old/new, light/dark

My LAST sewing project of 2011!  Great Block Katherine!  I enjoyed putting it together!   I had to play with eh shadows when I took a photo of it. ;-)  the sun popped out late in the day today, so i wanted to capture it!

Happy New Year all!  All the  best for 2012!!

Katherine's Double Pinwheel

Hello! I was so excited about another three-day weekend, I got busy and made Katherine's wonderful block, for the NEW'BEE group, right away. After the holiday busy-ness of last weekend, I'm enjoying a glorious weekend of sewing!

Great instructions, fun block - done!

BOM's Everywhere...I finally started mine...

Hi everyone, its the end of the year...and it seems like so long ago that I posted the tutorial for the Courthouse Block.  Anyway with a bit of fabric inspiration, and an evening of 15 minutes plus...I started making some of the Blocks from the tutorial...I hope to try about 5 or 6 of them, by the time I'm done.

I actually did a Queen V (bumblebeans), I cut up absolutely lovely fabric into pieces and mixed them in with some scraps.  Oh what an exhilerating feeling...

So here are some pics from start to finish...a little more than 15 minutes.  More like 2 1/2 hours.

Pile of Fun.

The first Stitch

Voila...I spared you the cutting pic...smiles

Old SCRAP Bee for Dec

Finished my second block for Alexis last night, and I'll be putting them into the mail today along with a few extra HSTs and strips.

Hey, Alexis, this was a lot of fun once I had the time after Christmas activities were done.  I thought I was making them really wonky, but now that they are done, they don't look so much!  Hope your collection of stars make for a bright year for you in 2012 with all the changes in your life.

Thanks to all the members of the 2011 SCRAP Bee, for finding/creating excellent blocks and writing helpful tutorials.  This was a challenging and fun year!  Thanks for setting it up, Victoria.

Sara Homeyer

New AAQI quilt

I hope you are all having a wonderful holiday season.  I would like to encourage you all to add AAQI to your list of things to do in the New Year.  Our group's quilts have been selling well.  Each quilt that is donated increases the potential for finding a cure for Alzheimer's that much closer.  There is a button on the right that will take you to the AAQI site if you are new.  If you have any questions, leave me a comment or email me.  I will be very happy to help you get started on these really fun and worthwhile projects.

Fabulous fat quarters!

Just a quick message to let you know that I've received my beautiful fat
quarters from Kim.  They are just perfect and nothing that I have in my
stash.  I've attached a photo, they are amazing. 

I sent my parcel to Kim two weeks ago, so hopefully she will receive hers
soon too!
Thanks for organising Victoria, it has been really fun and wonderful to
communicate with a fellow fabric addict on the other side of the world.

--posted for Sally

New'Bee block for January

Happy New Year! - it's Katherine F. with the instructions for the January New'Bee block.  I hope everyone has fun doing this.  I'm looking forward to seeing the blocks!

I am requesting a large block.  It will be 12.5 x 12.5 unfinished.  It is made entirely from made-fabric, so you have a bit of sewing to do ;-).   NOTE: pictures FOLLOW each section of the instructions.  I can't seem to embed them.

 There are 4 different color-ways of made-fabric in this block: 

• Light (white on white, creams, white on cream, and/or very light pastels )
• Black &White (that is black with a white design, so that the black is the predominant color) 
• Your choice a bright color (no pastels here, please)
• Your choice of a contrasting bright color

Make your fabric:

• Sew your light scraps any which way until you have a piece that measures approximately 10.5” x 8”.
• Do the same for the black &white scraps.
• From one color of your bright scraps make a piece approximately 4.5” x 8.5” . 
• Do likewise with the other color.

Cut:

From each  of the bright made-fabrics: 

• Cut two (2) squares 3 7/8”.   
• Cut these squares in half on the diagonal.

From the light piece:

• Cut one (1) square 3 7/8”.   Cut this square on the diagonal.
• Cut one strip 3.5” x 9.5”
• Cut one strip 3.5” x 6.5”

From the black&white piece:

• Cut one (1) square 3 7/8”.   Cut this square on the diagonal.
• Cut one strip 3.5” x 9.5”
• Cut one strip 3.5” x 6.5”

        

Sew:

1. Sew a pinwheel with the bright triangles, alternating the colors.  Square up the pinwheel block to 6.5”.  
2. Sew the light and black&white triangles together to make 2 squares. Square up these blocks to 3.5”.
3. Sew the 3.5x6.5 strip of light made fabric to the LEFT side of the pinwheel.  
4. Sew the 3.5 x 6.5 strip of B&W to the RIGHT side of the pinwheel.  

