bee beautiful block catch up!

i'm in 2 bees.

march was my month in bee imaginative.

and i didn't have to make a block...

so somehow march got away from me when it came to bee beautiful

luckily angela was super understanding!

she asked for blocks with 90 degree angles..

no other rules.

i made 2 for her.

first i started with a square... and built around it..

and for the second i started similar..

but then got a bit more "free" with my piecing.

and april has been audrie's month

she had us make blocks from material obsession 2

i also made 2 for her.

and i'll never make this block again.

sometimes bees inspire you to make blocks

and sometimes you learn what you don't want to make

don't worry audrie... i still love you!

do you eq?

i do!!

the electric quilt company

&... they just announced EQ7!

{ available june 21st! }

how i work

my designs start on paper...

but then i take most of them into EQ

i tweak them... play with scale..

and so on.

and then i make the quilt!

one of my favorite things about EQ is how you can import fabric swatches...

for example... remember this quilt?

the candy box quilt over @ mbs

fabric is husabye by tula pink {debbie has a few kits left}

i used EQ to show color options

it's super fast... and fun!

{ i warn you i've spent hours making "digital" quilts sometimes! }

it was easy as can be to import the swatches... and play with them!

so do you use eq?

if you do what is your favorite thing about it?

giveaways going on in blogland... wk17 {ended}

do you read this list all the time & wonder how to get your giveaway listed?
it's easy!!
send me and e-mail... it's best if you send it to me over the weekend or monday... so i have time to get it into tuesday's post when it posts.  i can't promise all giveaways sent to me will be listed... but i try & list as many as i can each week!
-julie


all giveaways from this week have ended!

grab this code to add the giveaway button to your blog to help spread the word!

<a href="http://www.jaybirdquilts.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="jaybirdquilts" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFGxMS2z2RHuWqcbQ2Z9TQA5kWUnpR-XsuT5eodsCTsdPPRniAhg2FSdmizxnRqB9LqcwJYYGGwmTlz2yXQhd5NtrrUh7syxUwU3so5V2eUZVwFoR0Phd1SLBiNlyV9gFsB5HgKqgUHg0/s1600/crafty_giveaways.jpg"></a>

sunday stash..wk17 ...blame it on the guild.. and tula pink.

i would have had zero in this week.

oh i would have..

but then i attended the philadephia modern quilt guild meeting yesterday

and at the end of the meeting... tricia said "have you ever been to the little shop.... it's only 5 minutes from here"

the answer... is no..

but i should have lied.

and said "yeah i've been there"

or "no but i don't have time today"

or "no... but i don't need anything"

instead i said... no... wanna go??

oh dear!!

and surprise surprise... who was there when we got there?..

none other than candi.. she also had made the trip right from the meeting!

what was she shopping for?... fabric for a birdie sling!

two other members had brought them to the meeting.. and she got inspired to make one!!

IN

katie jump rope by denyse schmidt

snippets by american jane

nest by tula pink

full moon forest by tula pink

according to candi and tricia i have "full moon forest radar"

here is what happened.

we were at the counter.

getting our fabric cut...

and i let out a gasp.. they both looked at me...

i moved quickly to the green section.. and grabbed the bolt.. and showed them both the end of it.

they started laughing like crazy... that when i wasn't even looking.. i spotted FMF.

i bought the 2+ yards left on the bolt.

and then went hunting to see if i could find more..

and found the brown bolt.. it had LOTS left.. so despite saying that i'd buy whatever FMF i found... i bought 4 yards...

i just can't say no to tula pink... especially full moon forest!!!

speaking of tula pink.

she is now on twitter!

and she joined the flickr group!

did you know i got to "meat" her at quilt market.

yes "meat" her... 

not "meet"

anywho she is fantastic.

& she left this comment on this photo...

"i would lock these in a safe! everytime i get asked about them im just going to link to this and just pass the blame onto you. my life will be much easier. "

oh dear!

please note the entire stack is not full moon forest.

and the few i have... i'm hoarding them.

not sure what i'm making.. but i'm hoarding them.

so don't ask.

2 yards of green bella solids {seen under the selvages}

i'm officially hooked on selvages.

my plan is to make a quilt like the amazing selvage quilt that jacquie of tallgrass prairie studio made

i mean look at these butterflies!!

i've got a few bags of them.

but if you are one of those people that throws them away.

and wants give them to me.. hint.. hint.. shoot me an e-mail!

