The Modern Blocks Bee

The Modern Blocks Bee was one of my first, and it is now complete. All blocks were made from Modern Blocks: 99 Quilt Blocks from Your Favorite Designers, which is a wonderful compilation of modern blocks, and I'll continue to use it as a resource.

1. Modern Blocks Bee - January block, 2. Modern Blocks Bee - February block, 3. Blue Lagoon block - Modern Blocks Bee, March(2), 4. Fussy Cut block - Modern Blocks Bee, March(1), 5. "Pathways", 6. Modern Blocks Bee - April, 7. Set Sail for Modern Blocks Bee, 8. Boxed Up-June, 9. Little Square Big Square June, 10. Binary - MY block in the Modern Blocks Bee for July, 11. Stargazing block - August, 12. Stonehenge block - September, 13. Parisian Star - October, 14. Diamond Ripples-November, 15. Piece of the Garden block

For my month last July, I chose Binary, a block by Angela Pingel. You may remember, I made a quilt with my bee blocks which I also called Binary; the reveal post was here.

So farewell to a great group of ladies. I thoroughly enjoyed our year of sewing together!

Binary

When Modern Blocks came out in 2011, I had it on pre-order, and immediately sat down with it when it came, poring over the pages and thinking of quilt possibilities. When I saw the new Modern Blocks Bee popping up on flickr shortly after, I jumped at the chance! And then for the next six months, I made blocks for my bee-mates. Finally, last July, it was my turn, and I chose Binary, a block designed by Angela Pingel. From my stash, I chose Kona Ash as the background, and a variety of Kona cools, which I randomly sent to my bee-mates.

 Here is the basic block.

So the blocks sat around a while, which is why they got put right on my fourth quarter Finish-A-Long list! I debated for quite a while what to do with the blocks, and in the end placed them in columns, separated by lengths of Kona Coal. Simple.

I was concerned maybe it all was too simple, so at some point I decided it needed that extra touch of matched binding.

The gray/black/white City Scenes print by Jane Dixon reminded me of binary code and made an ideal backing. All the quilting was done vertical, straight-line in the skinny sections, and a combo of straight-line and curvy in the wider strips. My Aurifil light and dark gray threads coordinated perfectly.

And then for the binding, I used the Ash and Coal, along with scraps I had of the cool colors. Binary measures 48" square, and is now all washed up and crinkly. And done.

Linking up with Finish It Up Friday, Finish-A-Long Fourth Quarter Linky Party, and Fabric Tuesday.

Hopping Begins and Bee Blocks

Just a reminder that there's a new blog hop starting today! Sponsored by Beth of Plum and June, it's all about getting to know some of the newer bloggers out in blog land. They'll all be sharing a bit about themselves, as well as a project using novelty prints.

So first up today is Kelsey and Erin - stop by and encourage them along!

May
May 22
    Kelsey from Kelsey Sews - her post is here

    Erin from Billy Button Designs - her post is here

May 24

    Nik from Boldgoods

    Alyssa from Pile O Fabric

I have have a couple of bee blocks to share. First up is "Set Sail" from Modern Blocks and designed by Susanne Woods. This block is for Lizz in the Modern Blocks Bee.

Next up are some Ohio Stars made for Kelsey in the FAITH Circle of do.Good Stitches. The tutorial for these blocks can be found here.

Oh and lastly, I just saw that . . . 

My little potholders were included in a feature of fun projects from the last week. There are some other great projects there too, so take a minute and check them out {here}.

W.i.P. Wednesday

All sorts of odds and ends to share for W.i.P. Wednesday this week, which is kind of surprising with a busy {read: awesome} weekend with family.

Completed projects
Windows Improv table runner - After really struggling whether or not this project was going to 'work', it did! I posted and shared more pics here.

"The Everything Bag" - A little project I snuck in and can't resist showing off again. Yup, it's another one from Jeni's pattern {here}. Love it!

Zakka Style Sew-Along project #1: Zigzag Tote - Completed, posted here, and gifted already, plus featured as one of Sukie's favs {here}! Can't beat that!

Modern Blocks Bee April block - a "Potager" block from Modern Blocks, designed by Yvonne Malone of Yvonne Malone Studio.

 

Ongoing projects

First and foremost is Hopscotch - I have 58/77 blocks pieced, the backing purchased, and an appointment with my long-armer. Need to keep pushing through to get this top done!

Festival of Half Square Triangles - Still just pressing and trimming, while focusing more on other projects.

April do.Good Stitches - This month the FAITH Circle is making two zigzag quilts. I'm enjoying putting together my contribution - one gray zigzag strip, using 4" hst.

Hollywood Boulevard table runner for a friend - the focus fabric being French General by Moda. (I'll be using the same pattern as this runner.)

Upcoming projects
* FAITH Circle Pouch Swap
* more Zakka
* a quilt to coordinate with my Christmas tree skirt - On a Whim ??
* DS Quilts Doll Quilt Swap project - waiting on fabric
* scrappy Metrolink
* tutorial for pieced binding
* a zip pouch w/o zipper tabs - want to know this way too

Linking up with W.i.P. Wednesday . . .

Cool

Today was an awesome day, starting off with a sweet shout-out from Carla over at Grace and Favour! We've enjoyed comparing projects and all for a while now, and I'm glad I've been able to provide some encouragement. Do head over and see her amazing Farmer's Wife blocks - some of my favorite ones out there, using lots of Terrain! Thanks, Carla!

I do have a little block to share - my test-block for the 4x5 modern Quilt Bee.

It's called "Three Wishes" and is by Jamie Moilanen from 99 Modern Blocks. I think it's a keeper, and hope my hive-members do too.

A Win, A Buy, and A Join

You know I am Swoon-crazy, and I really enjoy watching others as they are swooning. One of those has been by Heather of Crafting . . ., who used Hometown by Sweetwater for Moda. Isn't it wonderful?

1. Finished Swoon 2

Oh a whim, I had purchased a couple of charm packs of Hometown, but it was Heather's quilt that made me realize what a good decision that had been! So you'll be seeing that quilt in the future, but meanwhile, I am more than happy to enjoy this little mug rug that I won in a give-away on Heather's blog. It is impeccably made and oh, so sweet sitting on my sewing table. I am really enjoying using it as I sew. Thanks, Heather!!

Stormy though it was, I decided to stop at Joann's last night to see if any DS Daisy Mae had come in. I was pleased to discover the entire line. 

17 of the 19 prints all lined up together

There's been quite a discussion on flickr about this line (as there is for every new DS line!), but I was pleased enough to purchase some small pieces of my favorites. I really like how the DS lines are usable together, so that's the main reason I added to my stash.

Lastly, I was super pleased (downright happy in fact!) to see a new bee starting, based on the book, Modern Blocks, that I told you about here. There's a thread on flickr that posts bee openings, and invariably, when I find something that sounds interesting, it's already full! Well, lucky for me, this time I saw that the new Modern Blocks Bee was looking for 11 bee members, and only a handful had signed up! I jumped right in (and here's the especially happy part) so did several of my blog buddies. I am so excited to be in a bee (no pun intended) with these fantastic ladies and experience how this kind of bee works. My month isn't until July, but I'm sure you'll be hearing about it before then. Oh, if you don't have the book, and are interested in seeing some "real-life" blocks made from it, well check out the new 99 Modern Blocks group. Very fun!