Quilting Bee Blocks

I got a smidge behind on blocks for the quilting bee while I was focused on getting Lil Hoot's new room ready for her move back in July.  (Series to come on that soon.)  I am not quite caught up and not quite complete with making blocks for our Virtual Quilting Bee.  I can't believe we have been doing this since last year!  We have all grown so much in both skills and confidence.  I can't wait to see the end results.

The Flying Geese Block.

Never would I have ever contemplated making this block. I mean, I think it's really cool, really cool, but I would not consider it within my abilities to make. Yet, here it is. It isn't perfect and I read the directions wrong so it's backwards from how it "should" be (geese flying clockwise) but my Queen Bee decided she liked them flying 'backwards'. It was interesting and I am so glad I learned to use freezer paper for piecing but I won't be making a quilt of them any time soon!

The Dresden Plate Block.

This block is intended for a quilt representing the 12 months of the year.  My month was July (in honor of my birthday).  I chose the Dresden plate design because it reminded me of both the sun and of fireworks.  I love the fabrics chosen by the Queen Bee and each one represents something different to me about July - greens for the lush grass, flowers for flowers and fireworks, the punch of yellow and orange inside pink for the sun and fireworks, blue for cool water and lazy days beside the pool/ocean, and the red is patriotic to me - celebrating Independence Day.  Oh yes, all those things are a bit deep for 'just a quilt block' but spending hours contemplating, cutting, sewing and creating...I thought about it all.

As for the design itself...I was pleasantly surprised at how easy the circle of points was to sew together, but attaching it to the background was a different story.  I used the instructions from the Sew Mama Sew Sew-Along when I made my practice block.  I didn't like their method for the middle circle, it looked too layered to me, so I just cut a circle and then ironed it on using Steam a Seam.  For attaching it to the background I simply placed, pinned and starting sewing with a small zig zag stitch.  It did not work well.  The pins let the whole thing shift around too easily and I ended up with a crinkle at the end.  It's not overly apparent but it was annoying.  In the future I will probably try some kind of temporary adhesive or a bit of Steam a Seam.