December block for Elizabeth

It has been so drab and dreary around here lately that I really perked up when I read that Elizabeth (@Pieceful Life) wanted bright & cheerful solids for her block.

 

Can't wait to see this quilt finish!

 

Posted with Blogsy

All Caught Up

December block for Elizabeth ready to pop in the mail:

Michelle's house block which I mailed (late) a few days ago:

I believe I am now caught up with posting my blocks to Flickr ;-))

Have I mentioned how much I love this bee?!!!  Looking forward to 2016 and our fourth year!

November ( just a tad late )

Good morning!  I sewed my block for Michelle this week and am posting it now.  I really enjoyed this little block. I included some text print in the centre of mine because Michelle is a speech therapist and I thought she might get a kick out of it.

Will pop this in the mail this week  : )

Dresdens and Bubbles

Thank you dear MCM Bee friends for your block contributions to my two gorgeous quilts I recently finished!

My Dresden quilt from my time as Queen Bee in December, 2014....

and my Bubble Bee quilt from June, 2015....

You can read more details on my blog here including lists of block makers.

Obviously, I could not have made these quilts without you.  I love the thought and time that each of you put into making your blocks for me.  This group is the best and I am so proud to be included.

Hugs,

Rene'

December 2015 Blocks Finished

We finish off the year in brights and triangles--super way to bring 2015 home!  These are the December bee blocks for Elizabeth R. and it was super easy, so I made two. For those of you who happen on this block from the web, we started with 7" blocks, sewed on either side of the diagonal line, then cut them apart to make two HST.  Another round of that, and now we have one block.  

I love them by themselves, but I'm sure they'll be gorgeous all in a quilt with their mates.

Do you remember helping me on this quilt?  I love it!

Merry Christmas, everyone, and see you in January!

November and December 2015

I'm closing out the month of November with a quick post on my bee blocks. 2015 marks three years for the Mid Century Modern Bee. I love the online connections and friendships I've made in this bee. In three years we've lost a few and gained a few members but I still feel connected to everyone through either their blogs and/or Instagram.

In typical fashion, I waited till the end of the month to get November's block done for Michelle, (@speechyquilter on Instagram). She asked for scrappy house blocks based on this great little tutorial. It was a quick block to make which is appreciated at this busy time of year. Everyone seemed to go with a little fussy cut image in the center so I did the same with this sweet little bird print.

In a very not so typical fashion, I cranked out December's block before December even started. That's a first! It's for Elizabeth (@piecefullife on Instagram). She was really sweet to post her request early and also chose a super easy block. Solid colors and quick HSTs. I don't know what she'll be making but sewing these blocks has me considering something similar with a few prints I'm itching to use.

So that's it for 2015 and bee blocks. I have received all the striped blocks from everyone and put them on my design wall. Now I'm contemplating several possibilites. I'm even considering whether I could squeeze two quilts out of the blocks after I add in my part. Stay tuned as this idea develops. Don't all those stripes look amazing? I can't wait to get started.

By taking a photo without any arranging, I can already see relationships between the blocks that I hadn't noticed just by looking at my design wall. It's hard to take it all in and really see those relationships between blocks and colors when viewing first hand sometimes. That's why I would encourage everyone to use your digital cameras. Then you can take photos of several arrangements and view them side by side on your computer to see where things work and where they don't.

2016 will bring some new members to our Mid Century Modern Bee which also means we're saying goodbye to a few. I'm sad to see Susan, Michelle, Carla and Mary go but life and priorities change for all of us. Thanks for all the great blocks you've made for me. I will miss you being a part of MCM.

Anne

for Elizabeth- December!

I'm guessing while my MCM bee buddies were feasting on turkey and pumpkin pie,

I was making these for Elizabeth!

Yes, I'm an overachiever!

Enjoy them E- I love your idea!

Remiss

It was remiss of me not to post my "Rainbow Connection" quilt here, from the 2014 round of MCM Bee...

I loved making this quilt and it will always hold a special place in my heart and in my home.

Even though I did not receive siggy blocks from everyone, all contributors names are on the back, in the turquoise squares.

And here is the back of my Christmas Table Runner with all 2015 participants acknowledged!

I'm only today starting the hand quilting.

I hope I get it finished in time for Christmas 2015!

SUZ

Blocks for October and November

I'm a little behind on sending out Anne's block:

 And early (for me, at least) on sending out Michelle's block:

I hope the blocks work for each of you. Looking forward to seeing what you do with them!

House Blocks for November 2015

Yes, I made a duo, because the bottom one was the first one I made, and the big blank spot was on the wrong side.  [take two]  But it's kind of fun to see them both together.  For those who happened on our blog from the Great Wide Internet, we used the tutorial found on *this* page (this house is on page three).

