Stay-at-home bee

Saturday was my regular bee meeting day but the center where we meet was having a large meeting, and the room was not available.

So, since I had put together some things I wanted to work on during the meeting, I decided to dedicate three hours to working on it - at home!

This flying geese quilt top has been folded up and "laying-in-waiting" for a long time now. 

I started it in 2012 (read the post here), and when I put the final brown strips on I put it aside til I could decide what to do for a final border. 

I decided on a homespun/plaid piano key border, and I had been piecing these strips together off and on - whenever the mood struck me.  No hurry at all to finish this!

During my bee-time I pieced twosies, to foursies - enough to make several 6" wide groups. 

The foursies got pieced into long strips, to be trimmed down to a slightly narrower size because some of my edges were sorta wavy.
Unfortunately, that's the nature of homespun!

So that was my bee day - sew forth and sew on til later!

Buzzing at the Bee

Three things to be happy about:
(1) cell phone bling
(2) folding chairs
(3) the color yellow

We had our first meeting of the year yesterday, and the room was really buzzing!

In some cases some people hadn't seen each other since our last meeting of the year in November, so the excitement level was very high.

There was a lot going on; Valerie models her Wee Bee t-shirt...

... while Sondra prepares strips for another chevron quilt.

I like the fuss-free way she pieces the strips; she says you really can't make mistakes.

If I know Sandy, she'll probably have the quilt - pieced, quilted and bound - ready for show n tell at next month's meeting!

Several people turned in their blocks for the Inside Out Pineapple block swap.

I love the different colors, these will make pretty quilts!

What would a bee meeting be without show n tell ...

I received this wonderful "WOW! Bag" as a Christmas gift; notice my initials embroidered on it - wow!  It starts out as a large bag, then it unfolds into an even larger bag with a shoulder strap.

I've wanted one for years, ever since the pattern came out!  Go to this link for details.

Linda S. wow'd us with this square in a square quilt.  The black fabric in the middle is printed with spools of thread.

She doesn't usually make large quilts but this one was super easy!

Double wow!  Pat K made this lovely basket quilt, a Fons and Porter pattern.

Yellow, red, and black-and-white - this is definitely going on my must-do list!

And last but not least, Sondra shared another one of her lovely table runners.

I love those colors!


I always have fun at bee, and I'm looking forward to next month.

Sew forth and sew on ...

Showing and sharing at the bee

Three things to be happy about:
(1) hearing wedding vows
(2) sweet potato cake
(3) learning a new tip

Yesterday was bee day, and the energy level was very high.  Everybody seemed to be revved up, it must have been all the turkey on Thanksgiving!  Seriously though, we always enjoy seeing each other, specially if we haven't met in a month.

Here are some quilty items we shared with each other...

Sandra E made two lovely bags

Loretta finished her sweatshirt jacket...

CC's quilt for her niece, front...

and back...

Linda S finished her square in a square quilt...

and made wreaths...

Patty D is a scrap lover, just like me!

A sewing maching buddy by Sandra...

and one of her molas...

and last but not least, my Scrap Crystals...

There you have it - we are a talented group of ladies!  Enjoy your Sunday, sew forth and sew on...

Bee vs Peeps

Three things to be happy about:
(1) Easter egg rolls
(2) the color yellow
(3) green rubber bands

We've been into Spring for a week and already you can see the signs - forsythia bushes blooming, crocuses poking their heads up - all to celebrate Spring and the color yellow!

At our bee this past Saturday we were treated with another annual yellow sign - Peeps!

What happens when a Bee comes in head to head contact with those little spongy cuties??  Carolyn, our official cake baker, surrounded a delicious coconut cake with em, it's anybody's guess who'll win...

Meanwhile we were also treated with beautiful show n tell - Gwen J likes to make her own letters when she wants to put words on her quilts, so clever...

... better hurry - the cake was disappearing before our eyes!

Lezetta helped herself to a slice, just in time ...

Sandy H showed her latest completion, she has such an eye for color.

I always look forward to seeing Sandy's quilts, and she finishes them so quickly.  I don't think Sandy ever has any UFO's.

So, it was Bee vs Peeps ... who won??

Hang in there little guys, there's safety in numbers!




That's it for now, sew forth and sew on til later...

New stuff!

Three things to be happy about:
(1) getting new stuff!
(2) stuffed cabbage
(3) a new recipe

One day last month I ordered some things that got delayed because of the snow storm.  I got my 2-1/2" square die the next day, but Saturday morning I got the second item...

A new iron!

It's no ordinary iron - this baby is a DRY iron all the way from Vermont!

No holes in the sole plate, no danger of spitting or dribbling water on my pieced blocks.

It's to replace the iron on the left that I've had for ages and ages!

A few months ago I noticed a frayed place in the cord so I put blue painter's tape over it.  I know, I know - that wasn't the best way to handle the problem but, well, you know...

So I got this new iron, and boy is it heavy!

At our bee on Saturday I bought this piece of SSI fabric - Matters of the Heart by Kaye England.

Three yards, what a great find!  In 2006 I only had a small piece of this fabric and I really liked it but I just couldn't find any more of it.

I made this wall hanging - Goose Steppin' - using strips and pieces from what I had.

I remember when I finished the quilt I said to myself  "Wow!  Look how those geese are steppin' around that quilt!"

Label art designed by a former co-worker - John is a very talented, creative graphics artist!

I just explained to him that I wanted a picture of a goose doing the goose step, and he designed the art.

On Monday afternoon my third item came - a new school house die on sale at Accuquilt.

Haven't had time to play with it yet, though.



That's it for now, I placed a few pictures of show and tell from our meeting on the bee's blog - enjoy!  Sew forth and sew on til later...

Bee challenge

Three things to be happy about:
(1) new school supplies
(2) a bentwood rocker
(3) a favorite recipe

I forgot to show you the quilt I made for this year's bee challenge.  I wasn't here for the unveiling in June, so I didn't get to see or photograph all the other quilts!

We were given a half yard of the light green batik; the challenge was to make a modern quilt within a certain size range.  Quite frankly, I think "modern" is in the eye and mind of the maker!

My idea was to make a two-color quilt from batiks in my stash.  I love when you can shop your stash!

I used these fabrics - purples, blues, and greens closely related in color but different patterns:

gotta have a zinger in there to add interest!

From 1-1/2", 2-1/2" and 3-1/2" strips I cut these pieces (for ease of reading I'll drop the 1/2"):

1 x 3,
1 x 4,
3 x 3,
3 x 4,
2 x 2, and
2 x 4.

Combining pieces to make 4-1/2" blocks:

sew a 1x3 to a 3x3, add a 1x4 on the side...

sew two 2x2's together, add a 2x4 on the side...

Lots of math but easy breezy to do!

I wanted texture, lots of texture -  I wasn't afraid to throw in some pale purple with the green!

Can I pull it off??   Only 1/2 yard of the challenge fabric, not much room for mistakes!

All the green blocks made and previewed on the design wall - looking good!

I made the dark blocks the same way as the others, creating 4-1/2" blocks and mixing mixing mixing the blues and purples together to add texture and interest!

The quilt finished at 40 x 40.

By combining fabrics from the same general family but with different surface designs, I definitely did what I set out to do!

Notice the gently curved line quilting, keeping it simple!




That's it for now, guild meeting today.  Have a great Saturday, sew forth and sew on til later!