Espritpatch

And the last of my bee blocks for May! Well at least the last of the machine pieced one as I am still working on my hexies blocks for Jenny. 2 more + and x blocks for Nikki. Nikki asked for geometric patterns and bright colours. I didn't have any problems finding some in my stash I must admit as I like geometric patterns myself! I based my + on stripy fabric and I then choose some matching colours for the x. I made the first blocks with a + made of a stripy Lecien fabric and the second with a + made of a fancy bright stripy fabric. Celine

More bee blocks for me recently, I seem to mainly work on bee blocks at the moment! I suppose one could wonder whether I am in too many bees or whether I am only able to do something when I have a deadline. I think there is probably a mix of both! Anyway, I completed 2 more blocks for the Granny Block Bee . This time it was for Christina who had posted a lovely collage of vintage sheets. I didn't have any sheets but looking at her picture, it reminded me of the Liberty prints so I offered to do her blocks in Liberty fabric, which she seemed really please about. So I went into my stash on "vintage" Liberty (I am saying vintage because these are fabrics I have had for years, not the latest Bloomsbury or Stile release) and cut a few squares for her blocks. The centre square in this block is from a piece of fabric my Mum bought when she first took me to London nearly 30 years ago to make me a shirt. We have hold onto the scraps very carefully over the years! Linking...

Well I have quite a few in-progress this week that I am really hoping and planning to finish by the end of the month, which is not very far. Hopefully I will report more finished blocks soon. I have 2 more + and x blocks in progress for the second queen bee Nicky in the Japanese + and x Quilting Bee . I need a few more pieces cut out but they should be ready to go this week hopefully.

This week-end was all about having a great time with very good friends who came over to stay with us. 6 adults and 7 kids under 8 but it was great fun. We had a very relaxing time and it almost felt like a holiday despite the cooking and that. Not much sewing done but that's fine! And yesterday afternoon while I was clearing up, Miss Strawberry Shortcake decided to have a go at sewing with fabric! She had done a grid on paper but hadn't tried "real sewing" yet. She got hold of my scrap baskets and picked some pieces with the idea of making a small bag. She is a bag lady actually even though she is only 4!

It is that time again when the lovely Amy from Amy's Creative Side is hosting the Blogger's Quilt Festival. Although this is the 9th festival, it will be my 6th time! I really like the virtual festival, even more at the moment when everyone seems to be having a fantastic time at Quilt Market in Portland and I am here in the cold and grey weather of the UK! Blog hopping to marvel at wonderful quilts should cheer me up! It is always packed with gorgeous quilts and wonderful story. And although I am not making award winning quilts, I like participating and showing the world my own creations! It is a great way to reach out to people you would have never met otherwise and to discover some wonderful blogs that you didn't know were at the reach of your computer!

I have finished some bee blocks this past week, but I still have more to do. I am working on my Simply Solids blocks for Kerri and I am nearly there! Here are my 2 in-progress blocks: But I have also made some progress on something for me, or rather for Miss Strawberry Shortcake. I have put together all the blocks I had (made by my fellow bees in February for Bee Europa ) using the layout she decided on and got this 5 x 5 flimsy. Now it fits her toddler bed at the moment but she will most probably move out of the toddler bed for a bigger bed in a year or so. The fabric and pattern are not baby-ish so I figure she could still use her quilt so I have decided to make it bigger with one additional row. So I am making more blocks to be able to complete her quilt soon-ish. It has been so long since I have put together something bigger than a purse or a bag, it feels so great. I can't wait to get going with this one and I know she can't wait either! Linking with Lee...

This past week-end was a lot busier than I planned and I hardly had any time to sew. On Saturday, I spent a few hours moving about 950kg of turf from our front drive to our back garden and laying it just in time to avoid the very heavy showers we had for most of the afternoon. Hubby was planning to do it in the afternoon after Mr Cars football tournament but the weather forecast was so bad that I thought I'd be better taking advantage of the dry morning. I was really tired after that and didn't have much energy but I managed to hem one more curtain while having a rest.  On Sunday we went on a shopping trip to IKEA and we came back with lots of flat packs to finish organising the house. Lots of DIY on the agenda. We spent most of the afternoon in IKEA and again that left little to no time for some sewing unfortunately. The weather has been so horrible lately cold and wet that it is actually perfect time to quilt but I can't seem to find much time for it unfortunately. Any...

I told you yesterday that I had a few Bee blocks in progress, well I managed to finish one last night. But this one has a story, hence my title of Bee Silly! I received the package from Cecilie in April to make her lovely block for Bee Europa . Cecilie had picked a gorgeous Garden Lattice block from the 99 Modern Blocks book. Unfortunately for some reasons, I did everything wrong with her lovely fabric right from the cutting step. Cecilie had sent us 4 squares of solid fabric and 2 rectangle of Lark fabric. The first step was to cut some 1' strips from the Lark fabric, well I nearly sliced the solid fabric but thankfully stopped my rotary cutter, just in time! Next step was to cut off a triangle in each corner of the square and then to divide the square in 4. Well that's where my problems started. I mis-read the instructions and cut along the diagonals rather than the centre. Anyway I carried on with the sewing and inserted the Lark strips, until I got to the ...

So I did some sewing (very little compared to my grand plans!) but at least I got to play with some fabric! I started off my cutting some charms for the Texty Charm Swap . I have cut my first batch out of a lovely fabric by Benartex. I still my second batch to cut. Hopefully I will have time later this week. Then I worked on some bee blocks. I worked on my April block for Bee Europa , and I am nearly there. I have taken this block the wrong way and have had one disaster after the other... I also started some granny squares and I am almost done with the 2 patriotic blocks for Ginger for the Granny Block Bee . I have started my block for Bee White Black . And also my Simply Solids May block!

Spring has finally arrived to the UK and it was all the better that we had a long week-end. Although we stayed at home we had quite a busy time as we entertained on Saturday afternoon and Sunday lunch time. I had grand plans for some sewing over the week-end but of course, I have been tied in to the kitchen for a great part of the time. Never mind, I still did a few bits and pieces but not as much as I had hoped/planned! During my commute from work, I usually try to sew and English Paper Piecing projects are perfect for the train. Very portable and easy to do. I always have a stash of paper hexies at the ready and some fabric hexies too. I cut everything with my Sizzix dies to have perfect shapes and not have to worry about trimming the fabric away. So, it is still early in the month but I have already finished my 2 hexie flowers for Diane for the Inchy Hexie Swap . She wanted some 30s fabric with a solid centre so this is the 2 fabrics I picked. Hope they will fit in her gard...

This is my first time linking with Lilly's Quilt Fresh Sewing day. I like the idea of going back to what I have done this month! When compiling my mosaic, I realised how much the postal system must be glad I am a swap addict LOL! I have "only" made swap blocks this month. But I have sent a grand total of 21 packages! Not bad if I say so myself! A variety of blocks and English Paper Piecing. We have been away quite a lot with a week in Spain and 2 week-ends in France so I had plenty of hand sewing time for some EPP. You have seen them all on my blog this month but it is actually nice for me to reflect on the sewing I have been able to cram here and there during my days or rather nights! Celine

And one more pick in the packages I sent earlier in the week. One of the letter was only going a couple of miles down the road from me to Patti. It was her block for the Simply Solids bee. And she choose a great design, she picked this winged square block from Amy at During Quiet Time and send us some solids in purple with some linen. I absolutely love how her block turned out and can't wait to see her quilt. Patti sent us some 5' squares and pointed us to this method to make half square triangles. I hadn't tried it before but it works great. One to bookmark for the future! I am linking to We Did it Wednesday at Sew Much Ado . Celine