do. Good Stitches is a modern online community that quilts for good. Over the years the bee has grown and grown, so that these days I find myself struggling to keep current with all the beautiful work being done. I'm taking up the habit of cheering for them from here, in the way of finished object posts. About once a month, I'll share some "done Good". Today, Care Circle takes the spotlight!
In February, Jodi of Tickle & Hide served as lead quilter for the Care circle. Quilter's take turns setting a vision for the monthly bee quilt, usually defining the block style, colors and block size. Jodi requested Spinning Star blocks, a free pattern from Anna Maria Horner. She wanted aqua/teal/green centers, low volume rings and orange/yellow outers, showing this sample block to inspire her team of 9 other members.
Working in a cool vs. warm color scheme is a surefire way to create unity in a quilt. For bee quilts, that's definitely a strength. Jodi was probably thinking that all shades of orange/yellow (the warm colors) would merge nicely to create the secondary cross shapes when this block is joined side by side.
Since these are 18" finished blocks, bee mates were asked to make just one.... but things didn't go all that smoothly. Unfortunately, Anna Maria's pattern does not have a 1" square on the printout, a popular pattern reference that can be measured after printing to check that things have printed the right size. Sometimes printers scale a document when printing, so whenever you print a pattern, check that the printer's settings are "no scaling" or "print at 100%", etc. All printers are different, and some default to scaling. It happens to everyone!
Props to Happy Go Lizzie who made not one, but two blocks (above) in her committment to resolve a pattern-printing size issue! Both are beautiful.
Well despite any sizing variations, miss Jodi certainly brought all those blocks together with great success! The colors feel so intense, exactly like summer. This block design reminds me of spiderweb blocks somehow. My favorite parts are those faceted yellow/orange crosses at the block edges. Just gorgeous!
Well done! Congratulations to Care host Kristy and the entire Care circle, Flickr names: QuietPlay, Daisy & Jack, Merran2011, Wooden Spoon, Happy Go Lizzie, Tickle and Hide, Lucy Fleur, Erin @ Missy Mac Creations, cat&vee and happidays77.
Care is an Australian-based circle which sends finished quilts to a variety of local charities. Currently, do. Good Stitches has circles based in Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, Europe and the United States!
p.s. If you're interested in this pattern and know how to paper piece, you might prefer to use the free paper piecing pattern linked in the discussion thread from Very Kerry Berry.
p.s.s. Learn about do. Good Stitches here. While quilts of all styles are wonderful acts of charity, this bee intends to bring together active Flickr-users who enjoy sewing with modern fabrics. To join the wait list, please use this form.