December Bee Project

Hello Everyone! Here we are at the end of our first year! As I'm sure you all remember, this month we are going to make a quilt to give away. We will all make a block or two and I will sew them all together to make a sampler quilt. My mom's quilt group in New Mexico will take the top, layer it, do the quilting, and then give it to one of the local groups that they support: domestic abuse, cancer outreach, or natural disaster relief (usually forest fire or flood related).

You actually have two months to get this project finished. If it is OK with everyone, I will take the January slot again. Then you can send the blocks together for both December and January.

Here are the details:

I used the colors in this fabric for inspiration: cream, white, black & white, red, orange, aqua, olive green, yellow. You don't need to have all 8 colors in one block! ;-) Fabrics can be a combination of prints and solids.

At this website: http://www.quilterscache.com/QuiltBlocksGalore.html you can scroll down to "Blocks by Size." Click on 12" and choose a block (or two!) to make (it will be 12.5" unfinished). Or if there is another 12.5" block that you like from another source, you can make that too.

I've been working on a few this week to get us started:

It has been interesting to search through and find some easy, traditional blocks and to visualize what they will look like in more modern fabrics and then actually create them. I hope you enjoy looking through all of the choices available. Also, if there is one of the blocks that I made here in this photo that you also want to make, feel free! It won't matter if there are two of the same blocks.

I wish you all a happy holiday season!

Love,

Jennifer

Micaela's block

Hi all-
I made the Kaleidoscope blocks this morning and will send them soon....but somehow once again I do not have your address Micaela. Unfortunately I can't find the usb cord to download pictures from my camera to the computer! UGH! I also have the Octagonal Rainbows quilt top done! I am so excited to show it to all of you....once I find that darn cord....
Here is a link to the Kaleidoscope quilt that I made during the QAL with Don't Call Me Betsy. I made it for my daughter's bed.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/62433854@N06/5991477412/
Amy (USA)

Practice makes (almost) perfect!

Thanks Chris and Amy for your tips last weekend, I gave  thought to all of your suggestions and as you can see, the points are much better! And thanks too Micaela for your kind words. I will keep the first attempts for something else. I'll get these in the mail on Monday.

I also have a little show and tell of two projects that I am putting the final touches on this weekend. I have been working on these two twin size quilts to give as gifts. They are from the pattern Off Track by Cluck Cluck Sew.

Anna's Quilt:

Michelle's quilt: 

I have one more twin size quilt that I want to get finished by Christmas using this cute owl fabric: 

Happy Sewing and Happy Weekend Everyone!

Jennifer

How Do I Make Perfect (and pretty) Points??

Hello Girls, As you know I have trouble with precision. This is again very obvious to me with the blocks for Micaela. This is what I mean...

Eeek! Shudder! Gasp!

Any suggestions to tidy up my work?? I have tried sewing from the center to the outside edge when sewing two triangles together and also sewing two halves together (four sewn together triangles to four sewn together triangles). Also when I tried sewing these two halves together, the center was a bit uneven so I took my ruler and evened it up all the way across, should I have done this?

Any suggestions are much appreciated! Anyone who can show me in a photo what your pieces look like in the final stages before they are sewn together, this would be helpful too!  Thanks!!

Love,
Jennifer
PS: Micaela, don't worry, I will not send you the block shown above! :-))

Chris' kaleidoscopes for Micaela

I enjoyed making these for you Micaela. Loved working with your colour combination and was very happy to find a new orange fabric (the paisley one) to add to my stash. It's by a small creative team based in Sydney called Prints Charming. :)

Hexagons are done!

I finally was able to get the hexagon template to print! Once that was figured out, I was able to whip these out rather quickly. I definitely see more hexagons in my future. I like that it will be an easily transportable project! Yay!
Genevieve-thanks for your understanding on the tardiness of these hexies! I will get them in the mail to you as soon as I have your address! ;)
Thanks!
Amy (USA)

Hurricane Sandy Quilts

EQuilter along with Mission of Love is organizing a disaster relief quilt drive. The goal is to collect and distribute 5000 quilts to go to those most drastically affected by the hurricane's destruction. Please see this link below for more details and please pass on this information to anyone you know who might be interested in helping:

http://www.equilter.com/cgi-bin/webc.cgi/quiltrelief.html 

Another preview...!

Hello girls! Here's some more work in progress...I'm very excited to show you my finished quilt top from our August wonky stripe block. I love the way it has evolved and come together. It was fun to play around with the layout and I liked the pairs together immediately.

Here's a snapshot of my chosen fabric for the backing. When Liberty released their first quilting weight fabric range 'Bloomsbury Gardens' I thought of my bee quilt straight away. This beautiful red fabric (with a hint of orange) is called Charles A. I was so glad my local shop had enough left on the roll :)

And now for the questions rolling around in my head....any thoughts as to what to use as the binding? I was thinking a plain red might be a simple option. Also, if I was to attempt to machine quilt (for the first time...!!) which design would you suggest?? Straightline/grid quilting or stippling? Although I have read that free-motion quilting is a harder choice for a complete beginner. Do you agree?

And, if I was to keep to the labour of love that is hand quilting....can you suggest a quilting design to use?

Please, please send your creative ideas my way..:))

Happy weekend!
Chris

A Sneak Preview

So, last night at quilting in Wellesley, we experimented with different arrangements of the circle blocks. We randomly placed each circle. Note, this is not the final placement, but it gave me an idea of what this quilt might look like. I thought that each of you might want a sneak peek too. Not sure when the actual piecing will take place, but I am EXCITED about the potential outcome. Shauna :)

Katy's Hexies for Genevieve...

Here they are! Genevieve, I loved doing some hand sewing and paper piecing and working with flannel!! What fun... I can't wait to see how you piece the final quilt together. Thanks for challenging us yet again! I'll drop them off at your house this weekend. xo K