Stripes for Anne--October 2015

I started out making this block--random strips, with a touch of bright.  I also wrote up the signature block, too, even though she didn't ask for one, as it's our habit.  However, I switched up the dimensions in my mind, getting the 12" measurement going up and down and the 15" measurement going side to side, which is the exact opposite of what she requested.

After Anne sent out her PDF about the strips, I could see what she wanted much easier (great PDF, by the way), so quickly pulled together some more strips, this time with the stripe going the right way.  After chatting with her on the phone where she explained that she's going to "have fun" with these blocks, even slicing some up to create different blocks, I knew that both of mine were going to be fine.  I sent them off and can't wait to see what comes of this stripe exploration!

Basket Bliss

Hi Ladies!  I got my baskets all together. I keep forgetting to post things here, but here it is.
Thanks so much for all your help with these blocks

Starry Sky Block

September 2015 Block: Starry Sky

This block, made for Mary, was a really fun foundation paper-pieced block to assemble and to think about.  Somehow I have collected quite a few neutral (or "low volume") prints and it was fun to use them with some bright solids.  The tutorial is found *here.*

June and July

I had a good time making both of these blocks, and can hardly wait to see the final results.

Here is the bubbles block for Rene'.

And the Stepping Stones block for Susan.

I'm sure both finishes will be beautiful.

Stepping Stones Block from Elizabeth

I finished the Stepping Stones block for Susan (July's block) and am happy to be able to contribute to her upcoming Christmas celebrations!

I love red and white, but I don't love that some red fabrics bleed and bleed and bleed, no matter how many times you wash them.

This is third wash.  I added one of those Color Catchers to the next wash and it grabbed up whatever excess color was floating around.  I've heard that these also "set" dye, which I'm hoping for, for Susan's sake.  I'd previously washed the red fabric I was working with, but decided to test it again.  I then whacked off a swath of 5" to work with on her block, washing it and rinsing it several times.  I include this just as a cautionary note to check your reds.

Having been warned by Susan about piecing those center arrows, I did get those correct, but then made the stepping stones corners all the same.  I just didn't pay enough attention to the illustrations on the tutorial, but I fixed it and it here is. 

A grouping of these will make a splendid table runner!

June and July

I got behind. 

In fact, my sewing machine has been gathering dust while I've been busy getting our house ready to sell. 

But, over the weekend, I forced myself to sit down and sew what I knew would not be a fast block to make. Perseverance paid off.

It's clever and cute. But, boy howdy....!!

I chose yellow because no one else did...hope that's okay, Rene'!

I'm sorry that it's a bit late.

 On a roll, I'm excited to get Susan's star finished and in the mail early in the month of July. This block took concentration and precise seam allowances, but turned out to be pretty easy to make. I did resort to pins after having to rip out some seams that kept getting folded over on the back. Pins are good!

It was fun to find a good spot for this sewing-pattern-themed-fabric!

Enjoy, ladies.

I'll get them the mail tomorrow!

Lolly

FIREBALL

Your block is done Rene.  I do love the end result : )

Now on to Susan's !

Stepping Stone block

Yes ladies, it is July already!
This is the block I would like made for me....
*NB There are further details on Flick'r- sorry to confuse you.....

With one minor major difference- 

I want it in reverse colours ie a red star on a white background!

The tutorial can be found here 

I didn't have many difficulties but please note.... some measurements are not included!

You will need to cut 8 X 1.5" x 2.5" white rectangles and 8 X 1.5" white squares.  These are used to make the 'arrow' head points of the centre star.

Be careful how you piece these...

The one on the left is correct, the one on the right is incorrect. Easily fixed by un'stitching' the centre seam and sewing the opposite sides together.

Another tip-

These pieces...

can be trimmed to 4.5" square. The designer does not mention this, but I think it is worth noting.

The final block is quite forgiving in that it does leave some leeway to be trimmed to its required 10.5" square.

Thanks everyone! I am looking forward to making this into possibly a Christmas table runner! Not much use for Christmas quilts in December in the Southern Hemisphere......
Susan

Purple Bubble for Rene'

I finished my purple bubble for Rene' today.  Here she is!

I had fun making this.  I enjoy paper piecing.  There are some really tiny pieces in this baby, and it was no small task to make the block.  Rene' is smart to have us helping her with these, as it would be hard to make these all yourself!  (This was my MO with my challenging blocks a couple months ago.  Thanks, gang, for helping me!)

In the past couple of months, between this project and another one I am working on (the My Small World Quilt Along), it has become very apparent to me that I have an extremely limited stash of low volume fabrics.  I'm going to make it a point to start collecting those a little more.  (Because I do need more stash.  LOL!)

Speaking of stash, I've been trying hard to work from my stash for all my bee blocks so as to use what iI have and to stop hoarding.  I've been doing pretty well with that, so thanks gang!  It was fun to go raid my purple stash for this.  I had more purples, but they were more lavender.  I wanted to stay in the darker purple vein.  I was able to pull from stash and pull from the scrap pile.  Because so many of the pieces were so small, I could really use some small scraps, which was nice.

