Mission Complete!

Hello Everyone,

Yup, it is done!! I love it too!

Tara provided me with red plaid. Very cool in this block.

Loved piecing it too! Fun, fun, fun! Can't wait to see them all together in one big quilt. Thanks, Tara for a great block!

Enjoy!

Done!

I can't believe I did it! Only took 3 hours and a Marthatini (3 parts vermouth and 1 part gin) to get it together. Lots of ripping in the process....hair and fabric, both....but I am SO proud of myself. Once I got the hang of thinking in reverse, it was a smooth sailing. Thanks for this fun and challenging block, Tara. I love the result!

Amanda from Crazy Mom Quilts

I guess I'm a little behind in writing this introduction post! I'm Amanda Jean and I live in Wisconsin with my husband, and 3 kids. I blog at Crazy Mom Quilts. This summer will mark 11 years of quilting for me. I've been quilting obsessively since 2006, when I started my blog. I love to sew with scraps. I love getting the most out of my fabric. I love stashing fabric. I love to play with color and create things. I always have way too many WIP's! Oh, and I'm excited to be a part of this bee!

I sewed up Tara's block the day I received the fabric. This block made me think that I may not like paper piecing! It uses a ton of fabric and all the angles messed with my head. However, now that the block is done, I see that the results are SO worth it. Tara is going to have a stunning quilt!

Tara's Asterisk Block is Finished

How fun is this Two's Company Bee??

I received Tara's fabric and when I saw what she was asking for, I couldn't wait to get started.  I had so much fun putting it together for you Tara and it will go in the mail before the end of the week.

Bad indoor photo.  

Hope you like it Tara.  Can't wait to see your finished quilt.

Jessica of Life Under Quilts

Am I the last one to do an introduction? 
I was kind of putting it off because I'm away from home (and my home computer) and don't have any good quilt photos with me besides the ones I've taken on the trip.  Please check out my blog or flickr account if you want to see the kind of quilty-trouble I usually get into..

I'll be upfront and say that a quilt in two colors will be a challenge for me..  Like Bonnie, I tend to lean on the scrappy side.  This month I've been working on my 3rd english paper pieced stars quilt, using scrap fabric from EVERYWHERE:

but I'm so excited to get to sew with all of you ladies for the entire year!  Can't wait to see what you've got in mind..

Other stuff about me-- early 30s, mom to one energetic 2.5 yr old.  I've got a Greek husband who insists on vacations in Athens every summer (really, I shouldn't complain), quilting since 2002, MA in Applied Linguistics.  I've been a SAHM for 3 yrs, but I'm going back to work part time in July.. teaching English to international students.  Originally from Chicago, now settled outside of New York City.  I love to travel, eat well, and hang out with other quilters.  And I can't wait to get to know all of you better this year.

The Scrappy Bee

The above two quilt, unfinished of course, have been made recently. The top quilt is the result of a block exchange I have been in forever. The second is one of the improv quilts I have been experimenting with recently.

It all started with a quilting class around 1976. I immediately loved quilting, although the teacher said no one would be crazy enough to make a bed size quilt. Was she ever wrong! Many quilts later I have tried downsizing my quilts without much luck, but I have been in love with scrappy quilts all this time.

With my name Bonnie Bus friends have come up with several nicknames for me, B Bus, Bonnie Bee, BB, etc. I am just that Bee quilter. It seemed natural to include my Bee in my blog name.

I do love staying busy as a bee.

This bee will be fun. Although it is my first internet bee, I have done block exchanges and round robins with local quilters. We have had good times in these exchanges. I am looking forward to this bee and making blocks for everyone.

PS. I plan on by red and white blocks to be scrappy!

Tara's July block

Hello, Everyone!  I'm Tara Rebman of Fort Collins, CO.  I'm the wife of a man that makes me smile everyday, mother to a very funny and cute 4 3/4 year old, and wish I lived on a farm!  I'm the innkeeper at a small bed and breakfast where I host fantastic quilting retreats every spring and fall!  I've been sewing and crafting my entire life, but only started quilting two years ago.  It seems like it should be much longer!  At least my fabric collection should be much older to be the size it is!  I blog (very occasionally) over at tinkerfrog.

I know you've all been waiting with bated breath to see what the first month of this great new bee would bring us!  I had about fifty ideas that came and went before I had this one, but I'm so excited to see this come together.  Penny of sewtakeahike has generously allowed us to use her asterisk pattern.  I'm sending each of you a fat quarter of red fabric, two sizes of the asterisk template and two pieces of tracing paper. 

