Quilt Bee

Spelling Bee 2016 Wrap-Up

December 31, 2016December 14, 2024 Elizabeth E.10 Comments

UPDATE: This blog has migrated to quiltabecedary.blogspot.com.

Last year I had this idea that I wanted to try, and so I rounded up some willing participants and we made ourselves a Spelling Bee.

I started it by creating a blog that was dedicated to free tutorials to make these free-form letters, without the use of patterns or papers. Some were pretty wild, but it was a great challenge. And then we all started by choosing a phrase or a poem or a group of words and entered them into a Google Spreadsheet (we were all tired of trying to use Flickr). This is the wrap-up post, showing our collective work of The Spelling Bee ( found as #spellingbeequilt on Instagram, where we posted our photos).

This is my phrase, done in reds, creams and pinks. I do have plans for it.

Lisa (aka Nymblefyngers on IG), a first-time bee participant, decided on lots of bug words for her quilt, and people carried out the theme by making them in bug fabrics.

Mary, who writes the Needled Mom blog, made fun sewing-themed blocks to add to the words in her quilt.

Carla, of Grace and Favor, recently opened a yarn shop in her town, and requested knitting terms.

Susan finished her quilt the first, showing it off here and on her blog, PatchworknPlay. This truly typifies Susan’s attitude towards life!

Just to keep us on our toes, Kerry of PennyDog Patchwork, decided she wanted us to try her “digital” alphabet, and we made the names of the provinces of Canada, her new country. While the how-to’s for the regular alphabet are free on the blog Quilt Abecedary, this style is Kerry’s own.

Simone, of Quiltalicious, tried to make us all go crazy by asking for color names, but in different shades. A couple of us dutifully cranked out our word, only to realize that we sewn it up in the wrong color. We were all getting pretty good at this point.

Mary (aka maryonlakepulaski on IG) wanted the names of her family.

Since bee-keeping was a new passion for Rachel (The Life of Riley), we all sent bee-words to her.

Brenda (aka brendaandblue on IG), requested words that describe all those things that make her happy: “comfort words.”

Cindy of LiveAColorfulLife, is doing the words to one of her favorite songs; unlike her name, she went with black, white, cream and grays to put together her phrase.

Hope you’ve enjoyed this wrap-up of our word adventure! If you ever jump in and make a word or two, drop me a note as I’d love to see them.

Coming soon: a new bee!

Quilt Bee

Final Bee Blocks for 2016

December 4, 2016December 2, 2016 Elizabeth E.9 Comments

And….that’s a wrap!

The Mid-Century Modern bee began four years ago, and I recently sewed the final blocks in Anna Maria Horner fabrics (as per the Queen Bee’s request). We were supposed to do the blocks we’d requested for her, but I didn’t think mine would translate, so I obtained permission to do these: some Chuck Nohara blocks, writ large.

You’ve perhaps seen this logo, nestling down on the side of my blog for a while. Cindy (who had the idea for this bee) and I developed it one night while sitting side by side at this computer. I do think we collaborate well.

And…that’s a wrap for The Spelling Bee, too, although some members are still cranking out their words. This bee ended officially November 30th, and I hope that everyone has their words by the end of the year. All of mine are above; because of the length of my verse, about half of them were made by my beemates, and I did the rest.

My original intent for my wordy quilt was to have it be done all creams and pinks and reds for a Valentine quilt, but as soon as I got it up, I realized it needed some color. On the side I pinned some fabrics to audition for the quilt, and I have some ideas.

You can find a how-to for every letter over on the Quilt Abecedary Blog, which I wrote when I got in my mind to free-form create an alphabet. Have fun.

I plan to do a year-end wrap-up of the two different bees, so then you’ll see what we’ve all been up to. I like doing bees as I’m exposed to new ideas and new blocks and a different way of looking at the world. Who would have known that an enlarged Chuck Nohara block in AMH fabrics could look so fabulous? Now I do, thanks to my beemate.

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I do not know about, nor choose, the content, nor do I receive any money from these ads.
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Quilts

Happy First of September

September 1, 2016September 1, 2016 Elizabeth E.8 Comments

A new month begins with this. . .the list of the Chuck Nohara Blocks to work on.

I finished up Mary‘s block and sent over to her. This 12″ block comes from a free paper-pieced pattern from Amy Friend of During Quiet Time, found *here.* While it took some time, and while I always seem to have to un-stitch (aka, rip out) some pieces because I put the fabric on backwards, it was not difficult.

