Dresden Plate Block for Rene

Dresden Plate block for Rene

This was a fun block to make--I've never made one!  And it was also fun to work on pool/summer colors while in the middle of December.  A nice change.  I followed the tutorial listed on the Flickr page, and it went together easily.  I was happy I had the Dresden Wedge ruler, as it was a snap to cut out with that.  My center was about 4 1/4" inches, and I used a teensy zig-zag with invisible MonoPoly thread in the top.  Thanks for the great tutorial and directions.

Revisiting Dresden

I couldn't believe when I saw Rene's choice for December, the Dresden block. I can only remember making this block once before - in my beginning quilting class nearly 30 years ago. Wow. So really, I couldn't resist jumping right in and working on the block. And it was really fun! Love your palette, Rene! {btw, my center is 4", machine-appliqued on with a blanket-stitch.}

With this block done and soon to be mailed, I'll be saying farewell to the Mid-Century Modern Bee. I'd love to stay connected though with all of you, and will definitely share my finished quilt from April (yikes!) - probably in 2015. I look forward to seeing future finishes by the rest of you too! Thanks for the fun sewing together...

Block Update

Yikes! I just realized I missed posting my September block - a Union Jack, using the tutorial from Molli Sparkles. I'd been wanting to make this block for a while, so was glad to be able to make one for Mary. I love the shape and size of this block too.

Of course, the October block for Anne is hush-hush, but I did get that done and sent off, and it was fun to try her tutorial.

For November, I tackled another pineapple block for Elizabeth. We were in the Always Bee Learning Bee together, and I got to make one for her there a few months ago. Though kind of intimidating from the looks of the pattern, this one went together without much stress. And I really like the parchment Elizabeth sent the pattern on - works terrific!

So I think I'm caught up, thanks to a guild retreat this weekend. I'm exhausted, but sure enjoyed sewing pretty much non-stop for 2 days!

My Modern Amish!

I thought my MCM bee buddies might like to see the progress on my 2014 quilt!

Poor Rene had to make another block for me....

(Isn't she a sweetie!)

Her original block escaped its envelope while travelling Downunder!

I made my Dusty Miller block to bring the group up to 12
-

And here they are all together....

And with a plan for a final layout.

I love it!

That black centre will be a 24" Feathered Star, I think!

Thanks everyone, I love this bee and all the girls in it...

SUZ

HSTs for Mary--August 2014

Please forgive the nighttime photo of the block(s), but I was anxious to get this out in the mail before life interrupted my forward trajectory one more time.  I made five  6-1/2" blocks as per Mary's instructions on our Flickr page, combining and recombining so they weren't too match-matchy.  I left them unsewn so she can move them around as she wants.  

The royal blue print in the lower triangles in the lower blocks are a sentimental thing that I do occasionally.  That fabric is from the very first pieced quilt that I made, way back in the 1970s, and when I can, I try to sneak a bit into every quilt I do, paying homage to that beginning quilter long ago.    The strawberry print in the upper corner is from a garage sale of a woman cleaning out her stash as she was moving to the rest home--another print from long ago that I thought Mary would enjoy.  Sometimes in our rush to use the newest and the greatest fabrics we forget that vintage fabrics can bring stories to our quilts.  Thanks, Mary, for giving me a chance to use them.

Diamonds for Linda

This is late, but in the interest of record keeping, here are the diamonds I made for Linda.

This will be a bright and cheery quilt for sure!

Blocks for Susan and Mary

I was a bit behind from the month of July, so I didn't get Susan's block done until this week. I love her idea so very much (and now am drooling over the thought of making one of these myself!) and then I had a hard time narrowing down the star and the color combinations because I kept being bombarded by more and more ideas. It is called "Mama's Memories" and it was designed by Judy Martin (but Elizabeth, you may rename it whatever you would like....)

I had fun with Mary's blocks too. I delved into my very small stash of repro prints and added them to my very large stash of Kona in shades of pale pink. I must have had some plan for all those yards of pale pink, but I didn't write it down, so naturally that plan escapes me at this point.

It will be fun to watch the progress of these two quilts.

July and August Blocks

I worked hard today to finish up blocks for both Susan and Mary. I hated that I was tardy in sewing the star block for my friend, Suz. I am pleased with the way it turned out, though, and hope that it fits in well with her vision.

Scrappy sewing is my "thing" so making up these cute half square triangles for Mary really was a delight. Hope you like them, Mary!

Both will be in the mail tomorrow!
Carla

HSTs for Mary . . .

