Pinballs and Pebbles

As the Soul Blossoms D9P quilt blocks are slowly coming together in the background I have been trying to fit in a few other little things along the way this week.

First up, a couple more blocks from the Modern Blocks book -

These ones are the Pinball Machine block and are destined for the stock of blocks being gathered over at Bee Blessed in the next few months.  I enjoyed this block, though I'm not sure I achieved the sharp look of the original from the book.  (I have just previewed this post before publishing and noticed that the block are different!  I didn't see it when I was making them, clearly I've mixed one up a little - oops!)

And here's what I got up to at class this week ....

Yep that's FMQ practice! (Just in case you had trouble identifying it.)  The lovely Judith took 12 of us through the process of getting started on the FMQ journey.  I must admit that I found it much easier to follow her tutelage than I did struggling on by myself in the early autumn when I made an attempt at FMQing.  It really helped to see a demonstration and to have J on hand to help sort out tension issues.  It's not something I find coming naturally but I did see progress and by the end of the night I think I was starting to produce some pretty reasonable pebbles. Next week we have a bit of sketching skills tuition which should be fun too!

And the aim of all this FMQ/sketching?  Well, check out Judith's Welcome Wallhanging project which we are all hoping to make in the last few weeks of the class.  Can't wait!

Hope everybody has a great weekend with plenty of stitchy goodness involved!

Thank you and More Charity Bee Blocks

Firstly I need to say a really big thank you to Leanne for sending this all the way across the Atlantic - 

Made by Leanne, She Can Quilt

Isn't it gorgeous?  Leanne you're a treasure - it was more than enough that you sent us some lovely Wonky Star blocks for our Bee Blessed project, but I am overwhelmed that you sent Judith and me one of your fab coasters each as well.  How kind!  


For those of you who haven't come across Leanne's blog, She Can Quilt, you really must hop over there and have a peek.  Leanne's blog often has amazing quilts to inspire but I have to confess that I am in particular awe of this recent creation - go on take a look and tell me it's not amazing!


Remember Karen's call to arms for Kind Stitches charity bee blocks for quilts for the Thai children?  Well, here's my contribution.  These were fun and not too tricky, so if you fancy lending a quilty hand check out Karen's post for the details.

And finally, a few more blue Wonky Stars to boost the collection for the boy's quilt top at our next Bee Blessed get together.

We've had an amazing response from all of you, our blogging friends, and next weekend we hope to be able to piece three Wonky Star quilts with all of your contributions added to those blocks made by our group.  Looking forward to being able to show you our progress soon.  Thanks again - you're a great bunch!

Wanna help?

Okay you helpful peeps, Karen from Listen to the Birds Sing has put out a wee request for help to make little blocks for her Kind Stitches Bee which is making light quilt tops (no wadding) for children in Pattaya, Thailand who have been rescued from prostitution and sex trafficking.

Karen says it all much better than me, so if you're interested in lending a hand check her post here.  It's not a big ask and I'm sure many of our scrap baskets have ideal materials for the little blocks she's putting together!