Sorry I haven't been posting all my blocks when I finish them.  I wasn't thinking!  I'll try to do a catch-up post here soon to summarize my January through June blocks.  Better late than never, right?

Hugs,
Stephanie

P.S.  I love the idea of making a MCM bee quilt (or 12--one for each of us).  I'm in if there's an effort to do it!

April and May

 Just a little late with these but I wanted to post them anyway.

I enjoyed making Stephanie's block for April. It was a good way to remind myself how to paper piece--which will come in handy for Rene's block.

And after precision sewing, it was so much fun to make these little baskets. I just know Carla's quilt is going to be a fun one, and I have plans to make one for myself. Or maybe I should just wait until it's my turn again and you all can help me. :)

NOTE: notice how "foggy" this picture seems?While you may think I used some weird filter, I noticed that one day all my pictures had the same foggy look. I turned my phone over and looked at the lens--it was covered with chocolate! What?? I'm sure it was the grandkids....

Bubbles!

I love bubbles- blowing bubbles, bubble bath and champagne bubbles. In fact, amongst some of my friends, Bubbles is my nickname!

But I was certainly happy to have this "Bubble" finished! I seemed to get worse as I went along, but that may have just been general sewing fatigue.
I love how these look, but could not imagine making a whole quilt of them!

I did notice however that Elizabeth and I seem to have made two of the four circles of our MCM Bee logo...

Anyone want to make a MCM Bee quilt?!

Susan

Bubbling my Way Through June for Rene!

I finished Rene's block for June 2015, and while it wasn't trivial, I love the look of it and so glad I was able to have a go at it.

I took Rene's advice and used strong contrasts in my lights and darks.  I'd suggest paying attention to what fabrics go where on the larger outer strips in both the color and the print.  I used light-to-white backgrounds with an occasional creamy yellow thrown in for variety.

I started out chain stitching, or. doing the same step on all four quadrants before heading to press, etc.  But by about steps 10 and 11 (the piecing is well marked) I found it easier -- brain wise --  to just stick with one quadrant and finish it off.

I found that occasionally the crisp geometrics seemed to go soft, or wonky, even though I was pressing and stitching carefully.  I can only chalk it up to stitching on one side of the line or the other, but I think it's not noticeable in the grand scheme of things (at least I hope not!).

I think Rene' is smart to have us all help her on this, as it would be a hard quilt to make all by yourself, though certainly not impossible.   I was happy to help!

Bubble Blocks for June

All the details for June's block are posted on our Flickr group page.  I have selected Aylin's bubble block.  (Her full pattern can be purchased here if you're interested.)  I have emailed each of you a template for one quadrant of one block.  You will need to make four copies to assemble one 12.5" (unfinished) block.

blue bubble block

This is a paper pieced pattern, but I found it goes rather quickly, especially if you chain piece the four quadrants.  This somewhat reduces the number of times you need to get up, press, trim, etc.  I also found that I could stitch a "light" and a "dark" before having to trim...this works until the last few rounds when the lights and darks are side by side.  This should make sense once you are working on your block, but if not, please email me with questions.

A few items to note:

• Make sure your printer is set to actual size.  There isn't a "test" square, but the printed block should measure 6" square.  The paper pieced block is 12.5" unfinished.  Remember to allow a 1/4" seam when trimming.
• I would like a signature block.  I did not mention that on Flickr because I thought that was a given ;-)
• The bubble is easier to recognize when strong colors (within your color selection) are chosen for the darks and that the scrappy lights aren't too dark.  You can use my block as an example of what NOT to do ;-)
• Some of the strips are rather narrow.  I found using a dab from my glue stick helped hold those in place when stitching.

I thank all of you in advance for making this block for me!!!  I know it isn't the fastest one I could have chosen.  Our bee rocks!!!

Gathering of Our Quilts

For those of you who aren't readers of my blog, I recently did a round-up post of our time together for the past two-plus years, with blocks that I'd contributed and the quilts that you have made.  The first post is *here* and begins with Carla's Churn Dash quilt.

The second post ends with Anne's Tumbler quilt, and is *here.*  All the rest of you are in-between these two lovely bookends. 

Thank you for a delightful journey of quilting!

2015 blocks so far

Before I post about the block I have chosen while Queen Bee, I should share pictures of the MCM Bee blocks I have made so far in 2015.  I must admit to forgetting we have a blog...ooops ;-)

Quilter's choice for Elizabeth

Cake for Carla

Dresden for Cindy

Gorgeous Gertie for Stephanie

Baskets for Carla

Now I'm off to upload my photos to Flickr!  Stay tuned for details on June's block....