Something New

I've joined up with eleven other women to participate in a quilting bee in the new year.  You can see the button over in the sidebar - it links to our Flickr group, which is empty as of now. So is our blog, but watch this space, because I'm sure we'll be creating some spectacular quilts. This bee was inspired by the very interesting blog and quiltalong led by Jennifer and Crystal over at Modified Tradition.  In an online bee, every participant has a particular month in which they send out fabric and instructions to the other members of the bee, who in turn each create one or two blocks for that month's member.  Members in our bee are mainly from the U.S., but there are three "foreigners" - that would be me and Leanne from Canada, and Sandra, a lovely lady from the UK.  I've listed the members who have introduced themselves to the group over on the sidebar, as well.

My month isn't until March, but I've been thinking about the pattern that I'd like to choose for my blocks.  I've always really liked Lady of the Lake, and I think there's a lot of scope in this pattern for making it look new by setting it on point and using modern fabric.  I must be a masochist for half-square triangles, because I also really like the Sawtooth block.  The use of setting blocks, like in this photo, means you can make a good sized quilt from relatively few pieced blocks; this is good news for a bee, where you will get 22 blocks at most, or maybe only 11, depending on the rules of the bee.  Another way to manage this is to choose a pattern like the Ohio Star in a particular largish size for the bee blocks, then make the same block in one-quarter size to add to the size of the quilt.  This has the added advantage of showcasing the bee blocks due to their relative size, and the difference in block sizes make it look new and modern, even though the block itself is traditional.  These are my preliminary musings, and I'm looking forward to clearing my WIP pile so that I can think about this new project with a guiltless heart!  thank goodness, it doesn't start until 2010!

And one more thing - perhaps the most important:

Lest we forget.