Press seams towards the outside.

1. Sew one square from step 2 to the RIGHT end of the 3.5 x 9.5 strip of the light made fabric, joining the light triangle of the square to light strip. Press towards the strip.
2. Sew the other square from step 2 to the LEFT end of the 3.5 x 9.5 strip of the B&W made fabric, joining the black triangle to the black strip. Press towards the strip.
3. Sew the strip of step 5 to the TOP of your pinwheel block so that the B&W triangle meets the B&W strip on the side of the  pinwheel block. Press.
4. Sew the strip of step 6 to the BOTTOM of the pinwheel block matching the white triangle with the white strip on the side of the pinwheel block. Press.

You’re done.  Whew!

When all the blocks are sewn together, I should be “seeing double”, bright smaller pinwheels surrounded by big light / black pinwheels!

Wrapping up the year.

I hope you all find some time to MAKE some FABRIC this week!  Time for New Projects and quilts!

I'm sitting by the fire quilting my BOM quilt... Can't wait to see what the rest of you have done with yours. 

Enjoy the end of 2011!

Hellooo and Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas to everyone!!  I know I have been AWOL from this site, but it's because I killed my computer.  I am finally up and running again and wanted to show you some things I have been playing with. 
First up is my whisper quilt. (Click the link for a description about a whisper quilt)  Here are the pieces of made fabric for my background.  I had such fun piecing these together. 

Then I added trees and my house to the background. 

It needed something else, since I couldn't figure out how to add more houses to my neighborhood without totally destroying the effect, so I auditioned some light blue "lake" fabrics .

And then vetoed that idea.  It kind of ruined the peace of the house in the woods.  So I just added some bushes out front and here is my finished top.  I have quilted it and showed it in October to the group.  The made fabric is just the right touch for my quilt and is totally who I am at this point in my life. 

I know I have a finished picture, but it's on the other camera and I haven't downloaded it onto the computer yet. 

15 minutes with Norma's scraps!

Well, it was more like two hours, but it was still the concept and involved Norma's scraps. She gave me a bag of scraps when we were sewing on Tuesday. I have always wanted someone to give me a bag of their scraps. Don't know why, but I read on other blogs about the "wonderful bag of scraps" someone gave somebody and they made a prize winning quilt. So I have always wanted someone's bag of scraps!

I began to sew the pieces together and worked diligently for several hours. At some point I decided it needed to become a pillow. I had purchased some 14 inch pillow forms with the big idea of making pillows for everyone for Christmas, but that crashed and burned. So I still had them. Next year....I swear....I will start my Christmas stuff in June!

Anyway. Back to the pillows.

I had been reading some tutorials on pillows and the various ways of doing them. In the end I just made the envelope and stuffed the form inside, like a reverse birthing. Then I forced myself to immediately sew the opening closed. If that didn't happen right then and there, it was still be open for the next three years.

Oh, and I just thought about this. I could have added the scraps from Dan and Amber's quilts. Darn, Darn, Darn. Then I could have given them that to go with their quilts.  Oh, well.

Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah all!

glen and the lonely little bassets!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS ALL!!!

Gift Given, 

Gift rcvd.

Sweet.

Fat Quarters

Teresa from crinkledreams.com has received her box of 20 fat quarters from ellengetscrafty.  Once again, thank you Victoria for another great swap!

A Giftie, Sort Of

It's a giftie, but not for Christmas. I will probably put it in the small quilt auction my guild has in Feb. It really doesn't curve at the top; it was just sinking into the curve of the chair on which I took this picture. But even if it did curve, who cares? :-)

Carol E.

Gifties!

A very sweet "15minutesplay" finish...  Just in time for giving... Have you made some 15minute play gifties this year?  Show us!

What else are you making?