I'd like you to cut one piece of your tracing paper to 13.5 by 13.5.  I realize that that is an odd size for a block, but my personal paper piecing experience leads me to making the block larger than desired and then trimming to the proper size.  So I'll take care of all the trimming on my end.  The second piece of tracing paper is just an extra (or in case you want to make two blocks, totally okay with me!)

 

The next step is to place your template under your tracing paper and decide on placement of your asterisk.  Where ever you would like it and whichever size you'd like to make it is fine with me.  Your fat quarter of red fabric will be plenty to do any size.  You should know though that the small ones will use more of your own background fabric, so if you want to use more of the fabric I sent you go with the larger size.

Trace the lines of the template onto your paper extending the lines all the way to the edges and label accordingly.  All of the number 1's are going to be the red fabric and all other numbers will be the background.  It belatedly occurs to me that I should have sent the background and you could have provided the red and for that, I apologize!

Cut your template apart into the 5 sections of A, B, C, D, and E.  Make sure you leave a 1/4 seam allowance around the edges so you have enough fabric to sew it together!  Have fun!

For the background fabric, any light neutrals are okay with me.  Greys, creams, whites, those odd calicoes you don't know how you acquired.  I really don't want anyone to have to purchase anything for this.  A fat quarter should be enough to make the block(hopefully!).

Here's a basic paper piecing tutorial for any of you not familiar or comfortable with the technique.  Jackie might be to only one of us not wanting to pull our hair out at some point since she has mad paper piecing skills!  I fully welcome any questions or feedback on this block.  It took me about an hour to an hour and a half.  Hard to know because I was on the phone and taking pictures at the same time!

I'm willing to e-mail anyone that wants it the .jpg file of the asterisk pattern.  Just please use it for personal use and not gain per Penny's copyright.  If anyone doesn't have enough background fabric and would like me to send them some, please just let me know!

Edited to add:  The Pattern is free for use by those participating in the Two's Company Bee.  Anyone else interested in the pattern, it can be purchased from sewtakeahike's Etsy shop.  It is the  Funky Peppermint Table Runner.  You should check out her other adorable pattern's while you're there!

Hi, I'm Helen....

....and I'm happy to be here. Have been sewing a very long time. Started out on a treadle machine making a dirndl skirt for 4-H back in MN where I grew up. Living on Long Island now and am so into quilting. Love making bags, garments, and quilts of all sizes. Most of all, I enjoy looking at quilts made by others. The Red & White event in NYC was such a thrill! I am really looking forward to seeing what you all will be making for this bee. Hope to finally make my red & white quilt. That dirndl skirt was white with red apples on it....so it must have been an omen!

Mary B

Hi! I'm another Mary! People always think Mary is a common name, but I've actually met very few Marys, so it's especially nice to be in a bee with one.

I'll be easy to distinguish because I'm the only one in the group who doesn't have a blog. See, not only am I a slow quilter--which would make a blog by me very sporadically updated--but I'm a bit of a jack of all trades crafter. I like to knit, crochet, bake, and so on. I've been more focused on quilting lately because I like things that take time. I know that some people feel the exact opposite, but I hate getting to the end of a project in the same way I hate getting to the end of a book. It's satisfying to be finished, but I'm always sad that the journey's ended!

Also, I may the the newest to quilting out of everyone in the group! I've been sewing since I was a kid, but I made my first quilt in about 2003. Though I've made several since then, I'm still working on my second quilt--a grandmother's flower garden--like I said, I like lengthy projects!

I've been in two quilting bees before, and I'm in another one besides this one now (NYC Mod Bee), and I love the different ideas people come up with, and being pushed and inspired to try some new things. Above is my finished quilt for the first bee. I'm hand-quilting the second one, which might have to go on hold until the fall--it's too hot in Brooklyn in the summer to have a quilt bunched up on my lap!

You can see some other quilty things at my flickr page. Looking forward to seeing what everyone comes up with for the bee!

Shelly of Prairie Moon Quilts

Hey, there, everybody! I'm Shelly, from Prairie Moon Quilts. Several of you know me from other places -- bees, blogs, retreats, etc. -- but for those of you who don't, here's the short story . . .

I live on a small ranch (Prairie Moon Ranch, incidentally) in Missouri with My Cowboy (who some of you have also met), and together we raise cattle and horses, and do all kinds of day-to-day farm stuff, which you probably could get sick of reading about real quick on my blog.

