Featured Bee Member: Brioni of flossyblossy

It's time for another Featured Bee Member.  This week I talked to Brioni (flickr: flossyblossy |  blog: flossyblossy) and ohmygosh guys, if you haven't met her yet - get prepared to be blown away.  This girl does SO much in the Virtual Quilting Bee community.  I adore her blog, too, because I get to hear her say things like "poor bugger", "multi story car park" and "nip over" since she's from the UK.  What is it about us Americans being obsessed by all things English?!

Again I asked her some questions which she so graciously answered, and also sprinkled some of her bee blocks throughout. For some serious eye candy visit her Flickr set of all her bee blocks!

How did you first hear about and how long have you been involved in Virtual Quilting Bees?

I think the first one i became involved with was the Quilt Around the World Bee. It is a round robin involving 24 people scattered around the world – UK, US, Brazil, The Netherlands and Australia. I can’t even remember where i heard about it but it started in May last year. Finished quilts are arriving at their new homes as we speak and i think i have 2 blocks left to make. I have been involved in Virtual Bees since i found you lovely lot on Flickr just over a year ago!

What bees are you involved in?

I am involved in:
Quilt Around the World
Quilt Around the World - Christmas
The Euro Bee
Eurovision quilters
Busy Bees
Bee Addicted 3
A Spider Bee

Quilt Around the World finishes soon, and i have 3 finishing in September and one in December so that will lighten the load a bit. Well....that’s until i sign up for another couple - as i just can't resist.

Pick one of your most favourite blocks that you've made in the past for a bee - a block that you had a particularly hard time sending back to its owner because you loved it so much:

I think it has to be this one i made for Dallas for her month of Eurovision Quilters Bee :

The brief was to make a block to represent where you live or where you dream of living. This looks like the row of houses i live in (but obviously they are not multi-coloured!). This was a block that i knew instantly what i wanted to make and it came up exactly how i wanted it to.

What type of blocks / themes are you thinking about for your next turn in one of your bees?

Busy Bees is the only one that i haven’t had my month yet.
This bee is a real dream Bee and is full of really talented and inspirational people and i am trying to come up with something that is what i want, but without stifling everyone creativity. I am thinking about asking for mini houses but with a slight twist, but am also leaning towards circle trees. I have until September to decide so i suspect I’ll change my mind a few times.

Pick one block from the QBB Flickr group that you're loving at this moment and tell us why:

I can only choose 1????
If i can only choose 1 then i guess it is this one:

(block made by Sara for Buzz Cuts)

My current obsessions are both blocks made with tiny tiny pieces, and dots of any kind. This ticks all the boxes.
I am desperate to make a quilt like this but I am trying to be strong and resist until i get my WIP list down.

What takes up your time, outside of sewing?

Work! I work full time and that takes 9 ½ hours out of my day. If I then deduct sleeping time and time i need to eat, that only leaves about 2 ½ hours a day for sewing.
I do suck a bit of that time back though by taking the train to work and working on a hand stitched project, but it’s still never enough! I am counting on winning the lottery pretty soon so i can stay home and sew all day every day!

----------

Are you an active member in the Virtual Quilting Bee community and want me to feature you on Quilting Bee Blocks .com?  Email me - I'd love to hear from you! Don't be shy :]

Read more...

Featured Bee Member: Jessica of Give it a Go

I'm excited to introduce a new series here on Quilting Bee Blocks - Featured Bee Member. With over 650 members in our Flickr group, most of whom are active in Virtual Quilting Bees, I thought it was about time to start learning a little bit about each other and the different bees we all participate in.

Help me welcome Jessica! (flickr: give.it.a.go | blog: Just Give it a Go)  I first met Jessica when I fell in love with the flying geese block she made for one of her bees and asked her if I could use it in the header I was making for this Quilting Bee Blocks blog.  She was very gracious and said of course!  Since then, she's been a big supporter of our blog and is an active member of the Virtual Quilting Bee community - is even a Bee Mama to a few bees!

I asked Jessica a few questions - here's what she had to say, and I've sprinkled some of her beautiful blocks throughout her interview for some eye candy.  :]

How did you first hear about Virtual Quilting Bees's? I first heard of VQBs through various blogs, but they were always very mysterious to me...I couldn't figure out how to get connected with people of similar interests. I have been sewing for a long time but was just getting started with quilting. Then Alissa from Handmade by Alissa announced that the Block Party VQB was going to be expanded into a book, and the flickr group formed...and that's where I first found other people who, like me, were interested in doing a bee but didn't know how to connect with each other.

What Bees are you involved in? I actually started my first bee (The Bee's Knees--I actually made that flying geese block that's on your blog header for that bee), then joined another (A Spider Bee) through someone I met there. I eventually found the 3x6 mini bee through your flickr group, and then started another bee focusing on Gwen Marston's Liberated Quiltmaking style--Bee Liberated. I think it's really interesting how blogs & flickr work together to facilitate the quilting community that I'd read about but couldn't find...each one serving an important purpose that the other doesn't fulfill.

What types of blocks / themes are you thinking about for your next turn in one of your bees? For my turn in Bee Liberated, I'm planning on asking for liberated log cabins with lots of curves and pieced sections, all the same size in one dimension but varied in the other. I'm debating whether to use a rainbow of solids or stick to all grays or all blues with little bursts of brighter colors...I have a month or so to decide on that.

Pick one block from the QBB Flickr group that you're loving at this moment, and tell us why. A block I'm loving right now (and it was so hard to narrow it down to just one!) is this one--which I guess sort of reminds me of the blocks I'm planning to ask for in my own bee! I really love the crisp neutrals with the pops of color and print, and the sort of balanced asymetry (an oxymoron, I know!) works really well. I'm also so in love with pieced sections of blocks--that one strip that uses both the khaki and white makes the block for me. Finally, it sort of exemplifies the direction I'm starting to move in with my own quilting. When I first discovered modern fabrics, I loved all the bright prints out there to the exclusion of everything else. Now I'm realizing how beautiful solid quilts are.

block made by Flaun for Sewn Together

What takes up your time outside of sewing? I'm delighted to be at home full time with my almost-four-year-old son--he definitely keeps me on my toes! Outside of sewing, I enjoy other craftiness (mainly knitting), cooking & baking, and books with next-to-no literary value (a welcome break after majoring in and teaching English until I left my job when my son was born). I'm also active in a local volunteer group.

----------

Are you an active member in the Virtual Quilting Bee community and want me to feature you on Quilting Bee Blocks .com?  Email me - I'd love to hear from you!

Read more...