More Bee Blocks

Sorry I disappeared last week. I am officially back to work and I ended up shooting all day Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. That means long hours and no time to breathe. But today I'm settling into my new office and starting pre-production on a new show. We don't start shooting until mid-June so I have a little respite. Saturday my husband had to work all day so I got to play in the studio without any guilt. I have a few things stewing in my head that I can't wait to work on, but first my mission is to eradicate my MUST Do List and that means catching up on Bee Blocks. The exciting news: I am almost 100% completely caught up. Yippee!

The Hope Circle of do. Good Stitches is actually taking May off so we can all work on getting caught up on everything, so I finally made the Antique Tile Blocks that Robyn asked for in March. She wanted a bright color palate and her only other requirement was that the center block was solid white, using this tutorial. Otherwise we could go as scrappy as we wanted, but I kept it pretty simple. One thing about the tutorial - perhaps, I just missed it and I'm crazy, but I couldn't seem to find the correct cutting measurements for the center square anywhere on the page so if you're wanting to make this block just know you need a 4.5" X 4.5" square for the center.

Then, I finished up Melanie's blocks for April in the Bee a Lone Star(burst) Bee. This bee started in April and we're on a condensed schedule so we make two Lone Star Blocks using this tutorial every month for two different people. I was invited to join this bee by Sarah who I "met" through a swap last year. I still need to make her blocks for April. Funny enough Sarah and Melanie had the same color palate so it made things a little easier.

Finally I finished up (on time I might add) the Dear Jane blocks for Corley in the Sew Fun Bee. She asked us to help her out by making two to three hand stitched blocks. She sent us the templates and white fabric, already pre-cut and ironed onto freezer paper with a desired color for each block. She sent me block C-3 "Rayelle's Fence" and asked for it in purple as well as block D-ll "Snow Crystal" in blue. I attacked "Rayelle's Fence" first. This was my first ever attempt at hand stitching a quilt block. I mean, I have a background in garment construction so the concept of hand stitching isn't completely foreign to me but I've never done a whole block by hand before. I was so excited about this challenge. I found the block came together so quickly. I finished it in an evening before April even ended. In fact, I had so much fun with it I immediately told Corley that she could send me more blocks if she wanted.

Personally, I'd never make a sampler quilt for myself. It just doesn't fit my style so I wouldn't ever think to undertake a Dear Jane myself so I am so grateful and thrilled that Corley was brave enough to ask us to attempt these blocks for her. It helped to further motivate me to do my Double Wedding Ring entirely by hand. The "Snow Crystal" block was more complex than the first block because it incorporates Y-seams and appliqué. As soon as I got the hang of the first Y-seam it was all downhill from there. Seriously, if Corley wanted to send me more, even in months to come, I would gladly make more blocks for her. I was disappointed that I ended up with one of the packages with only two blocks, not three. If only I was into Samplers. That's the fun of working in bees. Now, I'm only behind with three more. My goal is to finish them this week so I can finally get all caught up. Wish me luck!