The Last Blocks

It seems like a very long time ago I joined my first ever Bee, the Sunday Morning Quilts Bee where we were making blocks based upon the book of the same name. In Round 1 we made rainbow coloured slabs.

 To my shame this is as far as my Round 1 blocks have progressed!

In Round 2, each Bee member was asked to pick a quilt from the book to which her fellow Bee members would contribute blocks.

 

These are the blocks that I received when I was a Queen Bee in May.

This month is the last month of Round 2 and as our August Queen Bees went AWOL, the Queen Bees for September were able to get ahead of themselves and post their requests early. 

A couple of weeks ago I sent off these blocks for Jennifer's Up, up and away Quilt, which left only two blocks to be completed for Denise.

Denise asked for 2 x 10.5" blocks in low-volume fabrics for the quilt which the book was named after.  I am never quite sure if I have hit the mark with low-volume requests, so I am keeping my fingers crossed that these fit the bill.

And these are the last blocks for this Bee.

It has been fun being part of the Bee and I have certainly tried blocks and fabric combinations that I would never have otherwise tried. If I can get the last of the Star of Africa Bee blocks done and dusted, which is a much taller order (!), I might even make some progress with those Round 1 blocks :)

Linking up to

Testing my stash

A few months ago I signed up for the Scrappy Trip Around the World Bee and duly sent off my blocks for the first round. As I enjoyed making the blocks so much, even with the planned and unplanned seam ripping, I carried on making blocks that ended up in a quilt for my son and his fiancee.

 

Round 2 of the STAW Bee kicked off at the beginning of this month so we were allocated a new set of swap partners, with a whole new set of fabric likes and dislikes! This round the brief for the blocks in my hive ranged from jewel tones to low volume with bright and fun thrown in for good measure :)





I hope these fit the bill!









They were certainly a real test of my stash fabrics!

So with all of my blocks for this round done and dusted, another box can be ticked on my list! 

If you have joined a Bee for the first time this month or tried a new block then don't forget to link up to 

the Link Party is open until August 31st

Linking this finish to Crazy Mom Quilts

Introducing Blossom Heart Quilts

So, you have picked your holiday memory photo, generated your fabric palette now you need to select your fabric. Well, today I am delighted to introduce Alyce, of Blossom Heart Quilts who is one of the very generous prize sponsors for the

If you have never come across Alyce's fabulous Japanese fabrics you are in for a real treat!

Over to Alyce ...

When Fiona emailed me asking me if I would sponsor the Holiday Memories Mini Quilt Competition with some of my exotic Japanese fabric, how could I say no?! I love Japanese fabric - a term that covers so many different styles - and especially sharing it with others. This was the drive to open my little Etsy store, wanting to share my Japanese fabric finds with others. It's my "bit on the side" - as a full-time stay at home mum and a part-time English teacher, my fling with Japanese fabric is a great side interest! Because who doesn't love playing with fabric?!

For the competition, I've donated this beautiful bundle of Japanese fabrics featuring colourful and traditional prints. It's a bundle from my Japanese Bundle Club - a monthly bundle of fabrics selected around a theme. This bundle is from the Tanabata month - a Japanese festival held each summer. The bundle contains 6 prints symbolising Japanese festivals. Other months have included sewing prints, text, and the current bundle is a bundle of 6 warm-coloured fabrics in reds, oranges and yellows. Next month, available September 1st, is novelty prints! It's a month-by-month club, so you just purchase what bundles you want to by the end of the month, and by the second Friday of the next month, your bundle will be winging it's way to you from Japan! You can order a fat quarter bundle or a fat eighth bundle, and shipping is free! You can even combine shipping with any other item, and it will all ship together. If you've ever wanted to try some Japanese fabric, this is the best way to do it!

I can't wait to see what you create during the competition!!

Thanks Alyce, your Japanese fabrics are gorgeous.

All of the details of the competition, including the list of prize sponsors are available here

If trying out Japanese fabrics are New to You then there is still time to link up to

The link up is open until the end of the month.