Not waiting

Jennie thank you thank you, I'm glad you liked your square if you wanna send me more fabric I can make you another. It was challenging but isn't that what a quilting bee is partly about? Making each other push us to new things out of our comfort zone.

Ladies I have decided I am going to go ahead and start on the squares that are still out there. Not to be rude but I'm tired of waiting to finish a quilt that is could have finished months ago. And I'm tired of asking for my fabric squares back finished or unfinished.

Is there no square for July either?

We're Here...?

Aynsley - you're not alone! (In feeling alone, that is.) In all seriousness, I have begun to wonder if our quilting bee is still in existence. I hope so! It's been interesting, fun, and educational thus far.

It seems as though my quilt block request was the wet blanket on all the fun. I've heard back from one person that it was too overwhelming to even give it a shot. I've received one quilt block. (Thanks, Aynsley, for your quilt square - I love it!). I'm just wondering if everyone is feeling similarly intimidated. Hopefully not! I wanted this to be open-ended and enjoyable. Cheryse's alphabet quilt was a lot of fun and I was hoping for this set of blocks to be a similarly satisfying experience. No pressure to create a work of art or anything. The tree quilt I posted as an example has plenty of wonky, asymmetrical interpretations of trees. Please don't stress over this project!

If anyone has any concerns or comments on this set of blocks, please post about it!

Hello

I'm starting to feel alone here....

Fabric

Hi ladies, not sure if anyone is getting my emails about my squares but it would be nice to finish my quilt. I'm almost there but still waiting on 4 of you to return them to me finished or unfinished is fine at this point.

Also I finally got Leah to send back all of your fabric. Sorry it took so long. She's had a crazy busy life lately and forgot. So if you don't get yours back within the week let me know again and I will keep on it.

Mountains for Jennie

Sorry I'm a bit late on this quilt, I had a hard time getting into it. I'm much better motivated with rules when it comes to quilting, not quite adventurous yet to make my own patterns.

Hope you like it, sorry I only did one I did not have nearly enough fabric for two and being that I am fairly new at quilting my stash isn't as built up as i would want (my husband is happy about that) so didn't have any colors that went well.

Has anyone wondered if their mailbox was skipped this month? Have no fear, your June fabric is not lost...this month has become the designated catch up month (sorry, my announcement didn't get posted until the middle of the month). I know I have a little catching up to do...

Lets get caught up and post pictures of the wonderful blocks (and finished quilts) that all of you have been working on!

To press or not to press.....that is the question!

Pressing the seams in your quilt is one of the most important tasks for the completed

work. A good press will mean that the quilt is assured a smooth flow from piece to
piece both visually and to the touch. Most quilters will find that they have a style of
pressing that suits them best, but before you find that style it is important to realize

What Pressing is Not

Pressing the seams in your quilt is not the same as ironing. Although you will be

using an iron and an ironing board, it is absolutely critical to remember that you are
not ironing (that is, running the appliance over the seam with gentle pressure) but
just coaxing the seam down in order to seal it and make it less visible.

.What Pressing Is

Pressing uses the weight of the iron itself to create seam allowances that might

otherwise result in lost fabric. In a work such as a quilt, which requires many pieces
put together, lost millimeters on each piece can mean a big difference in the end
product. Pressing quilt blocks as they are made eliminates this problem.  Finally,
pressing will help give the quilt a uniform appearance and feel. The fabric should
never cover the seam on a properly pressed quilt.

Types of Pressing

There are two types of pressing; side pressing and open pressing. Side pressing is

simply pressing the seams to one side, and is generally advocated by most quilting
instructors.
Open pressing involves application of the iron both to the back and the front of the
blocks. This can take twice as long as side pressing, but those who use it say that it
greatly helps in the appearance of the quilt. This style is most appropriate when
using machine stitched pieces, which are stronger than those done by hand; the
stitch is less likely to come undone, and therefore hiding a hole will not be
necessary.