Mary's block instructions came at the perfect time for me - when I was already in the studio and had an afternoon of sewing planned. So I tackled them right away, and made quick work of stitching these little blocks together. This photo doesn't show it well, but I did have some pale pink to use as background, though I did add a bit of Kona snow too, just to keep things scrappy. And since we usually make 12 1/2" blocks for each other, I did the equivalent by making 4 - 6 1/2" blocks. Per Mary's comment on Instagram, I'll send these back to her just this size, so she can mix them up with her other blocks.

Blazing July Star

It's hot, hot, hot where I live (Florida) and I love it! And July is appropriate for making a Blazing Star block for Susan. Because I was concerned about my machine piecing skills with this one, I decided to hand-piece it. Jinny Beyer has lots of block templates on her site, so she gets all the credit for this one.

When hand-piecing, I like to press the seam allowances as I go. I've found that an old wallpaper seam roller is invaluable for this.

The block is pieced with gray Bottom Line thread. I adore this "Target" spot print background. It's a Timeless Treasures piece I found about six years ago, when living in Iowa, and promptly bought six yards of in both black and white. It still doesn't fail me. Linda

July Star

Here's the block I made for Susan for July.

It's adapted from "Megan's Star" by Maverick Quilts in Modern Blocks. Unfortunately it really isn't photographing well. It looks a little brighter in person, and the background looks blacker. I was surprised to find I had no solid black in my stash, but felt this tone-on-tone Pearl Bracelet print was a good fill in, adding some fun movement to the block. Hope it plays well with the others!

Snazzy Star--July 2014

I started Susan's Bee Block by looking at all the blocks in that Jolly Old St. Nicholas post, hoping to get some ideas, as I thought I'd ease back into sewing by making her block.  I then changed up some of the parts to make it more snazzy and so I could get some more colors in there; I noticed that in the sample she gave us, the blocks are a little more complex.  I thought about using prints-that-read-as-solids, but in the end, went with just solids, as I liked the *pop* of them against the black.  I put a PDF of the templates on my blog, if you want the pattern.  I really have no idea if this star is an existing one in the quilt maker's canon (or already has a name), but for today, I'm calling mine Snazzy Star.  Lastly, if you haven't been over to Susan's blog and seen her photos, you are missing out on some gorgeous scenery!

PS: Cindy and I put up a meet-up date for those going to QuiltCon 2015 on Flickr.  Head over there to let us know if you'll be joining us!

P.P.S.  Perhaps it would be helpful if we added a label to our posts of our blog name.  I've tried to type most of them into the list.

STAR BLOCK FOR SUSAN

I have had a wonderful few days of sewing!  Initially Susan had said she didn't want us to make her a block but with a little persuasion , she changed her mind  : )
She asked for any 12" star block on a black background. Years ago, before I knew about blogland, I fooled around with this star in a star block and came up with this variation.  I call it 'Twice upon a Star". I'm sure it's not original, but back then I was pretty excited with how it turned out. I still have my hand written instructions! So,  I decided to make that for Susan

I look forward to seeing the other blocks that are made for her

Diamonds for Linda

A wee bit late with these but they are done. Hope they are ok and the right size  : )

Diamonds

Some of these things are not like the others.

Mid-Century Modern bee-ers... if you haven't yet sewn the June diamond blocks, please make them like the ones at the top of the photo, laying the strips at that angle according to the print-out.

I'll probably use the ones on the bottom in the quilt back. Thank you all for making diamonds! I really do appreciate them! Linda

Arrow for Carla

I really enjoyed making this arrow. The quilt is sure to be stunning!

Arrow and Feather

Not totally happy with my making of Carla's fabulous arrow pattern,

I resorted to my favourite AMH Feather!

I hope you like them…

Susan

April and May Bee Blocks 2014: Rolling Diamonds and Arrow Block

I mailed off Debbie's blocks some time ago, but didn't get these posted.  You've already seen them in her picture of all the blocks, and I'm happy that she's happy with all that we've created for her.

It's really an interesting block with that subdivided center.  It allows so many possibilities!

Today I was determined to get my Bee Blocks sewn, so I made the arrow for Carla.   I put some comments up on the photo in the Flickr pool, but basically it's that I'd recommend cutting your strip set at 20 or 21" in length in order to make sure you get the length you need to cut those angles.  Everything else is a piece-of-cake because of Carla's clear directions and helpful photos.  I included not only the right-angle piece, but also my end pieces, just in case you can do something with them, and I mailed it all off today, Carla!

April quilt block for Debbie

This was a lot of fun to make. I think I would enjoy a whole quilt made from these blocks!

April Status

Just couldn't resist posting a photo of the blocks I've received so far! The upper-left was my sample block.