When farm work isn't dominating my life, I quilt. I quilt a LOT. A friend of mine once told me: "There's a fine line between hobby and obsession." True, ain't it?

I've been quilting for 37 years, teaching and designing for 15, and just a couple years ago, added longarm quilting to my business as well.

My favorite technique is needle-turn hand applique, and I'll be closely watching for signs from any of you that you'd be willing to throw in a little of that for me during the bee.

Red just happens to be my very favorite color EVER, and I adore red and white quilts. I do own a couple, but I suck with a camera, so you can't see them . . . at least not right now.

I'm really honored that I was invited AND accepted into this bee. I know we're all gonna do great things and have a lot of fun! Can't wait to get started!

Mama Pea Stephanie of Peas in a Pod Blog

Hi Everyone!

I don't know anyone in this group, so please allow me to introduce myself! I'm Stephanie, AKA Mama Pea, of Peas in a Pod blog. I took my first quilting class when I was a junior in high school....that was in 1986! Wow! That's a while ago! I loved piecing the top, but I hated hand quilting...probably because no one really took the time to teach that part well. So, I put it away and didn't come back to sewing and quilting until much later...about 2002. I still love piecing, still don't know how to hand quilt (though it is a goal), and I'm learning to free motion quilt on my home sewing machine. I really hope to buy a long-arm quilting machine some day.

I currently live in Michigan. I have lived there for about 2 years now. Prior to that, I have lived in Idaho, Ohio, Utah, and Washington. I grew up in Iowa. I miss the west and our horses that we sold when we moved back to the midwest. But it is good to be back in the midwest!

I have always wanted to make a two color quilt....especially a red-and-white quilt. I'm thinking of a little, scrappy, Jo Morton quilt for this project, but I've NEVER engaged in a bee before, so that may change. I want to see what everyone else is doing to give me some inspiration.


Maybe something with this book. This photo is from Amazon...if you want to see more about this book, please visit this link!

I got invited to play along with this group through Shelly of Prairie Moon Quilts. We haven't met in real life yet, but we've become pretty good blogging buddies...and we do get to meet at a retreat this summer. I can't wait to meet her. We have so much in common, I know it's going to be a blast!

I hope I did everything on this right. I blog over at Typepad, so I will have a little learning curve on Blogger!

Can't wait to play with all of you!

Mama Pea Stephanie

LeeAnn in Seattle (nifty quilts)

Hi all, As you can see, I'm a big fan of red quilts!

I've never made a two-color quilt, so this will be a fun challenge. Living on the West Coast, I missed the red and white show, but was very inspired by the photos I saw on many of your blogs.

I'm excited to be working with all of you very talented women.

Let the fun begin!

Mary on Lake Pulaski

I would like to introduce my self, Mary Kolb, to all of you Two's Company Quilt Bee members!

The dream of my life came true nine years ago when we moved to the lake and therefore my blog is Mary on Lake Pulaski ! 

I am a fabric fanatic and even though I've been quilting for thirty + years, I like lots of different styles.  This two color bee really caught my attention and this is what I want you all to help me make:

Just kidding!!!!! But isn't it pretty!

Thanks again to Andrea for putting this together and allowing me to be part of it!  I can't wait for the sewing to start!

Jackie - Canton Village Quilt Works

Hello Everyone,

Most of you know me, but if you don't here is a very little bit of information about me...

I have been quilting for about 18 years and love it. Turned it into a long arm quilting business in 2000 and then added an online quilt shop in 2009. I just can't seem to get enough of fabric, fun, and friends who enjoy exactly what I enjoy!

Plus, I am always learning everyday, as we do with everything in life. I am glad to be part of this bee. This is my very FIRST bee too! Looking forward to all the fun.

Oh, the quilt above is what I have been using as my profile pic now since 2007. Yes, I have been blogging that long. Can't believe it either. But it is a paper pieced pattern, that I made and just love.

Looking forward to meeting everyone. Come visit me on my blog by clicking here.

Until Next Time...

Welcome to Two's Company Quilt Bee

Inspired by Infinite Variety this spring, I invited a few quilty friends (and friends of friends) to take on the challenge of making our own two-color quilts in a traditional bloggy quilt bee.  Here we will share our adventures and misadventures in the world of red and white...or whatever other two-color combo inspires us along the way.  The rules are relaxed, the quilters diverse...can't wait to see what we quilt up!  Glad to have you all join us along the way.