Bee Blocks - January, February, March

February marked the end of my first bee year for the @unscriptedquiltsbee. I have really enjoyed the monthly challenges from fellow bee mates. Rounding out the season, @elizabethkray asked for Plus blocks using a palette of bright colors. It was fun to interpret this prompt in different ways for my blocks. @bysarahruiz asked for classic snake blocks with a pieced background. (My photo doesn't really capture the fabric colors correctly but the curve snake is a teal color.)

Here are all the blocks for my first year in the bee:

March kicked off the beginning of the new bee year. It was very fun to make these spring colored blocks. @emilylangquilts asked for stripes in spring orange, yellow, pink with small bits of blue and/or green. 

My goal has been to get the blocks done in the month they are assigned. I've managed to do this so far, although I finished the February blocks on the last day of the month!

I've got June again this year. I've not yet decided on my prompt but still have time to do so. (For 2025, my prompt was balance - here are the blocks I collected and my quilt!)

Have a wonderful day! Patty

Citrus

Introducing Citrus - my latest pattern! Citrus is a modern twist on a Drunkards' Path quilt. It is fun and quick to assemble and a great way to showcase color or fun fabrics.

Citrus debuted at QuiltCon and was exclusive to Cary Quilting at that time. You can purchase either the paper pattern or a digital download. They have even put together a fabric bundle which include the fabrics I used in the quilt - Kona Cyan, Marmalade and Citrus. They had a number of new patterns in their booth from NC designers. (See their IG reel.)

Citrus comes in a wall hanging (45" x 31") which hung in the booth at QuiltCon and a throw quilt (52" x 52".)

I had fun with the quilting - straight lines for the background and then walking foot quilting that echoed the curved shapes. There are also some areas of hand quilting thrown in!

The pattern is FQ friendly and fabric requirements are shown as FQs or yardage. A curve template is included but you can substitute an acrylic template if you have one!

Interested in making your own version? You can purchase the pattern from the links above or via my pattern store. Use code CITRUS for 25% off a digital pattern at my shop through March 31, 2026.

Have a wonderful day! Patty

The Quilt Sweater

QuiltCon fashion is a bit part of the experience and I made myself 2 new articles of clothing for the big event. The first I'm sharing is my 'quilt sweater'.

Why a sweater?

First, it's not quilt a traditional quilted coat - there is no batting and no lining fabric. 

Instead, the fabric is sewn directly onto a disassembled sweatshirt.! The technique of using a sweatshirt is not a new one - I seem to remember seeing these back in the late 70s/early 80s.

Here are the basic steps:

• I prewashed my sweat shirt and then cut it apart using scissors cutting as close to the seam as possible. Once cut, I neatened up the sleeves and front panels and made sure the pairs matched.
• Using a basting stitch, I sewed back the seam just to make sure that it was going to fit and then pulled those stitches out!
• I sewed a whole bunch of HST and made panels which were just slightly larger that my sweatshirt pieces.
• Everything was carefully ironed flat and then I basted the HST panels to the sweatshirt as close to the edge that I could. I choose to keep the fuzzy part of the sweat shirt as the inside.
• Using 12 wt thread, a few lines of hand quilting were added on each panel just to keep things from sliding around. Once complete, the excess of the HST panel was trimmed away

• Pockets were basted to each of the front panels
• Reassembled the garment with a 3/8" seam allowance and curved the top of the front panels slightly for a more flattering edge.
• 
  Bias binding was machine sewn and then hand sewn to the back.

The sleeves gave me the most trouble. When they were disassembled, I didn't cut very close to the seam so they were smaller then I liked. I ended up putting an open pleat on each one so it wasn't too tight.

I love a good pocket and really felt the hoodie sweatshirt style pocket would work well. I assembled HST for the front and the lining for the pocket. 

Because I could, I lined up the HSTs on the pockets with those on the front panel. The very top of the pocket was stitched down while the sides and bottom were caught up in the side seam and the binding.

The very top of the pocket was stitched down while the sides and bottom were caught up in the side seam and the binding.

This quilt sweater was the perfect weight for the convention floor. I got many a complement and even ended up in Quiltfolk's fashion reel. In fact, I am the thumbnail - my claim to fame - see the reel here.

Have a wonderful day! Patty