FLIGHT OF THE BUMBLEBEE QUILTING PHOTOS

This quilt, FLIGHT OF THE BUMBLEBEE, is the 2027 Block of the Month quilt for The Quilt Show. Patterns will be released monthly FREE to Star Members of The Quilt Show. They will not be available for purchase. This alone, is reason enough to join. See the website to JOIN NOW

This is the Mountain Meadows colorway. I made the top along with Alex Anderson and this quilt belongs to Alex. She did all the applique, I did all the piecing and assembly. It was quilted by Patty Wilson of SewN2U Quilting, an extraordinarily talented longarm quilter who I am fortunate to live near.

Ta-da! The quilt is finished and Alex and I got to pose with it, together:

Here are a few more photos to inspire and encourage you to join us. Designed by Alex Anderson and Ricky Tins, this project will teach you things--it did me. There is Foundation Paper Piecing, precision piecing, Ricky's "LOCOMOTION" technique--freeform, no pins, precision curved pieing, embroidery and MORE:

The big REVEAL at my local guild 

The Back

What I did while Alex was doing all the applique sections

The completed top ready to take to Patty Wilson, longarmer extraordinaire

This is the FIRST one of these quilts ever made. During the year, I will be assisting Ricky and Alex as a co-teacher as I make another one--the OCEAN WAVES colorway that will belong to me.  I will also answer all your questions on the Community Forum. And if you are local, I will teach a demo class every other month at Barb's Sewing Center for those who like a little personal "hand holding". 

In the next two months look for several posts from me and Newsletter information from The Quilt Show on how to prepare for this year-long learning experience. Those who pre-ordered the Kits several months ago will receive them. Tools and notions to help you be successful will be available and it all leads up to the starting date: January 1, 2027. I hope you will join us in this worldwide quilting community effort of learning and fun!

Let's Quilt!

Barbara

GAME ON! MONTH 10

Game On! is the 2026 Block of the Month quilt designed by Becky Goldsmith exclusively for THE QUILT SHOW: find Game On! information here. Join as a Star Member to get all the patterns and all the videos FREE. Membership is just $49/year and provides access to almost 20 years of shows and tremendous additional content. Join HERE

This month we make the RIGHT LARGER BORDER: 

This pattern is very similar to Month 7, a 3" border, except there are TWO SMALL TRIANGLES in each unit and it takes 4 units to make the full block:

Becky provides excellent pattern instructions, including how to press correctly. And her videos walk you through everything. Take the time to watch. 

For my SOLID Kit, I substituted Sky Teal for the Dusty Teal as I was low on that fabric. Those who bought the Solid Kit have received additional Dusty Teal for Month 10. The kit has enough Dusty Teal for Month 11 so only use the additional fabric for Month 10:

My Sky Teal choice vs, the Dusty Teal

This is a simple block that is actually 4 simple units. Looking at simple units and how you can combine them into larger blocks will give you new ideas. 

Next month we make the BOTTOM LARGER BORDER. There are no papers to print for that one. Once it is done, your center will have grown substantially since we finished Month 7. 

Be sure to share your progress on the FORUM.

Let's quilt.

Barbara

2027 LOCAL CLASSES

As I have cut back travel a little, I have more time to teach a few local classes and do a few special events. Here is the 2027 schedule so far:

January 21, 2027  Heritage Quilters of Huntsville. Faith Presbyterian Church, 6:30 pm. Heritage Quilters of Huntsville  

I am the guest speaker. "MY JOYFUL JOURNEY--LET'S MAKE BETTER QUILTS". I was asked to talk about how I got to where I am today as a speaker/teacher who travels all over for quilting. But expect the emphasis to be on how we can all make better quilts. PowerPoint presentation and a few "rarely leave the house" quilts will be on display. 

January 23, 2027 Workshop: Oh My Stars!  ,  9-4, HERITAGE QUILTERS of HUNTSVILLE               Registration for HQH members through December. Non-members may be able to register after that         date if space is available.

Class Sample 34" square

Queen Size Project from the pattern

2027 Block of the Month FLIGHT OF THE BUMBLEBEE Demo Class,  Saturday 10 am-noon,  January 9, March 13, May 8, July 10, September 11,  AND November 13, 2027:  Barb's Sewing Center

Each meeting we will discuss two months of instructions. I will demo-sew to walk you through this ambitious quilt that will teach you a LOT! 12 hours of class time.

You must be a Star Member of The Quilt Show which will allow you access to the monthly patterns for FREE. The patterns cannot be purchased separately. Use your own fabrics--I will help you select them--if you did not pre-order one of the two colorways of the Kit. The quilt is 84" square: 

January 29, 2027 Papaw's Choice, True Southern Charm Quilting   

Learn to make this versatile yet easy block then play with a variety of design possibilities. Sample is 72” square before borders. It is easy to make this quilt any size you want. Let me show you how. Pattern Design by Ricky Tims who has given me permission to teach it to you!

