October Bee Blocks - Quilt as you go

I could not wait to get started on our Believe Circle bee blocks for this month. Jennifer is our quilter this month and she asked for a quilt as you go design based on a tutorial over at Hey, Let's Make Stuff. The reason I was so excited is because of the color scheme. I have a hand dyed panel that was made by Anita Heady that I have been wanting to use forever, and this is the project that will make that happen.

The only thing I could ever think of to do with this gorgeous piece was to frame it as it was. But today, I got brave and cut right into it. The tutorial required lots of strips of varying sizes. I was a little nervous about being completely random so I laid them out on my block for a trial run.

The more strips I put on the piece, the more excited I got. However, this is a sew, flip, and quilt technique. One strip at a time.

After each strip was applied, I would test out the next two or three, and then have to back up and sew them to the project. The finished block is supposed to be 12 1/2 inches, but I cut my batting and backing 14 inches just to give myself some wiggle room.

Originally, the plan was to end with the blue on the outside, but I ran out of blue, and had to go back to the deep oranges and golds. I think it turned out just fine.

This block was fun and easy to do, mostly because all of the colors were on one piece of fabric. It almost feels a little like cheating.

When I look at this block, I see a flower. When my twelve year old son looked at it, he said, "Wow mom, you made a staircase into a pit of fire!" That is why it is called art, right?!

One thing I did not do is prewash my fabric. Being hand dyed, it absolutely needs to be washed. I zigzagged around the outside edge and will put it through the gentle cycle later today. Then it will be ready to square up to the 12 1/2 inch size.

Each month, bee members are supposed to make two blocks. I don't have another hand dyed piece to use, so the second block is going to require a little more stash busting before stitching can begin. There are so many gorgeous colors to choose from this month. That second block is going to wait for a couple of weeks. Inspiration will come along soon enough for the second block.

If you are interested in learning more about do. Good Stitches, check out their Flickr page.

Linking up with WIP Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced and Fabric Tuesday at Quilt Story.

Other bee posts that might interest you:
September Bee Blocks Finished
Believe Circle Quilts 2015
Raindrops - A Finished Quilt