February Block

After much contemplation, consternation, and agony, I finally chose my first ever Quilting Bee Block!  Of course, my confusion really stems from Pinterest and all the lovely quilts that 

I want to make! 

So, I settled for something relatively simple...an Ohio Star inside a modified Log Cabin!  I did see this on Pinterest, but it didn't have any instructions. You can see my pin here:

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/218143175676095948/

Having a few computer skills, I decided that I could figure it out.  My first ever pieced quilt was a log cabin, so it shouldn't be to hard, right! 

I chose "Lady Slipper Lodge" by Holly Taylor and Moda. I love the dragonflies, little flowers and especially the muted greens and purples.  Shari will tell you how much I love purple, just ask her!  Actually this fabric just made me think of being bundled up by a fireplace...with a good book...
in a cabin...away from the world!

So here it is... my block instructions!  (Again, I am just winging it here, if you have an easier or better way, please feel free to adjust where needed.) All seams are 1/4 inch and white or off white thread is fine.  

Take the two green rectangles, and two lavender rectangles, sew a small ivory block to one side on the diagonal, trim and press open. Then sew another small ivory block to the other side on the diagonal, trim and press open. These are the points of the star. 

Sew a green rectangle to one end of the large ivory block and a lavender rectangle to the opposite end.

With the remaining lavender rectangle, sew the small green square on the end that will match up with the green on the base of the star. Then sew the small lavender block on the end that will match up with the lavender on the base of the star.  With the remaining green rectangle, sew a small green square to both ends.  

You now have your Ohio Star portion done.  It should be unfinished 6 1/2 x 6 1/2 and 6 x 6 when finished. 

Next we add the log cabin frame.  

I chose to put the green around the lavender star portion, and the purple around the green of the star. Just sew the strips on in the order I numbered, press and move to the next.  

Unfinished block size should be 12 1/2x12 1/2, finished, 12x12. 

Easy, breezy!

You should be getting your fabric pieces in the mail this next week and Thank you in advance...I am excited to put this quilt together! As for your question...when did you create your first pieced quilt?

Tamara

Strings for April

I finished the January block last week, but haven't had time to post the picture.  I want to tell April that I am seriously wishing it were Spring now....I love the colors and the flowers and well, everything about this fabric!  Of course, now I have added the String block to my bucket list of quilts! Another on my bucket list (besides everything I see on Pinterest) is the Farmer's Wife Quilt.  maybe someday...when I can settle down into a color scheme!

April, you should be getting your block soon! Oh, and if you have any left...I would love a whack!

Tam  

Simple String and my finished Mama Hen quilt

April sent me a whole whack of 2 l/2" strips from her fabric line!

I thought the beautiful floral in the middle would be a great focal point.

Since it's so pretty, I didn't want to cut it too narrow.

I auditioned the rest of the fabrics, you really can't go wrong with such a great selection!

Here is the finished block, sewn with little stitches onto cardstock.

I'm really looking forward to seeing your finished quilt April :)

My bee month was September 2015.

Here is my Mama Hen quilt close up, pinned and ready to machine quilt.

I used Nedra's hen block and put it in my Farm Girl Vintage "Country Fair" quilt because it matched perfectly.

I replaced it with the aqua hen and the orange/pink star.

Sinta was so kind to make two hens for me, I really appreciated that as I was pressed for time!

I made the quilt for my son and his family.

They have a chicken coup in their backyard :)

Jordan and Kimalee and their two adorable little girls, Reagan and Paisley. 

They are expecting another little girl at the end of February :)

Thanks everyone for helping me with my quilt!

January Spotlight 2016

Let’s get to know April Rosenthal!

My mom says I was 21 when I was born, and that we had a coin toss in heaven to see which of us got to be the mom. Obviously, I lost. I remember as a child being told to smile a lot, and was always confused when people said that. It's not that I was grouchy or ornery, just that I was always lost in my own thoughts, and was never outgoing and loud. My nose always in a book, always keeping to myself. I guess that came across as unhappy to some people, though I feel personally like I was a very calm, contented child. I'm extremely introverted.

