In 2017 I participated in a quilt bee with a group on Instagram. I was asked by a friend in Illinois who put together the group from people she’d met at sewing retreats. Everyone picked a theme and set rules and parameters for their quilts.

I decided to pick something I was excited about but wouldn’t make myself, which was a forest quilt. It’s not my normal color palette and I feel like I’d never finish a quilt with a lot of foundation paper piecing.

I started my quilt with a snail from Pen and Paper Patterns and a Fancy Fox from Elizabeth Hartman.

I received the quilt top back and was absolutely blown away, it’s so much more amazing than I ever expected. Everyone made such incredible blocks and I absolutely love how it came together!

I needed to add a little bit more to make it taller, so I made some maple leaf blocks. I shrunk down this adorable Mr. Gnome pattern from Unicorn Hearts. There’s also another gnome hiding out by the mushrooms. I still had a little bit more space, so I made a feather from this free pattern.

Everyone’s quilts turned out equally fantastic, you can look at everything at #iwishicouldgotootravelingquiltbee We are doing another round in 2018 and I am super excited about these! I’ll show off my quilt for that soon too. I’m so lucky to have been apart of this group and can’t wait to see what 2018 brings!