blocks for rebekah

i finally got a few minutes to sit down & play with the fabric rebekah sent out.

i hadn't planned on making 2 blocks... but i just kept going after the first one!

these are not my usual colors.

so it was fun to step out of my comfort zone.

and & play with some different fabrics.

i hope you like them rebekah!!

bee beautiful - bee creative!!

bee beautiful

how nice it is to walk to the mail box

and find an envelope filled with fabrics

things that you might or might not have in your own collection

but things that someone has selected, cut, packaged

things that carry the energy of another quilter

right in to your own creative thought process

how nice it is to put a nice hot iron on the fabrics

and sort them by color, then value, then shape, and size

cutting, sewing, pressing

putting your own energy into the project ahead

starting with what is a given, what is known

(take these fabrics, make log cabin blocks)

and then letting your mind wander and your ideas take you to other places

and finally

how nice it is to have just a little extra

to give back

either from the garden or from the fabric stash

or from the hours in the day

www.alzquilts.org/paq.html

is where my scraps will end up

begin again

2010

natalie.

thank you, julie, for including me in this group

thank you, rebekah, angela, michelle, amy, penny, vicki, erica, stephanie, rachel and audrie 

for including me, as well

Blocks for Rebekah

 

Here are the blocks I made for Rebekah. They are a bit bigger than 12". It was really fun to put them together. Can't wait to see the quilt!

My Month's Blocks... Maybe?

I'm totally in love with the Map of the States blocks Elizabeth from Oh, Fransson! did. I'm thinking perhaps these could be our April blocks... the 'controlled' wonkiness speaks to me lol

She even did a tutorial for the blocks, so that eliminates the need for instructions... perhaps only the size of the blocks need to be amended.

I'll keep ya posted... Just thought I'd share :)

-- Audrie

Scraps

Just a quick note about scraps...

Please do include in your block instructions whether or not you'd like your fabric scraps sent back with your finished blocks :)

Rebekah, please let us know what you'd like us to do with your scraps k?

-- Audrie

Rebekah's blocks

I'm so excited to see this quilt completed!

I love the continuity Rebekah has added by keeping the middle square fabric the same.

The blocks were fun and easy to make since I love to fly by the seat of my pants and rarely plan. One of my fav fabrics right now is a light aqua linen I have, so I included some of it in both blocks.

I hope you like them Rebekah!

p.s. Rebekah, would you like to have the leftover fabrics back that you sent?

Hi, I'm Michelle

and this is my story. I have been quilting on and off for 17 years. I first became interested in quilting when I was 16. I babysat for a woman who was taking a beginner's quilting class and I can remember her making snowball blocks. I was already crocheting, knitting and cross-stitching but I did not start quilting then. Five years later, I visited my cousin in Southern Ontario who lives near a Mennoite community well known for their quilting. I was in awe and decided to take a course. My very first course was hand applique and I made hearts. I enjoyed it but had made the decision to go back to school, so quilting was put on the back burner. After I graduated and got a full -time job I decided to try quilting again. I took a beginner's course at a high school. I did not have a sewing machine at the time so everything was hand stitched. I really enjoyed the class but realized that hand stitching was not for me. I ended up going back to school again, while staying at my job in a part-time position. Finally, in 1999 I got a sewing machine for my birthday. I quilted for a few years making baby quilts for my nieces and nephews and wall hangings.

With the birth of my son in 2003 and my daughter a 1 1/2 later I had to make a decision about whether I was going to continue quilting. I took a refresher course in 2005 at a local quilt store and decided that my family and quilting were both my passions and I could not give either up. Since that time I have moved back to my hometown, where I have more hours to quilt. I do work full-time so I fit in bits and pieces of sewing here and there. I have a quilting room which makes things much easier. I really enjoy making quilts for others, using what I know about them to try to figure out what they would like in a quilt. I have been blogging since last March and a whole new world has been opened up to me. We do not have the same selection of fabric here in Canada, and I feel that blogging has provided me with an oasis. I do not yet know where I am going with my quilting but I do know it has been because of the support of incredible women like you, that I will go even farther than I imagined.

more blocks for Rebekah

These blocks were kind of challenging for me; at first I was working on both of them at the same time and it was getting too confusing to my brain to make decisions for the two different blocks. I stopped doing it that way and ended up working on one at a time. The green and blue block is changed a lot from what it originally started as; the lower block I decided I liked... all except for the very first piece I'd sewed onto the pink square (it's brown now, it was light blue). I added one piece of my fabric in the top block and two in the lower block, can you spot them? I hope you like them, Rebekah!