I remember being excited when I turned 8, because my mom finally let me sew on her precious Bernina. Before that, it was all needle and thread. I made barbie clothes, mostly, though occasionally I ventured into more adventurous pursuits...like the time I tried to make my mom a sewing organizer from a picture in a magazine. I made my first quilt in high school, and hated it. At the time, my parents were in the process of divorcing, and we couldn't afford fabric. I was able to get the necessary yardage from our church welfare office, which I was embarrassed by--and to make matters worse it was all juvenile baby prints. I made the quilt top, got the grade, and shoved the top away for the next decade.

I love learning, and always challenged myself in school--when I graduated high school I had enough AP credits to start as nearly a Junior in college. I majored in Linguistics with a minor in teaching english as a second language. I married my husband Jacob when I was 21 (we met in junior high and dated in high school). He is truly amazing and loves me better than anyone else could. This spring, we will have known each other for 21 years. We've been married for 13.

We struggled with infertility for 6 years, and finally had our twins, Lily and Beckham via in vitro. While working through our fertility issues, I began quilting again in earnest. I decided to make a quilt for each friend or family member that got pregnant while I was struggling. This gave me the opportunity to work through my mixed feelings on my own time, so that I could be happy and excited for their life and new baby instead of trying to keep it together at their baby showers, etc.

I started my pattern company, Prairie Grass Patterns in 2009 when my twins were almost 2 years old. I never had any intention of being a pattern designer, but I wanted to work from home in design, and learned that fabric design was a thing. After researching a lot, I knew that my best bet for getting into the company I wanted to work with was to have strong patterns first. So, I made a 5 year plan for pattern design, culminating in pitching art to Moda. I'm thrilled every day that they said yes.

This past year, we welcomed our sweet little one, Hazel, into our family. She is truly our sunshine! I was nervous about "starting over" with my twins being 7 years old, but honestly it has been fantastic. This coming year, I am looking forward to working on my goals for growing social media, learning Russian and reviewing French, redoing my blog, Marie Kondo-ing my home, releasing new fabric lines and patterns, and much much more. I can't wait.

January Block: Simple String!

Hi Ladies! Whew! The holidays buzzed by and I'm still catching up (the Christmas tree just came down yesterday...that's embarrassing.)

I mailed blocks today, and they're super easy. I'd love it if each of you could make a string block for me. I know we made these a couple years ago for someone else, and I loved them so much I'd like a quilt of my own!

(Picture from Sherri's blog, A Quilting Life)

Use Sherri's tutorial here to make the blocks (except that I'm using paper, not muslin.)

I sent a bunch of ~22" strips in varying widths, as well as a 12" x 12" piece of scrapbook paper. You don't need to remove the paper, just make sure you set your stitch length to teeny tiny so that I can tear the paper out easily. If you want to remove the paper, stitch around the outside edge of the block for me first, would you? That way the seams won't unravel with the paper tugging. :)

What size quilt block do you want your bee partners to make?
12" x 12" unfinished, 11.5" x 11.5" finished.

Can your partners use any of their own stash fabric to use in your quilt block? If so, are there any limitations?
I sent plenty of fabric to complete the block, but if you would like to add in your own, feel free!

Is there a specific color of thread you want your partners to sew with?
White I suppose, though I'm not picky.

If you want to make more than one block, you're welcome to, you just need another sheet of 12" x 12" paper. This is totally not necessary though! I'm delighted you're helping me use up these strips!

You are welcome to keep the scraps, I don't need them back.

Thank you so much ladies!
xoxo

April

PS If I owe you a block, you should see those this month.

PPS If you are interested in more scraps like the ones I sent for this block, just say the word. I have about 100lbs from Moda that I can't seem to make a dent in no matter how hard I try. I'd be happy to send you as little or as much as you'd like.

5

PPPS For my question, I'd love for you to tell me one of your bucket list quilts--I'm making a master list and don't want to miss out on anything fabulous!