Fireplace block for Blair

I love the wonderful horizontal lines in Blair's inspiration fireplaces.   This block is already on its way to you, Blair!

I can't wait to see how you put them all together!

Block for Rebekah

I put this on my blog yesterday, but didn't have time to post here.  I enjoyed making this block as it gave me the chance to do two things I don't often do.

I have wanted to experiment with using a line of satin stitching as a design element for quite a while and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. 

As some of you know, improvisation is not my strong point - it is not my default position.  However, I don't know how to draw the shape that Rebekah wanted with any of the programs on my computer, so there was no way to make nice, neat templates :)  So, I cut the shapes free-hand, knowing that you all are not sticklers for perfection.  I hope the results work well for you, Rebekah!

Next up, Mondrian inspired for Robin.

Amanda's chevron

I just realized that I posted pics of Amanda's chevron on my blog and Flickr, but forgot to post it here!  It was a fun challenge!
I originally intended the right side of the chevron to be fatter than the left, but had to decide on fat or curve, so I chose curve.  Hope you like it, Amanda!

Mid Mod for November

I am so excited that I finally managed to distill all the ideas running around in my head into something fairly coherent!  Here it is:

I am asking each of you to make me a rectangular block inspired by Mid Century Modern homes.  I have organized both a gallery and a set on Flickr of images that I love.  Apparently, according to Flickr, sets are your own images; galleries are other people's Flickr images.  Although "my" images were all lifted from google :).  Your rectangular block should be in the general area of 9" x 15" and use a kind of outline style similar to my mock up.  I will send you grey fabric for the background and some green and blue strips to use for piecing.

Some of you may recall that I earlier mentioned that I might feature applique during my month.  The image of a George Nelson clock was my inspiration for this idea, but it didn't seem to offer enough opportunity for creativity.  Since the image is strikingly similar to an idea I had many months ago for a dandelion quilt, it may yet show up!

Have I left anything out?  I can't wait to see what you all come up with!!

Block for Cheryl

My block for Cheryl was heavily inspired by barkcloth.  I hope I haven't been too literal.  The amount of detail in barkcloth steered me away from my usual larger, more graphic style.  Making the finished block a curved shape was fun.

I hope my block "plays well" with the rest.  I noticed that Amanda and I used a similar motif.  I described my process in a little more detail on my blog.

A little Mid Mod inspiration

See my blog for a short, slightly whiny post and a few photos from my visit to the Art Institute of Chicago.

Block for Jess

I finished my block for Jess yesterday and mailed it out today!  I am ready for September!  I hope you like it, Jess, and that it fits with the other blocks well since it isn't wonky (at least not on purpose!).

November is my month and I am mulling ideas so I have a question for you all:  do you applique?  Are you opposed to applique?  As you might have guessed, one of the ideas I am mulling would be an applique quilt.  I have other ideas too, so if applique is not our collective thing, it will not be a problem.  Thanks!

Finally...

I've been itching to make Rossie's strip ever since I got the fabric!  However, other things HAD to be done first.  I had a chance to sew a bit this week and managed to get the strip completed.  I can't wait to see how they all look together!  I love the way they are all so different yet so similar.

I am looking forward to seeing what is next!

Housekeeping!

 (1)

Bee members, here are your month assignments!

July 2010  - Rossie
August 2010 - Jess
September 2010 - Cheryl
October 2010 - Amanda
November 2010 - Debbie

January 2011 - Rebekah
February 2011 - Robin
March 2011 - Lauren
April 2011 - Blair
May 2011 - Malka Yahaira
June 2011 - Jacquie

I do believe I have accommodated everyone's wishes.
If something comes up and you need to swap your month, that's fine; but please try to arrange it yourself and let me (Rossie) or Cheryl know if you need help.

(2)
Flickr group

If you would like to share your blocks on flickr, I recommend posting them to this group:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/quiltingbeeblocks/

That way they'll be seen by more people!  

The groups for individual bees don't seem to get much traffic, so we're not planning on setting one up.

(3)
Blog button

As requested, here is a blog button

html code for above

<a href="http://midmodbee.blogspot.com/"><img alt="Mid Mod Quilt Bee" border="0" img="" src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1276/4672802101_3d0bb05c58_b.jpg" width="200" /></a>


In Blogger, add these by going to the "layout" tab;   click "add gadget";choose "HTML/JavaScript" as the gadget type;  paste in code; save your changes!

To make the button bigger or smaller, change the "200" to a bigger or smaller number.

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Words of wisdom

Cheryl put this so well in her email that I asked her permission to post this for posterity:
"We have a phenomenally creative group of quilters, artists, authors, and designers. We are all fans of mid century modern design. We believe that we can come together to create some amazing quilts. These quilts will capture the spirit of the artists involved. They will also, hopefully, capture the essence of mid-century modern design.

"So, instead of sending out precise rules and pre-cut fabric, please share your inspiration and a pile of fabric. Let go and see what comes back to you. We can trust each other to produce quality blocks, so trust the process."

(5)
Please post each block you make

When you post a block you made, please attach two labels: (1) your first name  (2) ______'s quilt <--- filling in the name of the person for whom the block is destined.

This will make it easier to search back through posts. 
I have added ALL of these labels to this post so that you can add them to future posts just by clicking on "show all"



and then select the relevant labels.

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Feel free to post about other mid-mod stuff here.
I'm loving the inspiration posts, and their comments. Keep them coming and please use the "inspiration" label! 

I have figured out how to get the byline up below the title of each post, hopefully this will help us know who is talking when. (I'll try to clean up the way it looks soon).

Also, if any members want me to add their email address to the list of those who get emailed each comment, shoot me an email.  (You can also subscribe to the comments by RSS, but I like the email method myself.)


(7)
I'm beyond pumped to get started!
Thank you all!