I wanted to add that the lower block is wider than 12", I decided to send it to you this way and you can trim it down to size however you want.

Blocks for Rebekah

These blocks were so fun to put together.

I can't wait to see the completed quilt!

Rebekah's Signature Block

Since I'm not much of a backside quilting piecer, I'd love it if you could sign your first name somewhere on the front of the block(s) that you make for me. And just to make this fun...bonus points if you can hide your signature somewhere in one of the fabric designs.

And Amy, since I already received your blocks (love them!), if you want to photo/scan your signature, I'll trace and copy it onto the blocks you sent.

Hi, I'm Amy.

Hello new friends! I have totally enjoyed all the introductions so far, so I thought I'd add mine.
I live in American Fork, Utah with my husband, two daughters (11 & 8) and two boys (5 & 3). I started playing with quilting when my mom taught me as a teenager, but was always totally embarrassed if anyone ever found out. It wasn't until after had had my first baby 11 years ago (today!) and became a SAHM that I really started quilting in earnest. And it soon became my sanity saver and creative outlet. As much as I love being a mom and being with my kids (because they are hilarious -most of the time) it's helpful to have one thing that stays done and is totally within my control.
I've always loved old, scrappy, traditional quilts (think pioneer, Civil War and Depression-era) but in the past two years I have become totally enamored with modern quilts as well. I'm itching to make more along those lines.
I have also loved getting into the quilt-blogging world. Even as a 'grown-up' I was always a little sheepish to tell people that I am a quilter because it sounded like such an 'old-lady' thing to do. Finding other young women who understand the creative joy that comes from collecting fabric, cutting it into small pieces, and sewing it back together has been awesome.

Many thanks again to Julie and Audrie for putting this group together!

signature blocks!

so signature blocks...

back when we started.. we said..

--

Signature Block

Aside from the block chosen by each member, we’d like to propose members each make a small signature block (approximately 4” finished) to send back with each finished block. The purpose of this is to make a 12-block panel (for example) that members can use for the back of their quilt as a commemoration of being a part of this bee. It is not a requirement, just an idea.

--

so.

here are a few samples of sig blocks.

made from scraps in my stash.

to show as examples.

half square triangle...

log cabin ish.

basic frame.

rail fence.

traditional.

{pens}

there are lots of options.

this was just my way to show a few.

& it is up the person that month to guide us.

so Rebekah guide us...

& if anyone has suggestions for her feel free..

Rebekah's Second Block

Finished up Rebekah's second block last night :) These blocks were seriously fun to make... I even started a quilt based on these blocks!

The two blocks together. You can tell I like aqua / teal haha!

They'll be in the mail tomorrow Rebekah! :)

-- Audrie

2 more blocks for Rebekah

The day the package arrived in the mail, I quickly began to arrange the fabric. This block was so much fun to put together. I added 1 piece of fabric that was my own, the rest is all Rebekah's.

I had plenty left over to make a second square. In this block I also used 1 fabric scrap of mine in two spots, and the rest is Rebekah's. Hmmm... I'm wondering how quickly Rebekah can spot the fabric that isn't hers?

Hope you like them!

~Stephanie~

Hi my name is Stephanie

I was born and raised in Bethlehem, PA. My husband and I were friends in high school, but didn't start dating until after high school. We got married and eventually had a baby boy, Jackson who will be 2 this March. Before becoming a stay at home mom, I was a florist. Creating all day was my job, so when I got pregnant and decided I would stay home with my baby, I was very worried that I wouldn't get to be creative. Well that was wrong! 2 months after my son was born (May 2008) I bought a sewing machine and have been sewing ever since! One of the first things I made was a quilt, just a small one for my son. Although, it wasn't until this past summer, when I was drooling over the beautiful quilts I had seen on a few blogs, that I had really gotten into quilting.

My main inspiration comes from fellow bloggers, and fabric alone.

I am so excited to be in the group and look forward to all the new things I might learn from all of you talented women.

More for Rebekah

I had great fun making Rebekah's log cabins! Added in just a couple of my own scraps.

I spent a crazy amount of time on each of these - trying out different strips, laying the colors near each other. I almost had too many choices! I love the way they turned out, hope you do Rebekah.

