Buzzy, busy bees

It seems like all I hear about on the blogs these days are Bees! No not furry, little, buzzy things but Quilting Bees (I am constantly explaining this to non-quilty friends!).

I have recently got involved in my first Bee, the 'Quick Christmas Bee', organised by Maria of Me and Ma blog. There are only 5 of us so it is a good, quick starter for me.

I am assuming most of my readers will be familiar with the Bee concept (and if you are not please leave a comment and I will email you with an explanation) so I won't explain any further, seeing as I have only just about got my head round it myself!

The first month was Maria's turn and she wanted blocks to make an advent calender. This was a great pattern from Sew Mama Sew. All the square's are little pockets.

I was nervous about cutting up somebody else's fabric but managed the whole thing without a hitch until I realised I had made 2 x number '12' instead of a '12' and a '21'! I had to substitute some of my own fabric to make another number '21' as unpicking the zig-zag had rather done for the original fabric.

Next month it was Lynz from Domestic Light and Magic's turn. She chose these lovely wonky stars. I think one of the best bits about Bees is getting a chance to try out different techniques. From doing just a few blocks of each of these 2 projects I could easily manage the whole thing, so I feel like I have added extra skills to my CV!

So next up it is my turn and it took me a while to come up with a worthy project. The problem is the fact that this is a Christmas Bee but I am not a very 'Christmassy' person. I think working in retail has kind of ruined Christmas for me, so that instead of being excited about decorating the Christmas tree I am "oh no, not more baubles, I have enough of them at work!". Coupled with the fact that by 5pm Christmas Eve I am usually too exhausted to get 'in the mood'.
So I didn't know what to make until I realised that the curtains I am going to put up in the new spare room (still officially my son's room until he goes travelling for 10 months in 2 weeks time) are a very Christmassy green and red check. And I don't have a quilt to match. And obviously I need one!
Now scroll back up the page and take a look at my 'christmas star' block... that's what we're making this month, girls! I think it is called Ohio Star (though there seems to be some debate). I found a great tutorial on V and Co blog and have found enough suitable fabric in my stash (along with some extra from Robert Kaufman's 'sparkle all the way').
I made the trail one last night and tonight I will cut all the fabric up (gulp) and get it posted on Thursday. I am already imagining the lovely new quilt on the spare room bed and getting really excited now!

I f anybody is interested in getting involved in a Bee, Bellsjo has some great ideas about a new one to start soon. Take a look at her blog and make contact if it sounds like fun. I have already signed up!