Friday, February 21, 2014

Feb Bees - Check

First off, I want to say a HUGE Thank You for all of the sweet comments and emails you sent my way for my Back to Basics quilt making the Top 10 of the MQG Riley Blake Challenge.   You all are just so sweet, thanks for keeping me on Cloud 9 all day :)


I tell you, I love being part of such amazing bees.  The women I get to associate with are just amazing and each month I have the wonderful opportunity to try new things.  Oh, and I also love finishing those bee blocks and getting them in the mail so I can check them off my To Do list :)  (Do any of you write things on your To Do list that you have already done, just so you can check them off??? )

 For the Beejeebers block this month Jodi asked us to make some Scrappy Sprouts using this tutorial.  These blocks were so much fun to make and went together in a flash.   And of course, I made a purple one ;)


For the Bees Knees, Nedra asked us to make this Flying Geese Block.  I totally tried a new technique with this block with varying success.  Sorry Nedra, apparently I am the world's worst foundation piecer.  I don't know how I managed to get points not lining up when there were lines to do that for me.  Grrr.


You see, Nedra sent us these fun Triangle on a Roll sheets to piece these flying geese and she even spent the time to cut all of the fabric for us before hand.  This type of piecing is pretty new to me, and I have to say, I was missing the ability to chain stitch something awful.  I kept having issues with my fabric slipping on the paper.


When I was half way done I gave up.  I know, pathetic, but I wanted my block for Nedra to look good and I just wasn't having my points line up which was frustrating me like no other.  So I tore off the paper back of the four sets of three I had done to that point and opted to just made a bunch of flying geese the old fashion way.   Yes, I was sewing little baby triangles on the sides of triangles, and funny enough, they turned out better than my other ones.


In the end,  I think I was able to salvage the block.  There are still some points that are off, but  it is passable.  Obviously, I need to practice some more foundation piecing, only not with someone else's fabric ;)  Even though It didn't turn out great, I was happy to have tried a new technique.  It is always good to keeping stretching out comfort zones ;)


And speaking of salvaging things, I made a part of the originally requested Birthday Dinner from yesterday's post for dinner last night.  And can I just say, they were Delicious!!


Have a Happy Quilting Weekend!!

Linking these finished Bee Blocks up to Sarah's, Amanda's, and Fort Worth Fabric Studio :)

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14 comments:

  1. I used to have a horrible time with foundation piecing, but a tutorial from Amy at Stitchery Dickery Dock (and her 2012 Craftsy free BOM class) made it super simple for me... Kudos to you for powering through! And congrats on your Back to Basics quilt!

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  2. I mailed my Bee blocks on Tuesday! They sure were fun! I am NOT a foundation piece person. I think you did just fine!! :)

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  3. Wow! that looks yummy!

    Congratulations on being in the top 10 of RBD challenge. Well deserved.

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  4. LOL I wasn't seeing Scrappy SPOUTS, ohhhhhh Sprouts! Good thing the link was there. Now, can't wait for the pattern (nudge, nudge, wink, wink) for your Back to Basics challenge quilt.

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  5. I love that quilt....the quilting sets it off so nicely. And the mushrooms...mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!

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  6. Paper piecing was a big, scary mystery to me until a friend suggested I watch Carol Doak's DVD (you can find it on her website www.caroldoak.com). After a little practice, paper piecing is now one of my favorite techniques. Give it another try when you have some time. :o)

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  7. Aww, I don't think the geese are a disaster. I have found the foundation templates for HSTs can be a bit of a PITA, but haven't tried the geese ones, and I actually like paper piecing lol

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  8. Congratulations on your back to basics quilt, Melissa! Your quilting inspired me to pull out my Tetris top and quilt it with the same circular pattern. First time I tried it and I am in love! Thanks for everything you do!

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  9. Congratulations. It's a great quilt.

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  10. I have a difficult time with paper piecing too. It just isn't intuitive to me. Your quilt is so cool. I love it.

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  11. I love foundation piecing, but I'm sure it helps that I took a class shortly after my first-ever quilting class. It was just another new skill to learn. A dab of glue stick helps keep that initial piece of fabric on, and after that it's just a matter of giving yourself enough of a seam allowance. : )

    I am horrible at keeping people's names straight, but I saw your quilt in the MQG post, and it is one of my favorites of the group. Beautiful job!

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  12. I absolutely love your site.. Very nice colors & theme. Did you create this web site yourself? Please reply back as I'm planning to create my very own site and would like to learn where you got this from or exactly what the theme is named. Appreciate it! watch Ride Along online

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  13. Congrats on your win in the challenge Melissa! I'm so happy for you!

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  14. Congrats on placing in the challenge! Your quilt is gorgeous! :)

    Thank you for linking up to Fabric Frenzy Friday!
    -Lindsey
    Fabric Frenzy Friday

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Thank you so much for your sweet comments. I just love hearing from you!!
Have a Happy Quilting Day :)

Melissa