Our Spelling Bee is coming down the home stretch, with only three more months to go. In August it was also Mary’s turn, and she requested a series of names. I chose Barbara, because that is my daughter’s name, too.

I started cleaning out some of my teaching stuff, since I retired this year. Yep, that life is over with. I even sent in my letter and they are working on transferring my sick leave (which, as an adjunct professor, was always kind of useless) to service hours towards my retirement (which again, as an adjunct professor, I don’t have). But there you go.

I taught a lovely group of women Free Motion Quilting this past Saturday, who boldly jumped into the waters of quilting. It was a great class, shown here holding up their samples.

I found a new recipe for Panzanella, that delicious dish you make with toasted ripped bread, fresh tomatoes and a whole bunch of summer. It’s on my recipe blog *here.* I started keeping my recipes on a blog, as I’m always downstairs and the recipe is upstairs, so now I can have these favorites wherever I go.

This past couple of weeks I worked on my Rosette #6 of the The New Millefiore Hexagon Quilt, which at this point, because we’re a year out, isn’t very new (but that’s the name we’re sticking with), while I was here:

We traveled to Copenhagen, Denmark (that’s Nyhavn you see above) and Stockholm, Sweden. This time, unbelievably, I only went to ONE fabric shop, Stof 2000, in Copenhagen.

And I ate some of their smorrebrod, deliciously stacked sandwiches atop thin slices of rye bread.

Oh, and maybe a little bit of this. I’d send you all some but we’re expected to be nearly 100 degrees today–actually a cooling trend from this week’s Last-Week-Of-August-Weather. And that is another reason why I’m welcoming in September with open arms: it should start to cool down. Happy News. . . Happy September!

Quilts

Chuck Nohara Blocks This Far

June 29, 2016June 29, 2016 Elizabeth E.14 Comments

Well, I’ve finished three of the four June blocks.

(a truly hideous nighttime photo)

The last block won’t be finished until July, because I lost my mind and chose something that is insanely complicated. My block buddies, Susan and Betty didn’t complain at all, even though when they saw it, they must have known I was nuts. That happens sometimes.

Here’s all the blocks so far: thirty-two fun little six-inch squares. Susan chose the heart-in-the-hand block and I love it.

I was busy the last couple of days making these two small quilts. They are a combination of masterful creative ideas and talents from Kevin Umaña, and Janine Vangool’s Uppercase fabrics. I have a post planned next Tuesday showing them off. I even have a giveaway, courtesy of Ms. Vangool.

I’ve also been busy finished the stitching on our Oh Christmas Tree Quilt, which will post on Saturday with the first of the borders — the troublesome red-triangle border. All secrets are revealed that day (and yes, there’s a giveaway that day, too. These are getting out of hand, I think). . .

Simone posted her requests for the Oh Spelling Bee and used the above chart to help us reference her colors. It was too cool to hide, so thank you, Simone. Some of those color names are awesome: “Papaya Whip,” and “Alice Blue,” and “Old Lace Floral White.”

I finished my block for that bee even before June started. This was for Kerry of PennyDog fame. I felt so smug as I mailed it off a couple of days early. Then a friend in the bee reminded me that I hadn’t paid attention to the colors that Kerry wanted. Smug faded right off my face. Time for a re-do. Kerry asked us to do all the names of the Canadian Provinces, as she just immigrated there from England. (I guess she made it out of Britain before Brexit!)

Here is the re-do. She made up her own pixelated alphabet, not using the one the rest of us are (that one is on Quilt Abecedary, if you want it), but the word went together pretty quickly. I do think this version of the word “Alberta” is easier to read than my first one, so yay.

I’ve perfected my mailing to Canada: buy some Press N’ Seal, that sticky plastic wrap, and tear off a square. Fold your stuff-to-mail (just about one block only) the shape of your envelope.

Fold over one side, and smooth the heck out of it. Make it really flat. Then smash it some more, scooting all the air bubbles out to the side.

Fold it again and again, smooshing after each fold. Squish squish squish out all the air bubbles and make it as flat as possible.

Slide into your envelope and mail. I can send it from the US for a little over a buck.

I’ll be taking a class with Gwen Marston on Friday, and can’t believe it. I tried to get into her classes at QuiltCon Pasadena, but they were all sold out even before I could get the log-in code to work. Since she’s retiring in 2017, I feel really fortunate to slide into one of her last classes, held in conjunction with the Seven Sisters Quilt Show.

I’m so excited!