August!

Hi everyone! 

I can’t believe that it’s the end of our quilting bee! It’s been such a great experience for me and really helped my sewing to come along so thank you all!

 

My quilt is to adorn the bed in the master bedroom which we have recently re-decorated. It is a king bed hence why the block is a less of a block and more of a panel!

It is a chevron block and I took the instructions from the Applique Today blog and you can find them here.

 

I have sent you 15 patterned rectangles and 32 cream squares. Please could you add one 6.5” x 3.5” patterned rectangle of your choice in a similar colourway (aqua/blue/navy/duck egg) so that there is a little bit of each of you in your block!

 

The finished block should look something like this (please feel free to arrange the colours how you like them)

With the remaining half square triangles I would be grateful if you could sew them into small squares like this

Have fun!

September Block Instructions

The first block for the bee is a block made up of 7 fabric strips and a background piece, along with a request for each bee member to add a strip of their own fabric.

The block is based on books sitting on a book shelf!

The finished block is 12.5" wide by 15.5" tall.

Supplies in Fabric pack:

 

7 strips of fabric 3" by 10"

Back ground fabric: 13" by 22"

Instructions:

Taking all of your strips, put them into an order you are happy with - take a photo for future reference.

The widest books can stay 3" wide, the slimmest 1.5" wide for the pattern.

Cut the strips into different widths for the books. Make sure to remember your book end scrap and that when sewn together the block needs to be 12.5" wide.

 

This process takes a while so take your time! Once you have sorted out the widths of the strips, start cutting down the heights of the blocks to give you different books sizes. Mine are from 10" tall down to 5" tall.

Take the background fabric and cut strips that match the width of your fabric strips and 13" long. Keep the lengths quite long for sorting out later.

Start stitching all of the books to their corresponding background strips using a 1/4" seam allowance:

Start to stitch each book and background to the next one in the order you have decided, with a 1/4" seam allowance. Don't forget to include your book end!

 

At the end of sewing all your strips together, your block should be 12.5" wide. If it is too big - cut it down as appropriate. If it is too slim, add another book!



 





 

Take the block and square off the top to make a block 12.5" by 15.5.



I hope all this easy to follow!

Inspiration for the block came from Sarah Johnson's quilt Heads or Tails in the book Modern Quilting Bee: Block Party.



Meet the Members!

Welcome to the Anything Goes Quilting Bee!

The bee starts in September with the first fabric packages being sent out by Anna Ryan of Quilting Along the Grain.

Until then we thought you might like to meet the 12 members of the bee who will be swapping fabric, sharing tutorials and sharing stories. Every few days a different member of the bee will be introducing themselves.

As the organiser and sender of the first blocks in September I thought I had better introduce myself!

Me and Midi Monster!

My name is Anna Ryan and I am a long time quilter based in Tetbury, England - it is the town closest to Prince Charles's country residence, Highgrove!

I have been quilting for 16 years and I am extremely enthusiastic about all things fabric, quilting and sewing. I have been many things in the past and have many life experiences, but quilting has always been there!

I am now a single parent to 3 boys, and I teach sewing skills to adults and children across the Gloucestershire.  I teach vulnerable adults for the County as well as private lessons. In my spare time I am a Scout leader - Cubs and Mini Scouts (can't use the proper title,you would not believe the spam emails I get!).

I wanted to start the bee to meet other quilter from around the world and to make a quilt that would have a contribution from people with the same passion as me!

Really looking forward to our journey over the next 12 months!