Bee Happy Quiltalong!
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Are you ready to sew something fun and cheerful? Then welcome to the Bee Happy Quiltalong!
I was surfing the web the other day and came across this beautiful vintage quilt, and I fell in love… The block is called “Honey Bee” and I just love the simplicity of it, all done in different shades of yellow…
So I did some googling about the Honey Bee block and found a great blog post that tells a bit more about the history of this block. It seems that it has been found in quilts since the early 1800s…. the post shows some lovely vintage samples of different types of Honey Bee blocks.
I also came across this more modern version from Why Not Sew that she made for a Benartex Blog Hop.
I visited a lot more blogs, just google “Honey Bee Block” and you’ll find more inspiration.
The Bee Happy Quiltalong “Plan”
So after all that I did a bit of a sketch and some brainstorming… (here you get a peek into my very messy way of planning quiltalongs :))
You’ll note a question to self at the top – Mystery or Not? I decided on not this time… I mean I will be sewing along with you like last time, but this time you will get a bit more of an idea of where we are heading…
So basically it will be a 9 block quilt… each block will be 12″ finished… and the quilt size will depend on what you do with borders… like last time I am leaving that up to you 🙂
Five of the blocks will be the Honey Bee block. You can make it scrappy or not. I am making one of both. So far I have made up a sample block with yellows and blues:
The Bee Happy Quiltalong will contain:
- some piecing
- some applique
- some optional embroidery
Making the whole quilt will be broken up into simple steps with a few days between each one to give everyone time to keep up. I will have lots of photos and instructions to go with each step.
Today I’ll be telling you what supplies you need for this Quiltalong.
Fabric needed for the Bee Happy Quiltalong
If you are using 4 fabrics like I am for the yellow and blue block above, you will need:
- 1 1/2 meters of background fabric (mine is white)depending on borders
- 1/2 meter feature 9 patch fabric (I used the blue and yellow floral above)
- 1/2 meter matching fabric for the bee “wings”
- 1/4 meter matching fabric for the bee “bodies”
(All above measurements are approximate, I’ve tried to allow more just to be sure.)
If you are making it scrappy:
- 1 1/2 meters of background fabric (mine is white)depending on borders
- twenty-five 2 1/2″ scrappy squares
- assorted scraps for the applique
Other Materials Needed:
- 60 cm or 24 inches of fusible web, 18 inches wide
- Embroidery thread DMC (afflink) or another, to match your background fabric (optional)
My favorite fusible web is Lite Steam-a-Seam 2 (affiliate link):
You will need the fusible web for the applique “bees”. I will have a template for you to use, but if you want to make your life easier, you can use the Go! Feather’s Die (affiliate link):
If you already own the Go! Feathers Die (aff link) then I would recommend using it 🙂 I am going to use mine, it will save so much time of tracing and cutting. If you don’t have it already, I think it would be worth buying, but of course it is totally up to you! We will be starting the applique at the end of the second week so you have time to buy one if you want.
And I think that is it!!
Proposed schedule for The BEe happy Quiltalong:
Monday 5th Oct – Today! Introduction and Supplies Needed
Monday 2nd Nov – Show and Tell Link Up!
As the Bee Happy Quiltalong progresses, I will add links to the list above so that you can easily find each step.
Now, have I thought of everything? Knowing me, I’ve forgotten something… if you have any questions please let me know in the comments below!!
Sharing is Caring!
- If you are on Facebook, join our group “At Home with Joy” to share progress pictures.
- Like our Facebook Page to be reminded of new posts
- And please share the Bee Happy Quiltalong on your favorite social media platform – I would love to brighten the days of as many people as we can in these crazy times…
I’ll see you back here on Wednesday for the first step of the Bee Happy Quiltalong!
Oh, dear! This looks so pretty, especially the color choices, but now I have to decide if I have the time to join in. 😉 It think it would be fun to embroider things like “Bee Happy,” “Bee Kind,” and “Bee Generous,” or something like that in the empty blocks. Hmmm.
Looks like this will be a fun project Joy!
I have always loved blue and yellow together!!! Great quilt idea.
Cute. We can all do with a little focus on beeing happy at the moment. I love this idea Joy. Shared.
Always loved the bee block. Plus it always looks lovely in yellow & blue. Love your idea. Hugs, xx
Well I’ve come here thanks to Dione, and I have now signed up for your blog posts in my inbox, and I may just be joining in with your QAL (not that I can fit it in, but hey, we quilters always find a way to add in another project don’t we?!) I really like your blue and yellow block too btw.
I was going to order the die over here, but they charge shipping on the tax! I’ll just cut them by hand. =) This looks like fun, even though I’m already behind.