Sentimental Journey: Bee Blocks for Always Bee Learning

I saw a notice on IG one day, with Megan saying that she had room for another participant in her bee.  I jumped at the chance to be with such illustrious quilters, and they gracefully accepted this newbie.  This bee sent out their fabrics to everyone, so we would get a little packet of fabrics with directions, then we’d sew it together and send it back.  Only once did I worry about running out of fabric, and once, when I screwed up a block, I was relieved that I had similar fabric in my stash.

I grow rather attached to the bee blocks I make, even the ones that give me fits.  I always feel badly when the blocks aren’t just so, and given the number of notes I’ve received on my bee blocks from others saying the same thing, I know I’m in good company.  So I got to wondering one day: what ever happened to the bee blocks I’ve made?  I sent out emails and I’m happy to show you what I’ve received in return.  If they recipient hadn’t made it up into a quilt, that was not a problem; some sent a picture of a grouping of blocks.  If that wasn’t sent, no big deal. I guess I just wanted a final wrap-up post about my time with this bee.  This bee was on their third year, so it disbanded after my final block, but it was fun bee-ing in their company.  

The following blocks/quilts are in no particular order:  

We made ogee blocks for Mary’s turn.  One of the hallmarks of this bee was to always be learning, so a lot of new techniques were tried.   This one was curves in a Drunkard’s Path block, that when assembled makes an Ogee Block.

This was the first set I made, and Megan requested arrow blocks that turned every which way.

Hettie sent us directions for Hobo Quilt Blocks, and everyone’s was different; it was to be a quilt for her sister, who was graduating with a PhD.

Toni’s Christmas spiderweb blocks were really fun to make, and I love the fun holiday quilt that came from hers and our efforts.

Celeste added to what we sent of Bonnie Hunter’s Boxy Stars, and made two quilts for charity.

Kristina asked for Sparkler Blocks, a pattern by Lee Heinrich.

Debbie sent us the link to make these half-square rectangles, and turned them all on their sides to make her Ziggity-Zag Quilt.  This was a good challenge to make sure the angles went the right way.

Leanne walked us through making perfect points for her Ocean Waves block. I didn’t get all of them perfect, but her finished flimsy is wonderful.

And here is her finished quilt, titled Winter.

Anything that Stephanie conjures up is going to be great, and although I fretted over these blocks (as I worried about running out of fabric and really worried that my finished product was only “pretty good” in my estimation), I love her finished quilt, titled One of these blocks is not like the others.

Marci’s Modern Maples were fun and fast, with interesting fabrics.

The last bee blocks in this lineup are Michonne’s.  The lovely story about this is after I sent around the emails last month, asking for photos of either the blocks together or a the quilt/top, she hurried and finished hers so I could post it here with the rest; it looks terrific!  And what did these beemates make for me?

 Pineapple blocks.

I really enjoyed seeing all these blocks and quilts together.  Thank you everyone!