Virtual Quilting Bees

When I began sewing last summer I started looking for inspiration online. This search opened up a whole new world that I had no idea even existed. I had heard/read about blogs and forums and such, but had no idea what they were really all about. After following link after link after link I discovered that people were meeting on various online forums and swapping things in the mail. I joined SwapBot which is a fun way to meet people from all over the world and learn new crafts. I've learned how to do redwork embroidery, how to make fabric yo-yos, learned what mug rugs are, and braved new to me quilting techniques. For those who don't know what mug rugs are, they are miniature quilts, approximately 6" X 8", large enough to hold your mug and a small snack.

I've also discovered that there is so much more to Flickr than just posting pictures. (I sort of knew that before, but I had a difficult time navigating the site until recently.) With this discovery I found even more swaps and was introduced to the world of Virtual Quilting Bees. The specifics of each bee vary, but basically there are a set number of members for each bee and they commit to making a quilt block for each of the other members throughout the bee's life. Each member hosts a different month and they decide what sort of block they would like the other members to make for them. Sometimes the host sends out fabric to the others and sometimes we use fabric from our own stash, it just depends on the bee.

I am in 2 bees right now. The first one I signed up for is called String Me Along. It is a 16 month bee with 1 host each month. The host sends out fabric to the rest of us with a pattern and instructions. We have close to a month to complete the block and send it back. I just received the fabric today, so I'll be working on it later this week.

The other bee is the Modern Stash Quilting Bee (MSQB). MSQB is a 6 month bee with 12 participants, so we have 2 hosts each month. In this one we use fabric from our own stash to create the blocks. The host posts their request with a picture of an example block and we make our blocks from this information.

So, enough talk...Here are pictures of the first two blocks for the MSQB.

Framed fussy cut improv block in yellow and gray.

Bento Box.

This will be cut into four pieces and sewn together with pieces from the other blocks to make a unique and colorful quilt.