Pressing Technique.

Pressing seams is probably one of the dullest aspects of quilting, but it is important

to make sure that you do it accurately. It will help to maintain the integrity of the
quilt and can also make piecing that much easier.
One last hint, don't use steam! The heat from the iron will be sufficient for pressing.
Moisture may cause colors to run, and will make the blocks more susceptible to
distortion.  I press with steam when the block is completed.  I don't use any special iron
just my normal one.

Hope this helps with your questions Anysley.  Good luck!

Question for Terry?

How do you press your squares so perfectly? Do you use a special iron? Or one of those mini one I see in the quilting section at Jo Ann's... Seriously tell me your ways

Thanks
Aynsley

May's quilt block - mountains

I'm very excited to host this month! I've tried to come up with a unique quilt that will be fun and rewarding for others to work on. I hope I have succeeded!

Hopefully you have all received the fabric by now. I have included three fabric prints, as well as white to be used as a background.

This quilt is inspired by a few quilts I have happened upon online. This is a good representation of the general idea I have in mind:

image source

There is a unifying theme, but each bee member designs their own interpretation of the theme. The above theme is, of course, trees.

My theme is Mountains. Here are the guidelines I have for the quilt blocks you will make:

1. the finished squares should be 14 1/2" by 14 1/2"
2. Each bee member will need to make two blocks
3. The block should be completely quilted - no appliques should be used (instructions follow)
4. there should be at least some background of the white material
5. At least one of the non-white fabrics I sent you should be fairly prominent in the quilt block
6. You can (and I would encourage you to!) use fabrics from your own stash in putting together your quilt blocks. Please, of course, try to use fabrics that complement those that I have sent you.
7. You can make your mountains as big or as small as you'd like; as detailed or simple as you'd like. Feel free to include other things that you feel go along with mountains as long as there is a mountain somewhere in the quilt block.
8. Please send back any scraps of the fabric that you end up having. I will use these to create the last couple of quilt blocks.

The blocks I did for Cheryse's quilt created a picture, but I didn't applique anything on: it was sewn into the quilt block.

 

It may seem complicated, but this was my first attempt at that and it came off surprisingly well.

Method:

Draw a 14" by 14" square. Decide what you want your block to look like and draw a picture of it, to scale, on the square.

Extend the lines of the picture so that you will be able to create it by sewing different pieces of fabric together. Make the shapes as blocky and simple as possible. Label what fabric you will use for each shape.

Use letters or numbers to indicate which blocks are adjacent to each other.

Cut apart the shapes.

You will then pin each shape to the corresponding fabric and cut it out, adding an additional 1/4" to all sides of the shape.

Sew the shapes together by matching the corresponding numbers or letters. Press seams toward the darker fabric. And, voila! you have a beautiful quilt block.

Although straight lines are obviously the easiest, don't be afraid to use slight curves to create the picture you want. More intense curves can be managed by clipping the curved part of the seam in order to make it lay flat.

I hope you have fun with this one! Please feel free to let me know if I need to explain or clarify anything.

Thank you!!

-Jennie

Terrific Terry

Seriously I received the squares for my quilt from you and I am still starring at them trying learn more from your amazing skills!

While mine aren't as good as yours I hope they don't disappoint

Terry's Beautiful Blocks and a Request

Here are Terry's beautiful blocks. They came together so quickly and are so pretty. She really made it so easy for us. I do have a request. I am moving out of the state and will be leaving the Modern Quilt Guild. I do still have several people who have not given me my blocks from January. As I am moving and leaving the group I would appreciate getting them back. If you just can't get them done I understand and would ask that you return the fabric so I can finish the quilt myself. Thanks and signing off for good. Thanks for letting be a part of this group :)

dear January - Aynsley

I'm sorry. School started in January and everything else stopped. My spring break is coming up the week after next and I promise I will get all of my 2013 blocks completed and shipped. Sorry to be so lame...