was sortable! no, I know that is not English, but it works for me!







so once I had my four pieces like this, we were sailing!

 and I was really chuffed with those centre points.... Let us draw a veil over the earlier disaster..







and the finished block, Ok, not perfect, but I think it will have to do!

day off

 The Hipbee block for this month was set by Catherine. She chose this very pretty block, called Jared Takes a wife, which had really clear instructions, at Quiltville.

Catherine made it really easy, providing fabric already cut into appropriate strips and squares.

It is, however, quite surprising how easily I can sew two pieces together, intending to make that pointy bit, and get it wrong!

My trusty little seam ripper got rather more exercise than I would have preferred.

In fact one of those little pointy numbers was taken apart 3 times...

I can't wait to see what the other colourways are!

We are coming towards the end of our round the world trip  quilt and there are only a few more blocks to go. The last but one for me is entitled ' Twelve bar blues' . An all blue 12.5" unfinished block is requested, so I came up with this, 

Again, this is the result of fiddling about with a piece of paper, whilst watching television. But, I think it fits the brief. And then, as I had nothing better to do ( cough, cough) I just felt like making the next one. 

Those three dimensional blocks are so addictive....

Poor show- September sewing!

 Belated block for Fi, in the stash bee. She chose pretty pretty fabric...

And officially September blocks for Sarah

 And a block to go off to the other side of the world, after a few more stopovers,













and playing nicely with it's friends..

And between moving children, and going on holiday- and having visitors, that is about all that happened in September!











Linking with fresh sewing day- despite such a poor collection!

Recap! bee blocks

 Augusts belated block for Fi, She sent these beautiful fabrics, and said, 'Surprise me' . So I found a block in Quilters Cache, which I liked, but it was foundation paper pieced. Woops! so I looked at it, and decided I could just piece it. So, I did. and it seems to have worked. Aren't those colours pretty. I love the pop of the pink.

And Sarah had managed to send the fabric for two blocks for September. concentric squares, in black and white, with pops of bright colour. These are just a little more tricky than they look, as you have to ensure you have enough for that final round. But they were great fun to do. I think Sarah will have a lovely quilt at the end of it.  

All this a little later than planned, as we had the Day of Dance last weekend. so busy, I took no photos this year, but for a taste of it have a look at this 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjrFyCejoQE&feature=youtu.be

All for now!

Very green, or perhaps not..

Purple and lime green, that is what my Secret tote partner wanted- sorry, Caroline, I cannot send you this, but it made me think of you! you will have to ignore the slug evidence- I suppose they have to live too.. 

 This little lady is Teasing Georgia, She graces my back garden



while.....














Graham Thomas sells himself in the front!














Philadelphus Belle Etoile smells gorgeous.

And the smallest yellow courgettes in the world are just about big enough to eat now!

 and the first cucumber flowers are out!


and I have eaten my first home grown tomatoes!















A hanging basket tomato!












 Just to complete the picture, a new tree has appeared! This is Tanya's Hipbee request.

It is quite difficult to photograph this one, as it is so pale. I hope Tanya will like it.

And this is what I have managed for the Stash bee. A bit uninspired, but the request was, get all the ugly fabrics out and make these triangles. So, ugly I have very little of, but these feel, well, a bit ... dull?  I think I shall have to make some brighter ones to go with them!







Now, if you have made it all the way down here, here is a thought,


May, that fabraholic lady, runs a little Flickr club. She calls it Lazy Bums. Well, I would never come up with a name like that, would I?
So, the object of this club is, to take ten UFOs, and put them up on a list to be tackled. There are various ways we are going to be challenged to deal with these awkward clients. Perhaps one month we shall all try to complete UFO number 4, or, another month she will ask us to wipe out the oldest UFO on the list. One way or another, we are to be encouraged to attack these stored in boxes UFOs, and get them finished!

To find out more look at her post here, she explains so much better than I can!

So, why not join in? Just pop in to the Flickr group and ask if she will let you in. After all, if she let me in, I am sure she will be glad to welcome you!