OUT

some more for the hexagon quilt.

fabric for the 2nd quilt for my niece {i'll show it once my brother & sil see it!}

fabric for mini sig labels for circles around

so this week

14.33 in {so worth it!}

4.73 out

YTD totals

purchased: 323.53 yds

busted: 215.36 yds

net: -108.17 yds

how did you do this week?

check out patchwork times to see how everyone is doing!


and..
thanks for all your love on my cover!!
you guys rock.

here are some shots of the fabric... yummy!!

i've been busy putting lots of kits together!!

{ there is pre-cut fuzz all over the place!! }
oh well.. that's what a vacuum is for!!

hexagon quilt along... block #2

The Hexagon Quilt-A-Long Posts
flickr pool	block 1 & layouts	block 5
supply list & faq	block 2	block 6
button & participants	block 3	block 7
cutting instructions	block 4	finishing directions

---

block 2

 { fyi...you can join the hexagon quilt a long at any time }

block 2
basic hexagon block
simple.. but still my favorite!


sew another 3 sets of strips together
and
follow the cutting instructions to make your pieced triangles

then take 6 from one strip.

and lay them out like this.

next
you are going to start to piece your hexagon together...
but only put 3 parts together... and 3... and leave it in 2 halves
see below.

in the cutting instructions i told you to press the seams towards the dark fabric
which means that all your seams will be going in towards the center
or towards the outside
so... in order to "nest" them like we did last week..
you'll need to press 3 in the other direction..

you should end up with one half like this
{ in-out-in}

and the other to be 

{ out -in-out }

and then like last week

you'll be able to "nest" your seams together to match points.

put two triangles together and sew a 1/4" seam.

press this seam open.

repeat to add one more triangle.

and press this seam open.

that's it!
remember we aren't sewing the entire hexagon together yet so that we avoid Y seams!

you have enough strip sets to sew 6 blocks.

but i only made 5.

it's up to you how many you want.
but 5 is a good number for now.

--

some notes

i've been getting a lot of e-mails... {that's ok!}
and i wanted to clear a few things up.

1. there really are no rules!  this whole thing is about having fun & learning new things.

2. blocks.... lots of people in the flickr pool have been coming up with more blocks... and making more than 5 each week... and that is ok.. but don't feel like you have to!  everyone works at their own pace... and that is a-o-k with me!

3. blocks.... i'll be teaching you at least 5 blocks.... but if you fall in love with one... it's ok to decide to make an entire quilt from that one block!

4. layouts.... similar to #2 lots of people in the flickr pool have been coming up with their own layouts.... this is also ok... but don't fret... or worry that you'll have to come up with your own layout... for those that want a step by step the entire way... i'll be providing that!

5. rulers.... as some of you have learned... just because it looks like a 60 degree ruler.. doesn't mean that it is one!   make sure that if you are buying a ruler that isn't one that i listed.. that it is a 60 degree one..

if not you could end up with something like this...
which happened to a few people

modern jax via flickr


if you have a question
feel free to email me
i just wanted to put some things here that have come up a few times!

the cover!?... really!?

i have crazy news to share with you...

the fantastic jill mead of apq amazingness

recently informed me...

that my quilt made the cover!

cover girl!

i feel like i won project runway or something...

you know... when anthony found out that heidi was gonna wear his dress on the cover of marie claire??

well that's kinda how this feels.

eek.

pinch me.  this all still feels so unreal!

i heart this quilt.

a lot.

{and i miss it... it's been gone for months!}
and still isn't home yet!

but i have this one to keep me company

{the original one i made... with martinique prints & rural jardin wovens}

and...

i've got a new shop!

i've made the move to big cartel!
i've got kits available of circle around!!
and copies of the summer issue of quilts & more

and....

the first 15 kits get a custom label made by me!!
it's like a mini block!

i've also got some fabric for backing options...
but supply is limited!

oh...
& sorry for the excessive exclamation points.
but i just couldn't stop!!

Fat Quarterly - First Issue Giveaway! {ended}

have you heard the news??

"Six Popular Bloggers Launch New e-Zine Aimed at Modern Sewists"

yay!!  a new modern magazine!

2 more weeks till i'm an aunt again!

2 more weeks.

till i'm an aunt again!
i have one quilt done for my soon to be niece
and another one almost done!

doesn't he look so ready to be a big brother??

by The Eye of Brad

maybe not?

after all... he is the kid going for the jelly beans on the cake!

by The Eye of Brad

here he is being super sweet with mom!

by The Eye of Brad

i miss you all so much!!

to karin {my sister in law}

i wish you lots of luck

and hope things don't take 30+ hours like they did with elijah!

and i wish i could be there

but i'll come visit as soon as i can!

giveaways going on in blogland... wk16 {ended}

do you read this list all the time & wonder how to get your giveaway listed?
it's easy!!
send me and e-mail... it's best if you send it to me over the weekend or monday... so i have time to get it into tuesday's post when it posts.  i can't promise all giveaways sent to me will be listed... but i try & list as many as i can each week!
-julie

all giveaways from this week have ended!

grab this code to add the giveaway button to your blog to help spread the word!

