Three by Six Blocks on the way

So excited to ship these off to their new homes. Tiffany had such a wonderful idea with this bee. Each participant selects three colors for their blocks and you are in a hive with six other people, so you make six blocks. Participants sign-up on a quarterly basis so you can come and go into the Bee. I plan on participating in all four quarters, so at the end of the year, I will have received 24 blocks. The blocks are 12 inch blocks, so it will make a great sampler quilt! If you are interested in signing up for future quarters, here is Tiffany's blog.

The two blocks I have received so far are fantastic. I will take photos once all of them arrive. Here is the one I received from the talented Penny from Sewtakeahike and last week received this awesome block from Kim and . I must admit, I wish I would have attempted a little more exciting block, but I think sometimes in a sampler style quilt a little simple might be good. The wonderful part of this bee is seeing all kinds of awesome block ideas. I think the rest of the year the hardest part will be choosing which block to do! I will try some more out at the upcoming Potholder Pass as well.

I actually made four of the six blocks a month ago. I was trying to use the same fabric patterns but in the colors requested. I thought it would be fun to show how the same fabrics and the same block can take on such a different look and I thought Flea Market Fancy seeds would look great as the center block . . . but for two of the blocks the pink and gold seeds just didn't work with the other fabrics. I had to add a little to the stash in a happier shade of chocolate brown and I now LOVE how they came out.

My favorite part of a swap is always the printing the label and sending it out. The pressure of having a deadline and need to get something in the mail is both a great motivator for me and a stress. The great part of a swap is it is pushing me to try new things and keeps me excited and motivated. The deadline always keeps me a little on edge. When the kids napped today, I enjoyed putting some cover button packages together for my swap partners and then packaging up the blocks and sending them on their way!

If you have some time, check out the flickr photo's of all the blocks, they are amazing.