Bee In My Bonnet

Monday, September 29, 2025

Honey Bee Garden Sew Along - WEEK ONE!

Welcome to week one of the

HONEY BEE GARDEN SEW ALONG

I'm sew excited to get started!!
CLICK HERE
to download the free sew along guide
for this quilt.
CLICK HERE
to read my Bee Prepared blog post
and find out how my sew along works!

We are making the

Honey Bee Garden Quilt

which finishes at

72" x 86"

To make the appliqué blocks,

we will be using my

Sew Simple Shapes called of course...

Honey Bee Garden!

The collection that we are using

for the quilt is...

GENTLER TIMES

Today we are making the

Flower Blocks 1 thru 4

I have a video on my YouTube Channel

about making the flowers, so please

click on the following link to watch.

CLICK HERE

And pretty please with a cherry on top

leave me a comment

and also a like on my video

because it helps me to be able to

get my tutorials out to everyone

who would like to view them!

Flower Block #1

Flower Block #2

Flower Block #3

Flower Block #4

Now that I have shown you

how to make the shapes and how to

prepare them for applique...

I want to be sure to help you

during the layout process by

showing you the blocks under the

Trim-It Ruler:)

Seeing all of the lines

from the center out going both ways

is very helpful:)

Have fun planting your first four

Honey Bee Garden Flowers!

I talked about the flying geese
for the pieced borders in my video
and said that I would be showing
how I make them four at a time.
There are several methods to
make these little cuties and of course
"you are the boss of your own quilt"
so it's totally fine for you to
feel free to use your favorite!

My advice is that whatever way you choose
to make yours, always make sure that you do
a test block or two and that will
help you to decide.

This is something that I always do
and it has served me well:)

Okay...here we go!
I use a mechanical pencil and my
Marking Ruler to draw two lines
(both sides of the ruler)
onto the background squares...

Use the center line on the ruler to
center from point to point and draw...

Like this!
These are your sewing lines.
Make sure that the corners and sides of
all 3 fabrics are lined up correctly:)

Sew on the line or just a
scant or needle width inside the the line.
If you sew outside the lines your
little geese may be too small.
It's always better to be
a little larger and trim down.
Speaking of that,
You could always cut your fabric pieces
a bit larger and trim them down for accuracy.

Okay...with that being said,
back to the sewing!
Cut apart in the middle
of your two sewn lines,

And press towards the background
just like this.
They look like little hearts!

Place the next two background squares
lining up the corners and side seams...

and use the ruler again for
marking those two sewing lines.
Sew on the lines again...

And cut apart...

Press towards the background triangles.

Now for the trim up!
I use my 2 1/2" Trim -It Ruler.
You will need to trim each one to measure
1 1/2" x 2 1/2"

Make sure that you are leaving a
1/4" seam above the point of the triangle
so that you don't sew into the points
when you sew the borders.

All trimmed up and super cute:)

You don't need to sew yours together yet
but I sewed some of mine together
so that I could show you that
I press my seams open.

I use my Quilty Water Brush and
apply water onto the
bulkiest part of the seam
where all of my fabric seams meet up
(where my finger is pointing)

And then press and use the clapper.
Now my seams lie super flat...yay!!!

You can choose to make all of your geese
at the end of the sew along
after all of your applique id complete,
but I wanted to talk about it during
week one for the simple reason that
when I'm making a quilt and there is
a lot of border piecing to do,
I like to do some of it each week
so that I can get a little ahead
and I thought you may want to do the same.

Thanks so much for joining me
for week one...I'm sew excited
that we have started to make
our Honey Bee Garden Quilt together:)

I'll join you right back here next week
and we will continue our gardening!!

Lori

Other Places to find me:
@Beelori1 Instagram
Lori Holt/YouTube

Sunday, September 7, 2025

Honey Bee Garden Sew Along - BEE PREPARED!!

Welcome Quilty friends!!

Today is the day for the

"Bee Prepared"

post that I do in preparation for my

new fabric collections!

This is the point to start gathering

your supplies for the sew along:)

YaY!

This Bee Prepared post is for the

HONEY BEE GARDEN SEW ALONG

and I'm so excited for it to start!

We will be making the

Honey Bee Garden Quilt

which finishes at

72" x 86"

It consists of pieced flying geese

and squares for the borders.

a large beehive and honey bee block

in the center, surrounded by

22 appliquéd flower blocks!

