My Month is May and I am Already Ready!

• There is no glory in star or blossom till looked upon by a loving eye; There is no fragrance in April breezes till breathed with joy as they wander by. ...

(A cherry blossom tree that I just had to stop and appreciate last week)

3 Things about the people in my life

1. Here is a photo of my family taken at Monterey Bay Aquarium.

We took a trip together in January as our Christmas gift because we just like to be together!

We rented a large home and created wonderful memories!

The sweet grand littles are 1, 2, 3, 6.

2. I work for Environmental Consultants

as Administrative Assistant to the

President and also assist with accounting.

I have worked for the company 18 years.

Before that I worked in Yosemite National Park for 10 years.

3. My children actually started school inside Yosemite in a

one room classroom and that included rock climbing starting in

Kindergarten and skiing and camping too!

All of the kids are either teachers or Hotshot firefighters.

So let me share 5 things about me...

and my philosophy:

1. Mostly my daughter in laws and sons think of me as

a Diane Keaton type of personality.

I can't say that I would disagree with them!

2. I can tell you that I wake up happy... and believe that

time is as precious as the lives we touch...

and everyone deserves a smile.

3. I really began quilting once my boys were in high school.

My husband traveled for work, so it was a good way to

entertain myself.

I do have a degree in Interior Design... so I am

all about textiles!

I also like to chalk paint my furniture.

I love vintage.

I actually use to only dress in vintage clothes... hats and all!

Now my grand daughters love to play dress up with

my collection that are packed in my collection of vintage suitcases!

4. A little story:

I have a vintage clock on my side of the bed that I wind every single night for years.

One winter night the electricity had gone out... my husband wanted to set his clock and asked what time it was...

Confused, I said "how would I know, the electricity went out"!

Then I realized that he meant my wind up clock...

I had to confess that the clock never worked... I just like to hear it

tick at night!

That always makes me laugh now!

5. The recording on my phone says...

if you have good news, leave a message after the beep

if you have bad news... leave your message before the beep!

And I think that's me in a nutshell!

I don't usually share these personal things...

but gosh, we have been together for a real long time now...

so I thought,

what the heck,

I could share what my little world is like!

Well, when I first started in the Bees Knees group, it was the same time that Sheri of A Quilting Life joined and her block was a Scrappy Trip Around the World...

I have wanted one of those quilts for myself ever since then BUT a few years ago a revised version by Woodberry Way evolved and it actually seemed to be a much more restful block.

Every other row is a background color... I showed a block on my Instagram. It also has 8 rows instead of the 6, like you see in this diagram.

But let me answer some of the questions here before I continue chatting!

Bee Block Questionnaire

What size quilt block do you want your bee partners to make? (Give finished and unfinished measurements, just to be sure.) I believe the block is 16.5"

Can your partners use any of their own stash fabric to use in your quilt block? If so, are there any limitations?

I have sent the fabrics and you should have them in your mailbox today... or perhaps even yesterday!

Is there a specific color of thread (white/off white) you want your partners to sew with?

white/off white is perfect to sew with.

Do your partners have to use at least a little bit of every fabric you send or can your partners decide?

I have cut the strips and put them in a sewing order for you.

Do you have a general theme or is it up to your partners to decide? Are there any specific themes that you do NOT want in your quilt block? Likes/dislikes?

I will be making all the alternate blocks for this quilt (block B)

Will you allow any embellishments on the quilt block (i.e. embroidery, raised items such as yo-yos or fabric origami)?

no extras please.

Can you link us to any flickr or Pinterest photos that you would like us to use as inspiration for your quilt block?

I have included a paper with instructions and links to those instructions with the fabric.

The navy fabric will be the main fabric and is in each person's envelope.

That one is the one that I would like to be the constant through the center of the block like the one here in the photo.

I hope you have fun with making this one and that you might even want to make one for yourself too!

Happy Spring and Easter weekend

Hugs to you all~ my Bees Knees friends!

I included a little something in the package as a thank you!