Bee {a little bit} Japanese - August Blocks for Jennifer

My package arrived for this bee a few weeks ago and I was excited. It contained a great range of linen fabics and some Kaffe Fasset shot cotton and Kona solids, all in colours I love.

I had also been eagerly waiting for the package because the inspiration mosaic Jennifer had put together was wonderful.

And boy did I have ideas. I spent a Friday evening when I was a little too zonked to sew on the couch in front of the TV sketching out some ideas.

I don't know what it is about my bee blocks (perhaps it is that I have to make only one or two of each style rather that enough for a whole quilt top) but in my designs I tend to piece them much more heavily than I would do otherwise.

The first two ideas I had were ultimately the ones I decided to go ahead and make.

The first was designed to be a block with 3 small squares down the left side and one long rectangle down the right side.

The second was a log cabin style, with each of the logs being a pieced sqaure or retangle.

I started first in the Three Sqaure and Rectangle block and chose three of the fabrics to work with, the Kona solid and two different linen spot prints.

The three squares came together really well but when I came to do the longer rectangle I realised I had made a serious error in estimating the amount of fabric I had and would need to change the design, I decided to do two retangles instead. All was going well until I got really concerned I was going to run out of the Kona solid.

In a slightly panicked state I put that block aside and made the Log Cabin block, with two if the other three linen prints (I love the little houses)and the shot cotton which came together really well.


Feeling slightly more emboldened I went back to the first block and realised, as I had feared, that there was just no way I was going to have enough of the Kona to finish the block.

I thought about using some of the fabric used in the other block to complete it but as I had made two very differnt coloured blocks I didn't want to add a new fabric for only one section of the block. So I took out my Kona colour card and held up my scraps to try to work out which colour it was with the inention of trying to buy some more to finish it. I thought it was Espresso (which turned out to be correct), and rang several LQS trying to find it. In speaking to my LQS, The Remnamt Warehouse I discovred that, while they stocked the entire range availiable in Australia this was only 100 or so fabrics and none were the Espresso. :(

I emailed Jennifer and explained the bind and she very graciously pointed out the second block was a bonus anyhow and that she would add some more to complete the block when it arrived.

So this is the mostly completed second block.

And while I really like the Log Cabin idea and execution I can't help but be disppointed with the finish of the Three Sqaure and Rectangle block. It feels terrible not being able to execute a vision and send back something half completed. But I will, with a little surprise added to the package.


Have you ever run out of something at exactly the wrong moment?