Tag Archives: bee blocks

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In January, Elizabeth asked us to make improv plus sign blocks.

Elizabeth provided this graphic with color recommendations (Red, Red-Orange, Pink, Violet, Lavender, White, Dark Green, Green, Yellow) and asked for 9 1/2" plus sign blocks that feel graphic and improvisational.

These felt like potato chips to me. So easy to not just make one.

I let the process of each block inform my decisions for the next block.

In my first block I created a green and yellow strip set to use for one stroke of my block. Before I trimmed it down, I really liked the shape of the yellow sticking out farther than the green.

So for the second block I pieced red and pink strips before making this strip sets. Red was my background for this block so this achieved the feature of the yellow pieces being taller than the pink in the finished strip. (It's a different proportion than the strip set for the first block.)

Following the same process I created a second strip set, leaving a larger center section. I pieced this strip into my red background before making a vertical slice to insert my first strip.

Blocks 1 and 2.

Blocks 3 and 4. In block three, I used a scrap of dark purple leftover from creating block one. And my dark green fabric was a small scrap, so I chose to use that with the dark purple to create the plus. Since these were both darks, I chose a lighter color that I hadn't used yet for the background. The plus is intentionally off center. In block four, I had cut a piece of white fabric as the background for a previous block before changing my mind. So I used that for my background. And my scrap of pink fabric was side enough to cut strips to insert across the entire width of the block. I hadn't used improv curves yet, so I went for a simple two-color block with improv curves.

Overall, I was happy with the variety of my blocks and I enjoyed working in the happy colors that Elizabeth chose for us. And now that I think about it, Elizabeth uses stripes in her work a lot. Maybe there was some subliminal inspiration for my first block. I look forward to see what everyone else creates for the prompt.

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I love an opportunity to play and my monthly improv bee blocks always offer me that chance.

In May, Ellyn selected a happy palette of colors for us to play with. Her theme was Shine. She shared this quote along with her prompt:

"In order for the light to shine so brightly, the darkness must be present."

--Frances Bacon

Together with the theme of Shine, Ellyn asked us to use a variety of saturated sunshiny colors (inspiration list below) with a little Kona Lagoon (a turquoise which she provided) in each block.

Oranges: Tangerine, Kumquat, Orange, Orangeade
Cool Pinks: Bright pink, Candy pink, Sassy Pink, Bubblegum, Carnation, Peony,
Pink
Warm Yellows: Papaya, Sunny, Duckling, Corn Yellow, Canary

Pretty early on I knew I wanted to do something with radiating lines. Then I decided on a ring made of radiating lines. Here's the process on my first block:

My first step was to sew together wedges to make an approximate circle of fabric. I wasn't planning to use the center so I didn't concern myself with everything coming together neatly in the middle. I pressed my seams open (my general preference).

Using templates (not shown) I cut a hole out of the center of my pieced wedges and a coordinating piece of yellow to fill in the hole. Due to the bulk of the pieced seems I pressed this seam to the center. (You'll see that below.)

My next step was to use my template to cut the outer edge of my ring. I drew my templates on the dull side of freezer paper so I could iron the shiny side in place in order to cut my fabric.

You can see above that I cut with 1/4" seam allowance around that template piece. The marks you see were registration marks I transferred to my fabric on both pieces to use for lining things up and pinning in place.

Here's a quick peek of the back at this point. One thing you might notice here is that there are two lines on stitching on that first seam around the center yellow piece. This is because I did a stay stitch on the inner edge of the ring, 1/8" from the edge, before attaching it onto the yellow. I was worried since the ring was the concave edge for the next seam. When sewing curves together the concave piece gets stretched a bit. This stay stitch meant I didn't pop the seams in the ring. The important part of the stay stitch was across the seams, so on the wider strips of fabric I broke the thread so I could do the necessary stretch while sewing that seam.

My final step was to attach the background yellow and trim the block to about a 12 1/2" square.

The second block that I made for Ellyn is composed of improv quarter circle blocks with filler pieces to bring the block up to 12 1/2" square.

I hope you have a sunshiny day!

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Instead of two larger blocks, Ellyn asked us to make a pile of mini blocks in clear, bright colors for her August prompt. I chose three of the four colors that she assigned us, based on what was plentiful in my fabric stash. She asked for oranges, blues, aquas, and yellows. I didn't have enough variety in true blues, so I stuck with the other three. "Piecing can be any improv technique you like... anything goes!" A true opportunity to play!

The first thing I did was pull fabrics, anything from a small scrap up to yardage. I started with all my smallest bits as I began piecing.

I'm a chain piecer whenever possible. I like to pair up a bunch of fabrics and then line them up at the machine to sew many seams in one go.

Sometimes I have a plan for what will go on after the current seam. In the case of the block above, the right edge is the seam I'm about to put through the machine (top view on the left, bottom view on the right). I have pinned on the next two pieces I'm adding on to this triangular center to keep the pieces together. This helps me stay organized, even when I am working on many blocks at once. After I sew the seam on the right edge, I'll unpin my extra pieces at the ironing board to press my seam and then this block goes back in the queue to attach one of the light orange pieces next.

Ta da! I made Ellyn twenty 4 1/2 inch blocks. That orange triangle block from below is in the bottom left corner.

This is one of my favorites. Often the piecing in random improv blocks is dictated by the shape of my scraps and I love seeing what happens.

The best part of a prompt like this for me is that the finished units all look cohesive, but if you look closely you can see the personality of each maker in the design decisions they made in their piecing.

Ellyn has already put together her quilt top!