New'Bee Heads-up

Given that this is an 'intense' time of year with all the holidays, parties, and vacations, I am holding off posting the January New'Bee block until just before the New Year - Probably on the 29th.  Wishing all of you a warm, wonderful holiday.  See you in the almost New Year!

Katherine F.

Lost the SCRAP Bee conection

Oh dear, Victoria and SCRAP Bee members, I can't find the connection to the directions for our December block.  I knew I wasn't going to be able to work on it until this last week before Christmas, and now, where is it?

Help, help!  I need the size at least.  I think I can remember what it looks like.

Or tell me what day it was posted and I'll scroll back and back.

Sara Homeyer

updates

Happy Holidays Players!  

I've got some new goodies up on my wall, just for the shear JOY of it!  Using the pieces as I found them, not really cutting anything other than to square up some edges... A lot of tearing going on... Fabric is flying and loving it!

A few Follow ups...

SERIOUS FQ Swap partners:  Have you all heard from your partner? Please be in contact with each other, and chat.  Please make sure to have your bundles mailed by January 9th.  If you have NOT heard from your swap partner, please let me know.

POST YOU GOODIES on the blog so we can all see what you get!

SWAP QUILTS: Has everyone rcvd their swap quilts?  Please email me if you have not.  Been seeing some NICE ones on the site!  I have mine up!

BEE BLOCKS:  Players, please post your blocks and progress. Show us what becomes of the months blocks.  Are you up-to-date with your blocks?  Click the side bar links per name for their month's tutorials....

BOM Challenge QUILTS:  FINISH DATE OF JANUARY 18th.

Email me a picture of your quilt by the 18th of January.  We will do a special post of all the quilts.

Allie Aller will Judge BOM quilts, plus giving a pattern and some squishy package of goodies

Edyta Sitar thread collection from Aurifil

 

Book and ear buds from Pat Sloan

Insert Play

A quick gift needeed some jazzing up so instead of a striped insert I added some made fabric.
I would never have done this before 15 min. play. Thanks for me to everyone.

15 Minutes to the Rescue!

So I had this idea for a little quilt for a special niece. I drew her name for this year's gift exchange, and got her a gift - but wanted to make her a quilt, too.

I had fun playing with a photo of her for the center portion, but then - what to do for the border???

And then I saw Victoria's awesome pillow, and voila!

I crazy pieced scraps onto a base of cotton fabric, in sections. I decided I didn't want the stitching to show too much, so I used a variegated thread in a narrow zigzag stitch.

Thanks for the great idea, Victoria!

xmas swap quilt!

Elizabeth rcvd her Holiday swap quilt from Maree!  Very sweet indeed!!

What if I....

15 MINUTES TO PLAY TODAY....

 

 

 

I was looking at my Grandmother's work today and thinking about how she laid pieces on top of sheets and would sew a few down as she went along.  Building a quilt as she went along SLOWLY. bit by bit... I was admiring her stitches,

and thought,

What If I played on my new Bernina and tried out some satin stitches...

Just for 15minutes to get acquainted with the machine...

I grabbed some wool batting and some scraps and laid them out randomly, set my Machine to a short running WIDE zig zag...and stitched them all down in place getting the feel for how quickly the machine needed to fill in the seams...

15 minutes to practice will get you over your fears of trying something new.

Making 13"square was quick, and allowed to me practice, make mistakes, and get better at the technique.

Flipping it over and LOOKING at that, also inspired me! You never know what you will find if you ALWAYS DO THE SAME THINGS over and over...

And now I have a new Giftie for myself!  I think I will hang on to it to remind me to play...

Star block for Victoria

While I had my scrap bins out making cute little houses from another tutorial 

I also made some navy fabric to use in this star block for Victoria.

Flowers In The Snow by Sheila

I got a brown paper package with Royal Post postage on it today! Lucky me. Sheila's beautiful small quilt arrived today. It has machine and hand quilting, some with sparkly thread & thread painting. I wish I could photograph it to do it justice. With it were some other small lovely things. A handmade card with a photo that Sheila took of "A Snowy Day." A small silk bag made by her friend. A notebook and turquoise pen and a nice piece of springy floral fabric all wrapped in owl & striped paper. Thanks, Sheila, I'll treasure your vision and talent, always. Jane.

Flowers in the Snow

Center detail

Embroidered flowers