February 12, March 12, April 9, May 14, 2027  MY FAVORITE THINGS.    True Southern Charm Quilting 

Learn how to make my favorite blocks in this comprehensive 4 month fun and educational class. So many tips and tricks will be taught--increase your quilting skills as you make several smaller quilts OR combine ALL the individual blocks into one complete bed-size quilt, a totally original design, your choice. Yours does not have look like mine. Twenty two hours of class time and a month in between each class gives you lots of time to be successful.

You will learn things that improve your quiltmaking journey going forward. My Sample is 65” x 76” but can easily be enlarged--I will teach you how:

There may be another class or two later in the year. Let me know what you want to learn and I'll try to make that happen. 

This gives my local friends a chance to take classes without having to travel. And for friends around the country to travel here. Ask me for the hotel recommendation if you are coming from out of town. 

Let's quilt. 

Barbara

PRODUCTION MODE

 So far this month I have completed 4 quilt tops and the month is not half over. Deadlines have a way of forcing production.

LUCKY STARS got off to a good start. I wrote about this project before: NEW HANDWORK PROJECT and LUCKY STARS PROGRESS. But I just wasn't feeling this quilt.  I LOVE swapping fabrics with my Sunday Sew and Sew friends. That continues. So, after making 4  blocks I called it  "DONE".

Here is the completed wallhanging top:

LUCKY STARS, 35" square

As soon as the 2027 Block of the Month quilt top FLIGHT OF THE BUMBLEBEE was completed, I took it to longarm quilter extraordinaire Patty Wilson. She is working on it right now and I will have it back soon. Here it is again, 84" square:

Then it was time to complete two new WORKSHOP SAMPLES for a wonderful Caribbean Cruise March 17-26, 2028. Yes, a year and a half from now. We have to work well in advance. The cruise is through the American Quilters Society (AQS) Registration won't open for at least a few months. Their website in that link lists other cruises so you can get an idea how it works. Holland America is the cruise line and I am excited to try them. The ship has less than 2000 passengers, a nice change from the 7000 passenger cruises I have done lately. Save the date and start saving your pennies, we will have a fantastic time!

UPDATE: This is the FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT about this cruise. You can see the instructors, the itinerary and the prices. The  Workshops will be announced shortly when official REGISTRATION opens. PLAN NOW TO JOIN US:

AQS Southern Caribbean Cruise 2028

Here are my two WORKSHOP SAMPLES. There will be optional KITS for those who want to order them or you can bring your own fabric. Each of these is a Two-Day class, while we are at sea:

LONE STAR AT SEA, 25" square

TROPICAL ROSE STAR, 28" x 32" 

Now I have to do all the paperwork. And I will make two additional samples before this year is out so I can have two quilted/finished samples and two that are just tops. You can learn a lot from seeing the back of a quilt top.

Then it's time to start packing for the FALL RETREAT in Livermore, CA--I head west September 27 for a week of fun AND teaching two great classes. 

Let's quilt.

Barbara

What a Week!

The 2027 Block of the Month quilt for The Quilt Show was announced in May 2026 and there has been much "BUZZ" about it: Flight of the Bumblebee. Designed by Ricky Tims and Alex Anderson, it will be taught by the three of us beginning in January 2027. Here are the mockups people where shown:

The hand-dyed fabrics from Bali, Indonesia are being made right now. Pre-orders of the Fabric Kits were only available until May 31, 2026 so a final count could be made for production. There was a LOT of interest.

My job is to test the pattern by making Alex's quilt top in the Mountain Meadows colorway, and then provide additional instruction and support throughout next year to all those around the world who will be making this quilt. I will be making another one of these, for myself this time, in the Ocean Waves colorway. Mine will be a little different--I have a few ideas to make it my own. Stay tuned.

I spent much of April and May making all the pieced sections. I estimate about 60 plus hours went into them. And I learned things!

August 28 I received all the applique sections from Alex Anderson. It was time to add them to all the pieced sections I made and get the top complete. 

The decision was made to have Patty Wilson, a local longarm quilter extraordinaire, quilt it before I fly it to California September 27. That's a big deal and Patty was gracious enough to fit this big job into her schedule.

From Friday until Tuesday I spent 30 hours completing the top. There was some additional applique and embroidery to complete after the sections were joined--they go over the seams in the Flower Garden backgrounds. 

I got it done, in less time than expected but I was TIRED when it was done. Patty has it now and will work her magic to make it spectacular!

Just a few photos to inspire you. After the quilting there will be many more photos: 

Ta-da! The top is done!  84" square

Once done, I thought, "Wow, I have an extra two weeks now to get ready for the week long teaching trip in California."