<a href="http://www.jaybirdquilts.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="jaybirdquilts" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFGxMS2z2RHuWqcbQ2Z9TQA5kWUnpR-XsuT5eodsCTsdPPRniAhg2FSdmizxnRqB9LqcwJYYGGwmTlz2yXQhd5NtrrUh7syxUwU3so5V2eUZVwFoR0Phd1SLBiNlyV9gFsB5HgKqgUHg0/s1600/crafty_giveaways.jpg"></a>

cushion couture!

today i teamed up with john... of quilt dad

on the moda bake shop!

are you ready for some cushion couture?

i hope so!!

{ fabric is authentic by sweetwater for moda }

here are some "outtakes" from the pillow photo shoot!

 i liked this... but john's one pillow was hiding in the back too much.

 the little one kept wanting to hang out with my denyse schmidt pillow

 at one point it all just became a mess.

& i wanted to just jump on this pile.

worth a try...

and shows the fabrics on the back.

but didn't get used...

here is the button if you'd like to link to it!

{ 144 x 144 }

{ 250 x 250 }

so go check it out...

and let us know what you think!

sunday stash..wk16

i got more done this week...
but i also clicked a bunch of buttons.
oh well!


fabric OUT
more for the hexagon quilt a long
and the rest for my next mbs project!


fabric IN
lots of charm packs.
{some are for rachel... so those don't count}

oh and before where you ask... where did i get full moon forest charms... i bought the store out.  all of them.  yes i did... and i'm ok with that.
i mean come on... its "rookie" tula pink.
you would too.

so this week

10.41 in
4.75 out

YTD totals

purchased: 309.2 yds

busted: 210.63 yds

net: -98.57 yds

oh and if you follow me on twitter you are probably wondering about those 13 bolts...
and why they aren't in this stash report...
the answer is because they are for kits!
yes kits!!
i've got exciting news coming later this week...
and it includes kits that you'll be able to get from me..
and only me :-)

what about you?

ps... mbs post with john tomorrow!

hexagon quilt along... block #1

The Hexagon Quilt-A-Long Posts
flickr pool	block 1 & layouts	block 5
supply list & faq	block 2	block 6
button & participants	block 3	block 7
cutting instructions	block 4	finishing directions

---

block 1 & a sneak peek at the layouts!

 { fyi...you can join the hexagon quilt a long at any time }

block 1
kaleidoscope quilt block

follow the cutting instructions to make your pieced triangles

then take 6 from one strip.

and lay them out like this.

next
you are going to start to piece your hexagon together...
but only put 3 parts together... and 3... and leave it in 2 halves
see below.

in the cutting instructions i told you to press the seams towards the dark fabric
this is where that comes in handy.
you'll be able to "nest" your seams together to match points.
put two triangles together and sew a 1/4" seam.
press this seam open.
repeat to add one more triangle.
and press this seam open.
this should be your result.

repeat for the other half.

that's it!
so why aren't we sewing the entire hexagon together yet?
because this way we are going to avoid Y seams!

you have enough strip sets to sew 10 blocks.

but i only made 5.

it's up to you how many you want.
but 5 is a good number for now.
some can be the same as others... to use all the parts from a strip.
or you can make them all different!

--

layouts!

many people on flickr are taking photos of their quilts like this
my original neptune one.
and that is ok...
if that is how you want to make your hexagon quilt.
go for it!

but for this quilt a long
i wanted to give you a few new options!
and even though the quilts aren't done yet.
i'm getting lots of questions on where the "solid" will go
so that people can decide what color to use.
so here are a few sneak peeks!

and this layout is going to use the solid in some blocks
to make smaller floating hexagons
and also give the other hexagons some air

this layout will use solid triangles to give the hexagons some space

i hope that helps a bit!

the possibilities really are endless...
i'm just going to share a few!

edit
fyi... both layouts will use at least 5 of the 7... or maybe more
blocks that i'm going to show you.
so don't feel like you need to pick a layout yet!

other posts for the quilt-a-long

flickr pool - don't forget to add pictures along the way!

supply list & faq

button & participant list
cutting instructions

printable PDF version of this post - added 4.28.10