One of my favourite swaps going on in the online quilting community is the [3x6] Bee Blocks swap. Each quarter, you sign up to sew 6 identical 12.5″ blocks for 6 people in your beehive (so that’s 1 block each, just to make it clearer, not 36 in total!). Your bees tell you which kind of fabrics they like, the colours they want and you customize the blocks you are making for each of them. I participated in the first quarter and I had a lot of fun making my blocks. So much fun that I signed up for quarter 2, which is drawing to a close.
I have to say that with all the work I had that suddenly piled on me, it suddenly was the beginning of June and I only had 2 blocks finished! Eeek! I had to put work to the side (I know, bad!) to finish them and post them on time. They went out on Monday, after me sitting at the sewing machine for 2 days straight. But it felt good to take the time to sew. I should definitely take more time for that. It doesn’t help that my husband has ‘stolen’ my chair (his one has broken down) and it’s a bit of a hassle to carry chairs around the flat.
Anyway, here are the blocks I made for my bees.
![[3x6] beehive #5 Q2](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3210/5842433165_f16727ee58.jpg)
I went for an improv’ style. It was perfect to use my scraps! Some are smaller than the others as the overall size was determined by the size of scraps I had. I could have added more scraps – I have to say that I didn’t think about that! Also, I think the size of the scrappy blocks have been influenced by my level of stress: the more stressed I was, the smaller the blocks, I think… Mmm…
They were pretty easy to put together. They used a bunch of 1″ strips and the larger side strips varied depending on the size of the scrappy blocks. Fabrics come from a wide range of designers / manufacturers. I don’t think I can name them all.
And since the beginning of June, the blocks made for me by my fellow bees have started arriving. I have 5 now, and the 6th one is in the mail, coming all the way from Brazil.
![[3x6] Bee Blocks Q2 received](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3246/5863124136_7db64c3dc2.jpg)
Aren’t they all absolutely beautiful? This is going to make one stunning quilt, with the blocks I’ve received in the first quarter!
I know there are only 5 blocks in this 1st quarter pic, but sometimes, blocks get lost in the mail or the bee has to pull out or something. It’s ok, sh*t happens, if you pardon my french (this is a funny expression, this one!)
