the bee's knees

Late 2009, I chose to join a quilting bee for the new year. This coincided with Block Party's announcement that they were doing a book and were hoping for more online quilting bees like their own. For those that don't know, an online quilting bee is a way for 12 people to come together for a year and take turns making blocks for one another. For your month, you choose the block, send out the appropriate fabrics, give guidelines on color & style if people can build from their stash, and once completed they send their blocks back to you.

I wanted to join for a few reasons. I thought that it would be a great way to push myself to finish more quilts this year. I love quilting, but the shop often robs me of quilting time when filling orders. But, as with anything, when I have a deadline or a commitment, I find a way to make it happen. I also thought it would be a great way to try and learn new blocks, especially things I might not try on my own.

So, I ended up joining three quilting bees this year. Nittany Block Party (though the Illini in this house would object strongly to this bee's name!), Modern Tradition, and The Bee's Knees. You can find links to each bee's blog on the right hand side of my page, and also find our groups on flickr.

The first blocks I worked on this month were for Tracy of The Bee's Knees. She wanted Wonky Pinwheels and has a blue/brown combo going - very pretty!

Here are my blocks for this month. I hope she likes them!




These were easy blocks and went together fast. I'm especially glad I checked our group blog before putting them together as the tutorial she provided has the smaller part of the pinwheel towards the center - opposite of what Tracy wanted. Phew!

I already have 2 of my blocks picked for this year (one more to go!) and my first month is February for the Nittany bee. My biggest problem was deciding which of the two to do first! But, I figured out what I want last night and will spend some time tonight working on some practice blocks. I'm working off a tutorial for a block but want to change it up a bit, thanks to an inspirational quilt. More on that later!