Bee Block Examples

For those of you still making last month's blocks here are some examples to help you:

 Helen

 Janice

Here are the samples for this month's Bee Blocks. See separate posts for more info

 Margaret

Katie

Katie's Bee Block and Biography

Hi my name is Katie. I am a long time lover of cutting up material and making things. I started sewing and quilting as a child and along with cutting my mum's favourite silk blouse to make roses for my denim jacket made several hand sewn quilts. Work and three children then came along and I did a lot less crafting and much more playing and washing clothes rather than making anything.  As my children are getting older I am finding slightly more time to be creative and they are starting to enjoy making things with me. I still really enjoy hand sewing but recently bought a new machine that is great and gives me lots more options. I am really enjoying being part of the Edinburgh Modern Quilt group and seeing the huge variety of styles and techniques used. 

My favourite quilt is the one shown. It is our picnic rug and we have been able to use it loads this summer which has been great.

The block I have chosen this month is the 12" Courthouse Steps Block. This is the website I used:

http://quilting.about.com/od/blockofthemonth/ss/Template-Free-Courthouse-Steps-Quilt-Block-and-Quilt-Pattern.htm

Block Centre 3 1/2" x 3 1/2" 

 2 x 2" x 3 1/2"

4 x 2" x 6 1/2" 

4 x 2" x 9 1/2"

2 x 2" x 12 1/2" 

It feels really exciting to see what different blocks are made and hopefully they will not take too long to make as I know some of us are also making our bits for the Stitch Gathering. The blocks can be made of any colour, but if possible all the stripes should contain the same colour. Here are the examples I made as shown at the meeting.

Helen's Bee Block and Biography

Hi, I am Helen and I have been a member of the Edinburgh Quilt Guild since it was founded earlier this year.

I started quilting in 2011 after stumbling across an open day at Jo’s shop in Morningside where she was launching her craft classes. I immediately enrolled for the beginner patchwork class and entered the shop raffle, the excitement of booking the class was too much for me and I gave Jo the incorrect e-mail address and phone number! When I won the first prize in the raffle Jo managed to track me down and sent me a nice letter through the post informing me I had won the prize of a voucher for a class. 

Needless to say since then I have been hooked, enjoying making quilts and other sewing projects and of course building my fabric stash. Below is photo of the last quilt that I completed, following a Jelly Roll Quilt workshop at myBearpaw which was taught by Fiona Calvert. The other photo is of me with my niece and nephew helping to show the quilt.

The block I have chosen for my bee block is a Whirligig Block which Jo kindly presented to the group because I could not attend that evening.

Whirligig Quilt Block

1. Cut 2 rectangles of plain fabric 5" by 4.5"
2. Cut 1 rectangle of pattern fabric 1, 5" by 4.5"
3. Cut 1 rectangle of pattern fabric 2, 5" by 4.5"
4. Stack the 4 rectangles horizontally on cutting board.
5. Line up the centre line of the fabric (ie 2.5") with a vertical line on cutting mat
6. With a ruler and rotary cutter cut the fabric diagonally 1/2" either side of the centre line. 
   Sew together and trim to give a centre block of 8.25" by 8.25".
7. Cut a strip of plain fabric 1.5" wide. Sew to top and bottom of block then to the right and left sides. 
8. Cut a strip of pattern fabric 2" wide. Sew to top and bottom of block then to the right and left sides. 
9. Do not trim to size, I will do this.

Links to tutorials:

627handworks.com/finished-quilts

http://teaginnydesigns.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/template-free-trim-free-whirligig.html

http://turtlehillquilter.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/charmed-whirlgigs-tutorial.html

Fabric:

• 2 different patterned fabrics to form spokes of whirligig (fabric to include a one fabric which is either blue/green/turquoise)

• Outer border to be different patterned fabric
• Plain fabric to be neutral colour in a light shade

Janice's Bee Block

Hi I'm Janice

I retired a few years ago and as a knitter for many years, I decided to put my pins aside and look at different crafts and recently I discovered quilting and I think I may be hooked.

