Saturday, March 15, 2014

Fabric Boxes

This past week I had a sew day at the house, in part, because I had a quilty friend stop by and stay with me while she was in town.  I wanted to give a little gift to those who were able to stop by (it was selfish, really, I participated in a Kokka 10" square swap a couple years ago but I had no idea what to do with the fabric and I wanted to use it up).

I had made a fabric box a while back using this tutorial from Seaside Stitches.  I had chosen the 10" square fabric size and the box is a great size for me to hold sewn leaders & enders as I complete them and I realized that this would be a great use of the fabrics and a cute gift.  It would be a great thread catcher.

With the aid of Karie (my guest) of Two Kwik Quilters (IG: @karitkq), I sewed up several boxes with a slight variation. I made them taller, which allows them to act as a tool holder. The tutorial calls for a diagonal to be sewn using a 2" measurement for a square box but if you use a 2.5" measurement, you will get the taller box.
I also want to share a quick weekend quilt top finish. Karie gifted me with her pattern Kwik Trio of Stars and we had fun pulling fabric for the project her last night here.  After she left, it only took me a few hours to stitch this up.  I left off one additional white border (personal preference for the finished look, and no other reason). I plan to donate this to a quilt drive held in the Spring (more on that another day). Isn't this darling?
I'm in love with these little boxes and the quilt top so I am sharing them with the very new "SewJo Saturday" linky party being held by Kim on over at My Go-Go Life.  Take a look at all the great and fun projects linked up over there!

Cheers!
Beck


Sunday, March 2, 2014

Stitch that Stash Bee block

For my bee block, I am turning to 13 Spools Improv Herringbone Tutorial.  I love the look of this block and would like a colorful quilt that is sort of tonal but not necessarily all solids.
In progress...
To my bee-olleagues, I used Kona White as the strip fabric.  As for color, please choose whichever you would like. The nature of the block has light and dark contrast so as long as the block is in the same color family and doesn't have a noticeable of contrasting color in the individual fabrics, I will love it.
Did  that make sense? I guess I'm saying it doesn't need to be tone-on-tone, but if you are doing a green block and your green fabric has bright red stars, I would prefer that not be used. However, if your green has something like tiny yellow stars, it might be okay.  In short, the fabric should clearly "read" the color, I think. -sigh- I don't know if that makes any more sense but there you have it.

Okay, so this block takes a little time because of all the pieces. Once done, it is 11.5" unfinished. If you can do two blocks, that would be great but if one is all you have in you, I am completely good with that. I leave it up to you and whatever you choose/have time for. :)

I can't wait to see what you ladies come up with!

Cheers!
Beck