Bee Sewcial Round-Up 2021

The improv bee, Bee Sewcial, is finishing up its 7th(!) year of improvisational creating, and I thought it would be fun to see my year's blocks all together.

January: Personal Flag for Ken/@thekingslacker

I definitely overthought Ken's request for a piece that represented my 4 Ps (personality, principles, place, and priorities), and in fact, my first attempt at a block wasn't totally successful. But a little unpicking and revisioning took me to a place I was super happy with.

February: Little Gems for Stephanie/@spontaneousthreads

To create 45-2.5" square 'small studies,' my modus operandi was to make several blocks, then trim them to size and see what I could make with the trimmings. I came up with some of my favorite blocks that way.

April: Punchy Geometry for Marci/@marci_girl

Graphic, clean, simple. A little more structured than some prompts but decidedly improv.

May: Fine-Line Piecing for me!

Using very skinny contrasts between the pieces of the main fabrics, this prompt resulted in way more than I could have imagined.

And as you probably already know, here is the resultant quilt, Lined.

July: Circuit Boards for M-R/@quiltmatters

Circuit boards are something I know very little about, but that doesn't mean I didn't need to make some for M-R's prompt. It was an interesting challenge for sure.

August: Pickle-ish for Karen/@capitolaquilter

Not too far off from my own Rings last year, I expected these blocks to be a breeze. NOT. It was scale that made them surprisingly challenging, but boy am I pleased with the result. Karen has already posted a sneak peek of her finished quilt top, and I just adore it.

October: Quarter Improv Churn Dash for Felicity/@felicityquilts

It's always interesting - and a little formidable - to take something so familiar, such as the Churn Dash block, and improvise with its components. Not to say it isn't fun!

November: Ice for Leanne/@shecanquilt

Inspired by ice, rather than a literal representation, this was a really enjoyable prompt. Uncharacteristically, we were allowed to add in a bit of metallic, and I happily did so.

Bee Sewcial prompts never cease to intrigue me, and seeing my beemates' responses to them is as interesting as responding to them myself. See the #beesewcial hashtag to see their work too, including some newly finished quilts and quilt tops.