My sister and my neighbour are both quilters and encouraged by them I tried a couple of small quilts for my granddaughters dolls. I liked it and wanted to explore it further. I signed up for Jo's first 'Stitch Gathering' and I have to admit I was a bit nervous about going along, this was a new experience and a new language (what was a fat quarter!) you also had to make a name badge for someone and decorate your ticket!!

I need not have worried as everyone was very friendly and I learned a lot.

My son found out I was learning a new skill and just to keep me on track he suggested that he and his partner would like a quilt. Liberty fabric would be nice, what can you do it. My first quilt was completed a few weeks ago with a lot of help and encouragement from my sister and neighbour.

When I heard that a Modern Quilt Guild was being started I signed up and am finding it a great way to learn and develop this new found love.

So on to the next one. It was my turn to chose a block this month and I have chosen Kaffe Fassett's 'Shirt Stripe Boxes'. I saw this in London at an exhibition of his work and thought I would like to try making one, it looked quite simple but maybe not as simple as it first looks. However the nice thing is anything goes, stripes can match, make a pattern or be completely random. So I hope people have fun with it.

This is what I have done so far and just in case you were wondering my husband does have some shirts left, most of these I found in charity shops. XXL provides a lot of fabric!

I found this on Pinterest (Kaffe Fassett Shirt Stripe Boxes) it gives an overview of what it might look like.

I'm looking forward to seeing what comes back and as we go along trying other people blocks.

Marina's Bee Block and favourite quilt

Hello, I'm Marina and am very pleased to be part of this lovely new guild. I have always been a craft-loving person, and have tried my hand at many things (with varying degrees of success). I learned how to quilt with my mother when I was small, and have been at it on and off ever since. I love bright colours and big patterns, and fun, happy quilts! 

The block I have chosen for this month is a Domino block, nice and easy but hopefully fun. There's a good tutorial here, but let me know if you have any questions or issues. The finished block will be 12 inches, don't worry about trimming it up, I'll do that once I've got them all. It would be great if the middle squares could be grey (fine if it's a pattern, even with some other colours mixed in, so long as it reads as grey overall), and if you could use some teal elsewhere in the block. It can be as coordinated or as scrappy as you like, just keep a bit of definition between the different sets, but otherwise go for it and do what makes you happy. Here are pictures of the two blocks I've made, I'm looking forward to seeing everyone else's! 

My favourite quilt for today is this log cabin:

Not the best photo, but the only one I have and you get the idea. This was made over the course of approximately two years, two continents, and two or three machines. It is my first full size bed quilt, log cabins are one of my favourite blocks, and now this one makes me smile and keeps me warm at night - what's not to like? I like the back just as much as the front, but sadly don't have a picture to show you just now.

Anne's Bee block and biography

Hi, I'm Anne and I live in Edinburgh with my husband, 2 daughters and our King Charles spaniel. 

Sixteen years ago, when my two daughters were very young, a friend suggested that I join her at a papercraft workshop and my love of crafting began. 

Then last summer my sister and I spotted a list of quilting workshops in Jo's shop window in Edinburgh. Always keen to try something new, we signed up for a beginner's Log Cabin cot quilt class. Over ambitious as ever, I ended up making a full sized quilt instead, which is yet to be finished, of course - but we were hooked! 

Apart from starting a quilt for my eldest daughter two years ago (see story below), this is my first foray into the world of modern fabrics and quilting, as I'm generally a paper crafter and I love scrapbooking. I love the choice of fabrics available nowadays and am rapidly turning into a fabric hoarder ! 

I have chosen a house block for my block of the month. The cutting sizes (inc seam allowances) for each house area are shown below, along with a diagram for constructing the house. I chose aquas, pinks and whites as my colour scheme for everyone. The final block will be 12.5" square. I'm excited to see how everyone's blocks turn out. I shall probably add coloured sashing between each block, to make my finished quilt. 

