December Bee Block for Helen

I'm just a little bit late finishing this block. I so enjoyed doing it once the Christmas rush was behind me. I hope you like it, Helen. It will be in the mail on Tuesday. Happy New Year to everyone!!

Three Wise Men for Helen "Metallic Update"

Hi L Cat.

About that metallic thread..Not a lot of fun...But I survived it.  I have a Baby Lock Quest Plus, thats how i was able to get the stitches in the sky.  I used a metallic needle. I see that it provided me with more success than if I did not, because it allowed the thread to feed through better.

Some of the threads fed through better.  The gold wirey one was the absolute worst. (Thats my opinion).  The one that I used around the kings garments worked the best.  I used a zig zag stitch and shortened the stitch width and length.  I played around a bit.

I will definately try metallics again.  Perhaps thread gets old with age, because I cannot recall when I purchased the thread.  Next I will play with the tension a bit more. 

Overall, I would suggest giving it a try.  Just make sure you use a metallic needle...

Happy New Year.

E

Winter trees for Daniela

This is my block for the Lucky 13 Bee 2. I was inspired by the triangle tree blocks and the the 2 color blocks being shown at our last meeting. It was fun to make a slightly wonky winter scene! Daniela, I hope you like it.

Ellen

Bee Blocks

This was not my first attempt at paper-piecing, but I would certainly consider myself a novice. I find it very challenging. To say the least, I’m so happy to be done, but very pleased with the result. In the process brainstorming what kind of block to make, I turned to my very limited assortment of quilt books. Carol Doak’s Simply Sensational 9-Patch Stars was a book that has been sitting on my shelf unused for years. I decided to make star #4 named ‘Arkansas.’ I thought it was super pretty, but also appropriate since Helen got the gold fabric in the Natural State (just an hour from where I live). I picked fabrics from my scraps and stash, and then I started to cut away. It didn’t take long to realize that I wouldn’t have enough of the gold fabric, since I was using it as the neutral. Thankfully, Helen was nice enough to send me a bit more. It’s amazing how much is used up in seam allowances. This block took me many hours, so I certainly cannot imagine making an entire quilt of paper-pieced blocks.

November for Jessica – A couple of 8^th grade students helped me pick the fabrics for the window panes. The simple geometry of this block is very appealing.

October for Mary – I challenged myself to not measure or use my rotary cutter on this block. I really enjoyed making it because it came together so quickly.

September for Nicole – I was late getting this block done. It gave me a chance to see what the other participants in the bee did for their blocks, so I could make mine different. This was my first Dresden Plate block, so I was a bit intimidated. I got over my apprehension and ended up really liking it...especially the scrappy look.

Lucky13 Bee Goes to Kansas for Karen

Here's my "Rocky Road to Kansas" block for Karen (Dec Queen Bee). Thanks to the super-thorough "freshlemonquilts.com" demo link & copies Karen included, the piecing went very smoothly and was a lot of fun.  I dug through my stash & found a small piece of green Kaffe Fassett "Short Stripes" fabric that a friend had given me, but I had not yet used.  I ended up loving how it looks when cut so much that I went online and ordered 2 yards of it, so don't be surprised to see it reappear down the line.  (FYI - While I do the vast majority of my fabric shopping locally, Quiltmaker magazine had an ad for Keepsake Quilting's new "UptownQuilter.com" with 15% off for first time shoppers promo code UQQM12C (expires 1/1/12), providing justification for an immediate purchase.  Not that it ever takes much prompting...)

Three Wise Men for Helen

Happy Holidays.  Helen, this one's for you.  For more on what inspired me and a message for Helen, got to my blog (so I won't sap up the masses...smiles.)

David's Tree

I received David's bee block just in time for Christmas. He shared this holiday story about his family's cabin in Wisconsin. "When we were kids we would go there once during the winter to cut down our tree--this (block) represents finding just the right tree...not perfect....but the 'right' one!" I do believe that could apply to most things, whether it's quilts... or friends or... you name it. Thank you, David, for this beautiful block and the lovely thought!

Quilts & Inspiration

I'm no painter, but I can piece fabric like a maniac. So when one of the neighborhood blogs I work on was planning an art series based on works created for the site previously, I couldn't resist turning this gorgeous painting by Amanda Kavanagh into a quilt. The painting shows a building down the street from me that glows when the sun is setting, and I tried my best to capture that in this little quilt, and do the painting justice, as well.

NYC Mod Bee - December Hanukkah Block

I just finished Helen's block for the NYC Mod Bee!  She asked us to use gold, glittery fabric and make a holiday-themed block.  I went with Hanukkah:

You can read more about the process HERE.  By the way, the second One Yard Wonders book just got released, and one of my projects is on page 127 (called "The Jet Set").  You can read more about it HERE and enter for a chance to win a copy of the book!



Happy holidays and happy quilting!

Window blocks

I have received 9 wonderful window blocks for the MOD Bee, and I wanted to share.  Thank you so much for everyone who made me a block.  Some came in the mail and some were added to the floor arrangement at the meeting last weekend, but as I hung them on my design wall this wee, I realized I don't know who made a couple of them.. if you know, can you please help me out?  Thanks!
Helen:

E:

David:

Mary:

Nicole (yay, I got some gnomes!):

Lisa:

Maureen?  Kimberly? (sorry, lost the envelope!)

______? (my son loves the sneeches!) Carole:

_____? :

If these are yours, please let me know!!

here's a shot of them all up on the wall (with the 3 I made).  I am still waiting on 2, and hope to put it together over my winter break from school.  Thank you everybody for helping me create such a neat quilt.  I'll keep you updated on my progress..

Karen's December #13 Bee Block

This is my block for Karen.... I know you said no red, but don't worry, that's really an orange. Hope it works in your scheme. I enjoyed doing this (reminded me how to paper piece... and why I don't do it often!)

Lucky13 block for Daniela

Hello!  Judging by recent posts - it looks like the Christmas spirit is going strong for NYC Metro Mod thanks to Daniela's (aka Nov Queen Bee) excellent block request and choice of fabrics.  I hope you like the ornaments.  Now that the block is done, perhaps it's time to add some real ornaments to the bare tree in my living room!   

Lucky 13 Bee, Trees for Daniela!

Had so much fun making this for you, Daniela! Hope you like it!

Winding Ways Block

Well, I am working on some samples for a Winding Ways class I am teaching at the City Quilter  in February.

As we found out at our last meeting - Templates can be your friend (I can't wait to get my hands on a set of the Five-Point Star Template set from EZ Quilting.) For this project I am using the Marti Michell templates to cut out the pieces - these are a gem. Easy to cut out lots of the shapes in no time at all. So I have been slicin' and dicin'. 

Who would have thought sewing the blocks is WAY easier than picking out the fabric.  Here are two versions I am working on - not really happy with either - but at least it is a start.

The first is an Amish inspired design

The second is a Kaffe/Westminster inspired design.

When everything is sewn I think I will have a few samples that are well planned out and one that just uses all the rejected pieces - and you know what - I bet I will like the real scrappy one. (yes scrappy is usually best!)