Bee Block 2019

No. 12 of my Finish Along List for Q1 is my Bee Quilt 2019.

So let the planning and designing begin :)

This post is a mixture of my design process and the bee asignment/instructions.

I started with the idea to design a log cabin quilt with a random layout and something like this color combination:

And then I got to work in EQ8

Version 1
Eight Color Version
Big Block Design
Five Rounds Log Cabin

Version 3
Six Color Version
Smaller Block Design
Four Rounds Log Cabin

Version 5
SixColor Version
Small Block Design
Same Strip Width Log Cabin

There were more versions in between but these are a few of the ones that I saved. Basically I went through the three main design parts: Which (How many) colors? How big is the block? Which block design?

In the end I decided on my initial hunch with the big blocks. This will be a bit more tedious when printing and assembling the foundation paper but I love the layout so much better!

Also I think the design locks way too busy with eight colors, so I will stick with the reduced six. And for some reason the big square center block looks better to me.

So here is my fabric pull

And the Kona color swatches

(1) Navy/ Dark Blues Nautical – Nightfall
(2) Royal Blue – Middle Blues Regal – Royal – Marine – Riviera – Deep Blue
(3) “Light” Blues Pacific – Mediterranean – Surf

Here are some more details of the fabrics and their Kona representatives.

Click on any image to see the pictures in full.

I am looking for “true blue” fabrics. You can find many blue colors suggestions in my fabrics and in the swatches. Please be aware that I am not looking for greenish blues. The swatch 479 Mediterranean is a touch green. Please do not go further into that direction!

IMHO yellow is relatively hard to pick and describe. It can be more like citron/lemon colored, orangey or greenish… I would call this yellow slightly mustardy but it is neither really brown nor green. It is just not really bright and has a greyish touch. If that makes sense…

… that is why I took two detail shots of the yellow fabric and the Kona color swatch. I think the grellow fits my hopes the best. But the Alison Glass fabric that is more like the sunny is also fine.

And the white fabrics should be truly white aka as white as possible – not eggshell, not cream. And the accents can be either black or of the blue range used.

Important! Please use only fabrics with white | black accents or with accents of the colors used! Do not use any fabrics with additional colors e.g. red, green… Thank you!

The fabric placement is relatively random. If you want or need, you can take inspiration from the image “Final Version”. You can right click to open it in a new tab/window and then save it.

But what would this be without a few more rules :)

• Use only one fabric for the yellow, white & black.
• Please use three different blue fabrics.
• So in total you need to pick/confirm six fabrics.
• Use yellow and black each for one or two of the sections. Use only the range of A1-A9!
• Use white up to three times. Also only in the range of A1-A9.
• Fill the rest with blue in whatever way you like.

Here is the PDF file for the foundation paper “Bee Block 2019 – Log Cabin”. Unfortunately you have to put four pieces together. I tried to make it easier but it didn’t look like my idea anymore. Sorry!

And here is the full PDF version of “The Rules”, including stitching and cutting details.

Now I can only keep my fingers crossed that I explained everything well. If not – please write me a comment and I will (try to) answer. Also let me already say: Thank you!

Best wishes
xo Melanie