Quilting Bee 2.0

In the days of old, women gathered together for quilting bees, helping each other to share a common experience through work and community. While there are many quilters that still gather in person for bees today, many of us, who otherwise would be kindred spirits, are separated by great distances.

Necessity is the mother of invention, hence the establishment and thriving of virtual quilting bees. Quilters from all over the country (or world for that matter) can connect with each other to work on the same quilt. It's just lovely.

Here's the deal: 12 (or so) people decide to form a group, and each person is assigned one month out of the year. When it's your month, you buy the fabric for your quilt, divide it by 12 and send it out to the other 11 members. You let them know how you want your quilt to look and what you have in mind for the finished product, and then they send the completed block(s) back to you so that you can put the quilt top together. In the end, you have an original quilt with blocks made by each person in the group. You also get to work on new techniques and with new fabrics every month to send back to your fellow quilters. Ingenious!

This year, I was invited to be a part of two virtual quilting bees, one called Block Party with these lovely ladies, and the other called A Notion or Two. Here's some catch up on my blocks so far with the fabric I've been sent.

January - made for Alissa


January - made for Amy


February - made for Amy


February - made for Ashley

Don't you love that linen in Ashley's blocks above? I've got to start thinking about the fabric I want to get for my months coming up in the summer. Can't we all just quit our jobs and sew all the live long day?!