Hi, I'm Vicki

Hi everyone! I wanted to tell you a little about myself and show you my idea for when it's my turn later on in the year.

I live with my family in the suburbs of Kansas City. We've been here for 6.5 years; my husband and I both grew up in Utah though and that's where most of our extended family lives. My two boys are 9.5 and 5.5 years old and I have a little girl who's 14 months old. I've been sewing since I was about 6, made my first quilt with my grandma when I was 13, and started quilting "for real" the year I got married, 1997. I've made baby quilts for all my neices and nephews who were born into the family as well as my own kids--oh wait there is one new baby boy that I haven't made a quilt for yet, but I am going to do that really soon! I've made several other quilts too and currently have 3 UFOs that I really want to finish before I start on a Jane Stickle quilt later on this year.

So I was browsing photos in the DQS8 flickr pool the other day and saw something that gave me an idea:

At first I was thinking one-inch squares but decided that would be way too crazy. This block has 36, 1 1/2" squares and has a 1 1/2 white border, and ends up at 12.5" square. It will be a lot of small square cutting, but I'm hoping to have each of you make a block like this for me when we get to September. I'm thinking about making sashing strips out of more 1.5" squares, and then a sort-of wide white border around all the quilt blocks with one more border of the 1.5" squares. Does that make sense? Would you hate me if I asked you to make me a block like this?

Rebekah's Block

I totally wasn't going to start working on Rebekah's block yet because I had other things to get done... then I started playing with the fabric and oops, I made a block.

I did add a little bit of fabric from my own scraps but most of it was Rebekah's fabric. I have lots left over so I do believe there'll be a second block :) This was SO fun to make! I hope you like it, Rebekah!

-- Audrie

Hi, My Name is Rebekah

I'm Rebekah and I blog at dontcallmebecky. I started quilting after I purchased my sewing machine back in 2006. I've become a fabric collector since then and I love making quilts that are either modern or quilts that show off a particular fabric collection. I can get a little impatient with the whole sewing process, so I usually like to stick with patterns and quilts that aren't too fussy or complicated.



You can see the rest of my quilts in the quilting section on my blog. The two books that have inspired most of my quilting have been The Modern Quilt Workshop and Denyse Schmidt Quilts. If you don't already own these books, you should definitely check them out!



My favorite quilts are usually the one that I just finished or the one that I've been using around my house most frequently. But lately it seems that the above quilt has been getting lots of attention. I'm going to spend 2010 focusing on using my fabric collection rather than staring at it, so I wanted to start the year off by using up some of my scraps for the bee blocks instead of buying new stuff to play with. Wish me luck in keeping my goal!



I'm so glad that Audrie and Julie invited me to join this group and I'm looking forward to working with all of these creative women in the next year!

Hi, My Name Is Audrie

I thought I'd do a little introduction post about myself... I know I have a little tiny 'About Me' section on my blog, but that hardly cuts it, no? Hopefully you'll all join in and talk a little bit about yourself, about your quilting, and whatever else you feel like sharing :)

So I was born in Singapore, moved to Australia when I was 17 to study, and kind of forgot to leave. I did move back to Singapore for about 4 years to work and be with my family, then back to Australia. And after I moved back to Australia in 2005, I got this crazy idea to go visit a friend in the States, which is when I met my husband. I moved to CT in 2007, we got married, bought a house and adopted two cats.

I took up quilting by sheer accident. Last May for some reason I thought to make my MIL a quilted table runner. I did my research, went to the fabric store and got what I needed, made a table runner. Which led to baby quilts. Which led to 56 finished projects (40 of which were baby and large quilts) in 8 months. Yeah, I know. All I can say is, I'm glad I found something that I really love to do.

As for sources of inspiration, I'd say they are mainly Denyse Schmidt's and Suzuko Koseki's work. I love modern quilting, and I love discovering new colour combinations. And let's not forget all the amazing quilting blogs out there.

I don't know any quilters outside of the virtual realm (although I have a friend who's toying with the idea) so I'm glad to have my blog and this bee to share my quilting with. I may be new to it but I honestly can't remember life without quilting now. I know many of you can attest to that :)

Anyway I urge you to talk a little about yourselves here... I hope if we get to know each other better, we'll work together better too! I'm so excited that our bee has started, and I can't wait to see all the quilts we'll make together!!

- Audrie

P/S: Rebekah, I received your fabric today and I'm SO excited to begin your block!