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Bee Imaginative quilt top

June 16, 2011 in Bees/Swaps, Quilting Works in Progress with 3 Comments

I got this top, from the last bee I was in – Bee Imaginative, finished up yesterday!

I love it. I think that when it comes to bee quilts, it’s a balancing act of asking for a block that allows for creativity but will also lead to a group of blocks that work together… Thanks to all of the bee members for their great blocks!!

The top started with these fabrics…

…and a request to be inspired by this photo.

(which I discovered over here on Cathy of California‘s blog. BTW – if you don’t read her blog you should. Nothing but inspiration all the time.)

I can’t wait to quilt it. I might long arm it… I’m determined to make this my Summer Of The Longarm! I will get past that learning curve!!

On the design wall…

January 17, 2011 in Bees/Swaps with 10 Comments

Blocks from The Triple B Bee. Just have to make one myself to add to them and then I can put the quilt together! Not certain of the lay out but this is going to be a lap quilt that lives in my sewing room. I went with a darker color scheme than I usually do but I’m interested in using different kinds of color combos these days… We’ll see how I put all of these together.

And all 44 charms from a Robert Kaufman Kona charm pack! Aren’t they pretty all laid out like that? RK have been so generous and have donated these charm packs to Modern Quilt Guilds that want to organize a solids challenge. Of course the L.A. group jumped at the chance! Having them up there is getting me inspired…

In the sewing room…

December 3, 2010 in Bees/Swaps, Quilting Works in Progress with 5 Comments

I’m working on my holiday swap for the LAMQG meeting on Monday evening. We all picked names so we’re making something for a specific person. It really makes for a great swap when you know the recipient…

Just a peek for now! More on that soon.

And check out the blocks that I’ve gotten back for Bee Imaginative.

Pretty great, right? I can’t wait to put this quilt together once I get all of the blocks… it’s going to be a good one!

Sewing room snippets

November 15, 2010 in Bees/Swaps with 18 Comments

Some bee blocks for Liz.

And Beans overseeing things.

Hope you all had a great weekend! I spent mine in the sewing room, how about you?

Inspiration check in…

October 19, 2010 in Bees/Swaps, MQG Posts with 3 Comments

Did you all see that it’s the halfway point on Project Modern’s first challenge? How are you all coming along??

There’s so much inspiration to be found everywhere…

A while ago I spotted this photo over on Cathy of California’s blog…

It’s a contemporary woven wall hanging by Eve Gulick.

I’ve asked my Bee Imaginative members to make me blocks inspired by this weaving and I know I’m going to be thrilled by the results… I sent off the fabric…

And the blocks are starting to be made!

Check out what Rita made me:

And I made my block already…

This quilt, is going to be so great. What’s inspiring you these days? Why not make a quilt about it and enter it into Project Modern??

Little houses

September 24, 2010 in Bees/Swaps with 9 Comments

Had to make some little houses for Kelly and the Triple B Bee.

They are always fun to make.

It got me thinking about all of the other little houses I’ve made for various bees.

I didn’t realize there were so many! Hope you all have a great weekend!

A couple of bee blocks.

September 7, 2010 in Bees/Swaps with 7 Comments

With months flying by, my bee commitments have gone down from an insane five bees to a manageable two. I’ll admit that it’s much more enjoyable to be a part of a bee when you remember which bee and person the block you’re making is for! These are both for Bee Imaginative.

For Kate:

And for Elizabeth:

Options!

June 23, 2010 in Bees/Swaps, Quilting Works in Progress with 43 Comments

I now have most of my blocks from the 12 Squared Bee. I’m not sure how I’m going to put them together…

With sashing?

No sashing?

“Reassembled” blocks?

Some of both?

Or I might go in a completely different direction all together! We’ll see!

In other news, we just found out that we’re moving. To the house directly next door to my sister. Needless to say, that’s great! The house is slightly bigger than where we are now (we’re talking moving from 700 square feet to 850? Maybe?) and I’ll have a dedicated sewing space so we’re really excited. It’s gonna make the blogging mellow for a bit but you’ll all be here when I get back, right?? We’ve been in our place for almost seven years so there’s loads of packing that has to happen that will cut into the sewing time! I can’t wait for a fresh start with a new place though. It’s a cute little old house (old for California – build in 1927) that we’re excited to make our own!

Whip Up Mini Quilts

June 8, 2010 in Bees/Swaps, MQG Posts with 128 Comments

Today’s the day that I’m part of the Whip Up Mini Quilt book blog tour! Hurray!

It’s such a great book. It starts with a very thorough run down of quilting – how to and loads of tips and tricks. All the info you need in one place. Then you get to the quilts… oh the mini quilts!

That last one there was made by Liz, a member of my guild, the LAMQG. In an aligning of the mini quilt stars, we had a mini quilt swap at our meeting last night.

Mini quilts are so wonderful because you can try something new or whimsical or out of your comfort zone, on a small scale. You can take a risk or two that you wouldn’t dare take on a huge project that takes you ages to make.

Check out some of the great quilts from last night with their happy recipients…

Quilts made by Latifah, Emily, and Lori

That last one deserves a zoom in…

On the To Do list?

“Buy more fabric” – so clever!

Whip Up Mini Quilts divides the many included patterns up into different categories.

I think the one I made fits nicely into…Geometric!

Right?

Mini quilts are great because you don’t have to concern yourself with the functionality of making a quilt – you’re just having fun with an artistic expression. The book captures that so wonderfully, providing such a great mix of practical information and pure inspiration.

Do you want a copy of this fantastic book? Just comment here and tell me your favorite thing about mini quilts! I’ll post a winner on Wednesday!

Here’s the run down of the whole blog tour!

6/1 - Craftzine – essential quilting tools
6/2 - Crafty Pod – book review & giveaway
6/3 - Chronicle Books – Behind the making of the book
6/4 – Indie Fixx – Designing your own mini-quilts
6/7 – Craft Sanity – Piped binding tutorial
6/8 – Handmade by Alissa
6/9 – My Love for You Background on Mini Quilts
6/10 - Film in the Fridge
6/11 - The Haystack Needle Decorating with mini quilts
6/12 – West Coast Crafty