Stash Bee - January Blocks

Hey everybody! HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope your year has been spectacular so far ;) Just a reminder, if you haven't commented on my Blogiversary Giveaway, PLEASE, go do it now!! I'll wait! :)

I haven't set goals for 2016 but I did start thinking a couple of months ago about what I would like to do new to me in 2016. I have been sitting on the sidelines watching the Bees go by over the last year or so thinking, what a great way to be challenged to try different blocks and to be stretched a little in terms of style and color preferences. And while all of that is going on, I also have a hand in quilts that will result for other people AND I end up with a quilt. Don't be fooled, I am aware of the downsides of bees. And I considered them. A lot. And then I decided to close my eyes, plug my nose and cannonball jump into the pool :) So here is my post on my first bee block for Stash Bee Hive #6!

I was very excited on New Years day when I went to the blog to see what I would be making for the first month. What did you say? You wanted to be challenged? You got it sister! What is the first block requested by the lovely Sylvia of Flying Parrots Quilts? The Union Jack block. . . Holy, fill in the blank. . . my words were likely more than a little off color. And then I might have peed myself a little. I have avoided making this block like one avoids squaring up HSTs!! ;) What's a girl to do? Well this is what this girl did, she put on her big girl panties and got to pulling fabric, starching, cutting and sewing! And here's the result!

Are they perfect? Hmmm, I'm not sure that the angles are perfect but I know I got the stripes right! LOL

In this picture you can see that the white is Spot On, Robbert Kauffman and the greens are both Moda Grunge. Colors? I have no idea, these fabrics have been in my stash for. . . let's just say awhile ;)

At least there is this, if the angles are wrong, they are perfectly wrong! LOL At least both blocks turned out exactly the same :)

I went through the instructions, both Sylvia's and Molli Sparkle's. Printed Molli's out. Took a deep breath and started cutting. I cut all of the pieces first. Then I decided, I'm not making a test block, I'm just going to jump in and see how it goes. . . not just jump in and make one, I'm making them both at the same time. . . Quilting fairies in control of accuracy and the scant 1/4" seam, don't fail me now!!

I took it slow. Very slow. And after several hours of cussing piecing, I had all of the units made. Now to just sew them together. Took some major time but I'm almost finished! And then. . . gasp! When I was sewing the first block together, I went to sew the top right quadrant to the bottom two right pieces and . . . ummm. . . it was too short! WHAT? I'll just stretch it a bit. . . those 1/4" fairies must have failed me on this one. . . nope, stretching definitely is not going to work. Measured. . . EXACTLY 1/4" too short!!! NOOOO!! What did I do? What any reasonable person would. I shut my machine off and had a glass of wine! OK, maybe two!

I got up the next morning and realized that I had just enough of the strip set left (I cut and sewed them together WOF) to make one more quadrant! I hiked up those big girl panties again. cut one light green triangle and sewed that sucker together. :)

How many times do you suppose I am going to have to learn the lesson to measure twice fifteen times, cut once? Don't answer that. . . hopefully not many but we all know these things happen. We just hope they don't happen too often!

So my first month's blocks are finished. And will be in the mail today! Did this first month disappoint? Nope. Definitely stretched! LOL In closing, thank you Sylvia for making me face my Union Jack fears!

In closing, I folded up those big girl panties (yup, washed them first LOL) and put them away until Feb. 1st ;) OK, they might be needed prior to that but for now, they are safely tucked away! And for the record, I can't wait to see what the challenge block might be for February!

Linking up with Beth for MCM and Judy for DWM. And check back here soon, those pillows are done, dusted and delivered! I'll be posting about those soon!

Until next time, keep on quilting!