As I was saying to Heather of joy of all crafts just a little while ago at the quilt shop (Cool Cottons), I've been too long out of my routine and feel like today was my day to push the "RESET" button and get back on track.

This leaves me with a big ol' ZERO on accomplishments this past week, but a list of things I've put aside recently and am eager to get back to.

1. BABY QUILTS!!
I have 2 friends who are each expecting their second child in the next month or so, and a couple of friends who are expecting their first later this fall! Inspiration has been slim, but I am sure that will change when these little guys (or rather, girls) start arriving!

2. BEE BLOCKS
Thankfully Chris deemed July as a "catch-up" month for the Bliss Circle of do.Good Stitches, which means I'm off the hook on that one.

F+F=AMSB
Nicole asked us to have fun with some polaroid blocks. I've begun gathering some possible focus fabrics for the centers, but definitely have a few more to go, then getting the borders and settings down.

Design Camp [totb]
Leanne sent out some brilliant pinks and greens for July's block, using the Mod Mosaic tutorial from Elizabeth Hartman at Oh, Fransson. Of course, being on the off-schedule I've been on, that packet hasn't even made its way to my studio yet :-(

And it also occurred to me that next month is MY month to host Camp 2 of this improv bee. I've been gathering inspiration photos for the style of "blocks" I am aiming for in a Pinterest board, and just this week started pulling fabrics to play with.

August will be my first time hosting a bee where the host sends out fabric to the others, so this will be interesting!

There are definitely some other things I will be working on in the next couple of months, but don't know how much I'll be moving ahead until these items are ticked off the list.

Wish me luck!

Okay, so I think I ought to begin this post by saying I mean no disrespect. However, for the first time since I began doing the online bees I was presented with a block that kicked my butt!! And by that I mean it tried my patience more than I can say, and by the second one (which took me a week and a half just to decide on the fabrics) I really was chanting the "Never Again!!" mantra.

For our May blocks in the Bliss circle of do. Good Stitches Carol chose to go with a block tutorial that Elizabeth Hartman posted for the Modern Quilt Guild – Octagonal Orb Block.

Now don't get me wrong... the tutorial is EXCELLENT! Like every single one of Elizabeth's patterns I've tried out, which can be found at her blog Oh, Fransson or at Sew, Mama, Sew!, it is written impeccably, is as clear as can be and is very well organized. However, this one block just calls for too many fabrics, too many pieces, too much precise cutting, and let me just say right now that if you ask me to press my seams open in the future, I may just ignore the request. And I LOVE scrappy quilts! Perhaps if we had gone with the scrappier option of the block construction I wouldn't have had so much difficulty. Who knows.

And though I didn't mind cutting from the template, this felt SO GOOD...

But now I can say I gave it a shot, and am looking forward to packaging them up and sending them on their way (which I am sure will also please Carol). And I'll likely think a bit more about what to choose next time it's my turn as a Queen Bee.