bee imaginative

My first official finish of 2013, I was about half way through quilting it before we moved, so it was a quick finish and a quick finish=FUN!

this is my last quilting bee quilt in my queue (phew!--so nice to have them put together instead of just a pile of blocks) and it is one of my favorites!  I loved each and every block, and all together, it's WOW!    You can see my inspiration pic in this post.

 I was way into rainbows at the time this quilt was started, and I still love them, but I am so in love with the two tone greys in this quilt.  I think they make the colors pop.

 I'm still not sure if this rainbow stripe is right for this quilt, I really wanted a grey on grey stripe for the binding, but grey is a tricky color and nothing really matched.  I even considered making my own striped fabric, but knew it would be too bulky.  In the end I went with rainbow, but I wish I could've made the grey work.

 backing, colorful zigzags and leftover grey.

Thanks to all my friends who made a block.  It's perfect.

cottage quilt

It was probably over 2 years ago now that I was involved in the Cottage Quilting Bee, and I have finally put my quilt together and I think it turned out so great.  

I received soooo many blocks, and it was so fun to figure out where to put them all.  I ended up framing them on the front in white. 

I pieced my back with orange fabrics that I had along with my remaining blocks. 

I quilted it in large loops.  It's not perfect, but I do like the effect.

and an orange stripe binding to finish it off.  I am loving this color of orange.   A big thanks to all those friends who contributed to this quilt.  I love it.

block party blog tour

I'm really excited to be the next stop on the Block Party blog tour for a couple reasons.  First, because I think the book is a good one, and second, because I was lucky enough to be involved with each quilt in the book--and I think they are all great.

Block Party--The Modern Quilting Bee was written by Alissa Haight Carlton and Kristen Lejnieks, but the quilts were a collaboration of 12 quilters--the book followed our virtual quilting bee.   I love actually seeing bee quilts finished...don't you?

Here are a few of my favorite quilts:

 and here's my quilt:

my kids even made it into the book, and now they think they are famous. :)

My favorite thing about this book is there isn't really a pattern for each quilt, there are guidelines and suggestions, which leaves lots of room for your own creativity!

****giveaway closed*****

The folks at Stash Books are offering a copy of the book to one of my readers.  To enter, leave a comment, one per person (make sure I can reach you via email).  I will choose a winner on Thursday (june 23) morning.  Good luck.

You can also follow the tour as it makes it's way around blogland:

6/22/2011 I Heart Linen
6/23/2011 Tallgrass Prairie Studio
6/24/2011 Oh, Fransson!
6/25/2011 All Buttoned Up
6/26/2011 West Coast Crafty
6/27/2011 Connecting Threads
6/28/2011 Crafty Girls Workshop
6/29/2011 Whip Up
6/30/2011 Pink Chalk Studio
7/1/2011 True Up
7/5/2011 Block Party Bee Blog
7/6/2011 Anna Maria Horner
7/7/2011 Craftzine.com

WIP Wednesday--bee imaginative

 Linking up with freshly pieced again today, sharing my works in progress.  I can hardly contain my excitement over this project.  All these blocks were made by my bee friends from bee imaginative, and I am just drooling over each block individually.  I couldn't be happier about this quilt.

I'm missing some blocks, but couldn't resist sharing what I do have.  

My inspiration came from this image first seen here.

one block over blocks

Blocks from my quilting bee last year (one block over).  I told you I'm really into houses right now.  Inspired by this quilt.  I'm still missing a few blocks, but I think I'm going to make it 4 blocks by 5 blocks.  So, I still have some houses to make.  I have debated putting some sashing in.  I LOVE every block, and can't wait to see it come together.

the calvin quilt

with the help of my block party friends, my little boy now has a quilt for his big bed...I LOVE this quilt.  

I wasn't sure about the quilting when I first pulled it out of the dryer, but on the bed, I absolutely love it.

currently my kids are playing musical beds (not sleeping in their own beds), so the quilt is actually on my daughters bed.  She loves the horse stuff on the back.  I chose this print because the fabric is so, so soft. 

 thanks to the great ladies who contributed to this quilt, I love every square..

crazy geese

I finished my first virtual quilting bee quilt, and I am so happy with it. I had my reservations at first, but as usual, once it's all quilted and bound it takes on a new life.

I debated what to bind this quilt with, and ultimately chose this great ruler print from American Jane. I love it up close, but kind of think it looks a little "dirty" from afar. Oh well, this will likely be used by my kids who love to make messes anyway.

For the back I used some sheeting, and showcased one of the blocks (that was stitched by HAND). It's a lovely block.

thanks to all those involved in this quilt! i love that it has a piece of each of you. what a fun year we had.

block party quilt top

a (sloppy) peek at my block party quilting bee quilt. this one will be for my sons bed, so it's bigger than normal and i'm totally dreading quilting it. i really like it though!

inspired by this great quilt.

bee inspired quilt

I put together my quilt blocks from our bee inspired quilting bee, and I am having some serious doubts about my choice of layout, I kinda wish I would've used some sashing. Oh well, I don't ever redo, so hopefully I'll like it more once it's quilted and bound.

may bee blocks

june is on it's way to being half-way over, but thought i'd post the blocks i did for various quilting bees in may:

block party:
cottage quilting bee:
bee inspired:

blocks

i don't know what i was thinking when i signed up for 3 quilting bees. i enjoy them all, but throw a busy month in there, and it can be a little overwhelming. this past weekend i got myself completely caught up!! being caught up feels really good!

block party:
bee inspired:
cottage quilting bee:

blocks

2 spiderweb blocks for Ashley,
and two blocks for the bushfire quilt project. i'm going to be making a wonky star quilt soon. i love these stars.

cottage quilting bee

besides the block party quilting bee, I also joined the cottage quilting bee. i have really enjoyed these bees...getting fabric in the mail, working on one or two blocks at a time, enjoying the great fabrics, and trying new things.

2 blocks for darci (who is hosting a fat quarter swap. fun, you should join in!). She wanted scrappy or wonky log cabins (my favorite).for those who have asked about a pattern for my boxed in quilt, there really isn't one. check out this wonky log cabin tutorial, which is basically what I did. I did a lot of finger pressing and NO measuring on that quilt. My finished (cut) squares measured 10.5 inches.

block party--january

blocks for Alissa in my Block Party virtual quilting bee. fun, fun.