Thanks everyone! I'm really glad I chose this block!

Debbie's Rolling Diamonds Block

As much as I loved the Rolling Diamonds block design Debbie chose for April, I had a tough time choosing fabrics. I mistakenly thought I needed to cut the center square on the diagonal, to get the design I wanted... and then realized I shouldn't have bothered. Still, I didn't quite like how this one turned out.

12-1/2" unfinished

So, I made another, thinking to change up the colors. Ha! I ended up with pretty much the same color combo. At least this block has some neat fabrics. The center square and dark triangles around it are from Emma Jean Jansen's "Terra Australis" collection. I won a charm pack from Emma in an IG giveaway, so Debbie now has two precious prints from that pack. Can't wait for the whole yardage collection to become available! The orange/pink print is a True Color by Anna Maria Horner.

12-1/2" unfinished

Hope you can find a place for one of these blocks on your quilt front, Debbie. Linda

STRINGS AND DIAMONDS

I'm a bit late here but I finally remembered to post my blocks!  A string block for Cindy

and a rolling diamond block for Debbie. She's sort of a Tula Pink fan so I included some in my block. I like it  : )

Have a great week ladies!

April's Block :: Rolling Diamonds

April is just around the corner, so I've been mulling over what block I want you all to make for my month. I've settled on the Rolling Diamonds block by knottygnome crafts. {Here's the block tutorial.} And here's a sample quilt - isn't it fun?

photo by knottygnome crafts

For colors, take this quilt as inspiration! For backgrounds, please use low-volume or barely off-white. KONA snow would be fine, just no super-stark and shiny white please. Any mix of colors is fine for the rest of the block, which will measure 12 1/2" unfinished. My block turned out more medium that bright, but either is fine. Just go bold over pastel.

I'll basically put this same info in our flickr group. So feel free to comment or ask questions either there or in response to this post. I hope you have fun with this block and thank you in advance!

Three Months Worth

So glad we have this blog....just need to remember I can post here ;-)!!!

For Cindy....

spiderweb block

....just need to put in the mail.

For Carla....

juicy fruit churn dash

....hope this is to your liking.  I really don't mind redoing it.

For Linda....

mid-century modern house block

....fun block to make.

Ready for April!

Cheery Churn Dashes!

With today being the first day of spring here in the US, what better way to celebrate than to show you my collection of cheerful blocks!

 You all outdid yourselves with your fabric choices and I'm so excited to be seriously believing that this will soon come together as a quilt. I'll be sewing the blocks together during a quilt retreat in mid-April. First, I'll need to count and see where I stand on numbers...I still might have a few more blocks to make.

 It was fun to get little notes from you all along with the blocks. Rene' and Cindy have especially nice stationary featuring their own creations. Aren't they awesome!

 Thank you, thank you, for your double duty at making more churn dash blocks for me again this round. I'm loving the addition of yellow to my pallet. 

Next year, I'll think of some other block...I promise!
Piecefully yours,
Carla Timberlake
aka: Lollyquiltz

March Spider

Keep forgetting about posting here.  I finished Cindy's blocks and sent them off.  I think it will be great fun for her to put this quilt together.

Have fun Cindy!

Rainbow Spider!

for Cindy....

She is going to have an amazing quilt!

Another Spider

My spiderweb block-quarters are done! I was surprised how many solids were in my scrap basket!

March Forth!

Cindy's text-y center, solid Spider Web block will be in the mail this week! Such a fun design.

Churn Dash Blocks--Feb 2014

This is where I started out.  I made the four blocks, pressed the inner seams open like a Good Girl (as per the instructions) and joined them together. The block measured too big.  So I went back in and ripped out about half the opened-up joining seams, resewed them, and pressed them them open again.  And I still wasn't happy, but I wrapped it up and sent it off.  Like a Good Girl.

I now know realize I am someone who is Open-Quilt-Seam-Challenged.  If my seams are not pressed open, and I need to adjust a squinch, there's no unpicking needed.  I simply sew a bit bigger seam, and since it is pressed to the side, no worries.  For those of you who are Perfect Seam Sewers, I congratulate you.  It's just not me.  I'm always fiddling with things.  Maybe I'm distracted by a good book.  Or a phone conversation. Or the rain outside.  (She hangs her head in shame.)

So, tonight, I went in and made four more blocks to send to Carla, and like some of the other MCM-ers, I'm leaving them unsewn, for Carla to place them where she wants.  And true confession: I pressed the seams to the side, alternating the direction when I pressed the block seams.  Forgive me, Carla.  I really tried.

I hope you like them both!