That same night I got the email I have been hoping for: I will be teaching for AQS, the American Quilters Society, on one of their fabulous SEAM quilt cruises. March 17-26, 2028. Sailing the Southern Caribbean, to four ports I haven't been to yet. Holland America is a new-to-me cruise line, so that is exciting too.

Lots more information to come--this is just a HEADS UP--SAVE YOUR MONEY---you are going to WANT to JOIN US! Registration won't open for a while yet--so just get ready.

What that means for me is that these next two weeks will be spent making brand new samples, writing Supply Lists and pattern instructions--all the things it takes to teach for amazing quilters like you.

Let's quilt!

Barbara

GAME ON! MONTH 9

Game On! is the 2026 Block of the Month quilt designed by Becky Goldsmith exclusively for THE QUILT SHOW: find Game On! information here. Join as a Star Member to get all the patterns and all the videos FREE. Membership is just $49/year and provides access to almost 20 years of shows and tremendous additional content. Join HERE

This month we make the TOP LARGER BORDER:

There are NO PAPERS TO PRINT.  So if you're not a fan of paper piecing this month is for you.

As always, watch the VIDEOS and read the PATTERN. Becky has great photos of how to make the blocks and how to press so the seams nest. 

Becky encourages everyone to make the quilt your own. Feel free to use other PRINT Kit fabrics if you like. For the SOLID Kit I followed the pattern:

I carefully trim my blocks, always measuring from the center out. Half of 6.5" is 3.25" so that is where I start. The 3.25" mark is placed at the intersections of the center square:

As I join these 6" blocks into pairs, I check that each pair measures 12.5", Then those are joined I check again. If my seam allowance is off a little I want to find it as soon as it happens, not after the long border is not the size it needs to be. The little time this takes saves me lots of time if my border is too long. And I KNOW, if I don't check, it WILL be too long. 

You will also be adding the CORNER BLOCKS made in months 4-7 to this long border. Feel free to put whichever 2 Corner Blocks you want on this top border. The other 2 will be added to the bottom border we make in Month 11. There are sashing strips to add to each corner block before adding those blocks to the border. Follow the directions!

                                                

Next month we make the RIGHT LARGER BORDER and we will use printed papers for that.

We love to see your progress so please post photos on the FORUM!

Let's quilt. 

Barbara

DISAPPEARING NINE PATCH

 What to do with LEFTOVERS? Once I completed Game On! from the PRINTS KIT, a lot of fabric remained. 

Rather than put it in the closet with all its' friends, I cut a bunch of 5" squares and made a DISAPPEARING NINE PATCH QUILT. This is a very easy way to make a baby quilt or a charity quilt, fast, easy, interesting, a great use of 5" squares.

This is 39" square and will be used as a baby quilt the next time I need to give one of those to someone. Here it is, basted and ready to quilt:

There are many online videos/tutorials for this simple block. Here are the steps I used:

1. Cut a lot of 5" squares in various colors, light, medium and dark. Since I wanted 9 blocks, I cut 81 squares, 5" each.

2. Arrange 9 of them into a 9 Patch, being sure there is contrast among the fabrics. The four corners will remain whole, use your favorites in that position. The center will become 4 small squares, use something that cuts up well there. OR use the SAME FABRIC in the center of ALL your blocks--this provides continuity. The fabrics at North, East, South and West will become Rectangles.

3. Sew into a big 9 Patch. I pressed the top and bottom row to the left, the middle row to the right, so the seams nest with each other. That is my personal preference. Do as you please.

4. Cut into 4 quarters, placing the 2.25" line on the ruler on the seam that joins the first row to the middle row. Turn the two halves and repeat, to create 4 squares:

5. Play with a variety of block layouts to find your favorite. Sew into a FOUR PATCH:

Option 1

Option 2

6. Lay out all the blocks, I made 9 of them, to create a fun quilt top. Warning: you WILL rearrange them a lot before deciding which layout you prefer. It really doesn't matter:

On the table as I arranged and rearranged them

Final arrangement--can you FIND the block I used above for this demo?

Once you decide on the FINAL Layout: TAKE A PICTURE! You think you'll remember, you think you won't get something turned upside down but you will...

Because mine is 39" square, I won't add a border so the back can be made from one fabric, 1.25 yards. No piecing of the back is necessary.

One of my most popular WORKSHOPS in recent years is DISAPPEARING PATCHWORK. It's a little more complicated because we first make pinwheel blocks. I challenged myself to make a quilt in all NEUTRALS, it wasn't easy, but I am very satisfied with this. And it has been a really popular workshop:

Workshop Sample: DISAPPEARING PATCHWORK

At this point, I want to USE MY FABRIC, not store it, so this was a good way to use some of the leftovers from Game On! and have a baby quilt ready to go. It also makes a great quilt to practice MACHINE QUILTING on. 

I will show that when it's done.

Let's quilt.

Barbara