Here's a photo of my sample block: 

And the cutting and assembly diagrams:

For my favourite quilt I would choose this one:

To be honest, it's my first and only completed full size quilt. Two years ago my eldest daughter was leaving to go to university and asked me to make her an heirloom to take with her! How could I refuse a request like that?  
I cut out the pieces in April 2012 but somehow it sat in my cupboard, untouched, til Feb 2014 (as she approached the end of her 2nd year) when a wave of guilt spurred me on to complete it. The free motion quilting was fun to start with but it's a very large quilt and after 24 hours of quilting, spread over a number of days, I felt the end would never come ! 
Now it's finished, I love the quilt - I love the modern fabrics and large areas of white. 

Jo's Bee block and biography

Last night we had our third meeting and our first in our new home. 16 of us attended and this was also our first Bee month. Anne and I are starting off the Bees with a block each.

We decided that when it is your turn in the Bee you should also post on the blog about your bee block (link to a tutorial, dimensions, etc.) and also a short biography as an introduction to the group. I also thought it would be nice if we each picked a favourite quilt to feature too. This could be your favourite quilt ever or just your favourite that day!

So I have chosen the Granny Square block for my Bee block. This is a really easy block made up of 2 and a half inch squares. The photo above is the block trimmed. I will trim these myself so just sew all the blocks together and hand back to me without trimming.

You will need 12 squares cut from Kona Snow
1 square for the centre
4 squares for the 2nd round
8 squares for the third round.

You then sew these together in rows and then sew the rows together as above. Here is a tutorial for a bit more help.  And here is a group on Flickr full of Granny Square quilts so you can see what they look like. I think I may need to make a few more blocks myself though!

Now a quick biog which I am going to copy and paste from my blog!

My sister, Jane, taught me to sew when I was 6 years old (a squirrel made out of our old curtains), and I spent a large part of my childhood making toys, knitting, and from the age of 10, English paper piecing with hexagons (though I just called it patchwork then!). 

When I was 21 I decided to start my own business designing and producing tapestry kits. I didn't really know what I was doing but with the help of my boyfriend, Jonathan, (who knew a bit more than me) it worked and Cleopatra's Needle was born.

After a couple of years we moved from London to the Scottish Borders. We married and had 2 boys. I spent less time running the business so it was left to Jonathan to take the reigns, and though it was still going well, it wasn't really what he wanted to do. So we sold it (it is still going strong under new ownership) and Jonathan set up a furniture making business (called Jonathan Avery).

Meanwhile I had joined the local quilt group and started making quilts for friends and family. Soon I was making art quilts and exhibiting them in galleries all over the world. I became involved with the worldwide Green Quilts movement (now sadly disbanded) and produced a UK newsletter.

But as Jonathan's furniture business and our boys grew I became more involved with the business and when we opened a showroom in Edinburgh I had a lot less time for crafting and the quilts took a back seat.  I was still making the odd quilt for weddings and new babies and had also begun crocheting, but I was very much working in isolation with no crafting buddies to chat to. And then in 2009 I came across a craft blog whilst researching an artist for the gallery we had at the time. It was a complete revelation to me, I had no idea that there was all this stuff on the internet!

I immediately got my (by then teenage) boys to help me set up my own blog and myBearpaw was born! I have to say it changed my life. Not only have I been drawn into the wonderful, sharing, friendly online crafting community but with so much inspiration on the web my crafting has gone from strength to strength! I would still classify myself as primarily a quilter but I am always crocheting too and in the last few years have become very interested in embroidery, and even knitting has made a comeback.   In 2011 I opened up a craft studio in our Edinburgh store, which I also named myBearpaw, and have been teaching workshops in sewing, quilting, embroidery and crochet ever since. In early 2012 we started to stock fabric, wool and haberdashery at our shop and this grew into a large craft department with an online shop too. In August 2013 we hosted the first Stitch Gathering Retreat in Edinburgh and a Scottish Modern Quilt Exhibition as part of the Edinburgh Fringe.

And for my favourite quilt I am featuring this Porthole Dresden which was the first quilt I brought for show and tell at our EMQG meetings. I have now given this away and am missing it! So it's my current favourite.

Looking forward to hearing more about our other members through these blog posts!