April is my month for the quilting bee!

Hi everyone!  I'm so excited, April is my month for the on-line quilting bee I belong too.  I've never done this before, and I am very excited by the prospect of receiving quilt blocks from some fabulous quilters across the U.S. 

There have been some great blocks made so far this year.  You can check out what we've been up to here: http://www.15minutesplay.com/

There are two quilting bees going on at the same time, the one I belong two is the Scrap-Bee.  We have to use "made" fabric in our block, so unlike many quilting bees, there are no requests for any traditional type blocks, like say a log cabin block, or sawtooth star etc. 

I've had red and white quilts on the brain for some time now, and thought it might be fun to put a modern/liberated twist on a classic look.  Here's what I came up with.

Enjoy!
Mary-Frances




The final block.  Each one will be different of course, and that's part of the fun, seeing how everyone interprets the instructions for the block.




I began with a 6 1/4 inch square of phone book paper for my foundation and a pile of red scraps.




I placed my first piece of fabric on the paper (you can place it anywhere you like).




Added a second piece of fabric over it, right sides together of course...




...and sewed them together.  When I use paper as a foundation, I always change my stitch length to a smaller stitch.  It makes tearing off the paper when I'm done that much easier.




Continue adding fabric until your paper foundation is covered.  Trim off the excess fabric, using the paper as a template.




It's now time to add the white slash of fabric.  I decide where I want to cut my block, place my ruler and go for it!  Sometimes this is the hardest part because you are worried it might not turn out as you imagined it...don't worry, keep going, it will be all right in the end!




Here are my two pieces, ready to carry on...




...add your white fabric, sew to one side.




I didn't like how wide my white fabric was, so I place the other red piece on it at an angle and the sewed it together.




Voila!  Here it is, pressed, trimmed to size (it's now a 6 inch block) and ready to go.  I think I may even make a white block with a red slash just for interest and well, just to be contrary too I guess! :-)