To make the appliqué blocks,

we will be using my

Sew Simple Shapes called of course...

Honey Bee Garden!

The collection that we are using

for the quilt is...

GENTLER TIMES!!

Gentler Times was designed by me...

and produced and distributed

to quilt shops everywhere

by the amazing

Riley Blake Designs

If you would like to know everything about

Gentler Times

CLICK HERE

to view the entire storyboard...

to see all of the fabrics close up

and to view the notions and ALL of

the patterns that coordinate with it:)

While we are talking fabric...

a note about pre-washing.

This is a personal choice and up to you.

I do NOT prewash my fabrics.

I did used to years ago

but now we have such nice

quality fabric available to us

I do not find it necessary.

So let's chat about the

HONEY BEE GARDEN

Quilt Fabric Kit.

Several shops are stocking the kit...

both brick and mortar shops

as well as online quilt shops.

The fabric and notions as well

have already shipped

to quilt shops everywhere

and will continue to ship as

each new item arrives at the warehouse!

So of course if you have not

already pre-ordered

your fabric kit and need one...

it is not too late at all!

The sew along is beginning soon

but when I say "BEGIN"

that just means it's when I begin

to do the weekly tutorials.

As always...

everyone sews at their own speed,

at their own time and so it simply

does not matter when you start.

Do what makes you happy

and do what works for you...

because I always keep

each and every tutorial right here

on my blog and it never goes away.

The schedule is NOT to keep

YOU

on a deadline or stress you out ...

it is simply the schedule for

to do my tutorials.

If you will look at my sew alongs that way

hopefully that relieves any stress.

Sewing is FUN and should stay that way!

And if you are just deciding to join in

Just do a quick google search of

"HONEY BEE GARDEN Quilt Fabric Kit"

to find one...

google is your best friend lol...

easy peasy!!

And speaking of sewing...

like I always say...

you do not need a

fancy shmancy sewing machine

to make the applique shapes

or to piece the quilt blocks.

Just a good straight stitching

machine is all you need...

at just a bit shorter than

regular stitch length.

It really is a matter of

personal preference and what works

best for you but I would suggest

doing a smaller stitch

rather than larger.

As usual...

I am using one of my vintage

Singer Featherweight machines

for making this quilt.

With that being said...

now let's talk more about

the quilt and the supplies!

The following are supplies I'll be using

to make my blocks...

Very handy and helpful when cutting my

pieced blocks especially are my

Sew Handy Stickers

Of course you will need good scissors

 and a good rotary cutter.

For pressing I use my 

Quick Press Seam Roller 

and a good iron.

I always use a vintage iron 

which I tell you all about on my

 YouTube channel

CLICK HERE

but of course you don't have to 

use a vintage iron but if you are

 interested you may find my video helpful.

***TAKE NOTE***

I have since added a very important tool 

to my list when sewing quilt blocks.

 My new Quilter's Water Brush keeps

 my seam allowances very flat 

at the intersections after simply 

applying water to them and pressing!

It's a very simple step but makes

 such a difference and has been

 a game changer for me:)

Also...for marking and trimming 

segments during

 the piecing process I use my 

 SMALL Cute Cuts Cutting Mat...

my Marking Rulers and my

Busy Bee Mechanical Pencils.

These are the sizes of the 

Cute Cuts Trim-It Rulers that 

I'll be using to make blocks in this quilt.

2 1/2" - 4 1/2" - 8 1/2" - 20 1/2"

And also my new size

8 1/2" x 10 1/2"

The Trim-It Rulers are the ones with

 the aqua 1/4" around all 4 edges.

 I use my Cute Cuts Trim-It Rulers 

EVERY time I piece quilt blocks... 

As well as for laying out applique blocks.

Besides my Trim-It Rulers 
for laying out and trimming blocks...
You will need cutting rulers and 
of course a cutting mat
 to cut out your fabric pieces for each block.
I have a variety of Cute Cuts Rulers 
in 3 different colors and shapes and sizes
and the same goes for my cutting mats.
I have a big variety for cutting and of 
course to make your sewing room look cute!

These rulers are the ones that I use
 to cut all of my fabrics for everything...
including all of my pieced quilt blocks.

I have designed several sets of Washi tape

to use and so I have several to choose from.

Here you can see my new Gentler Times set:)

I use it every day to

temporarily tape my

Seams Sew Easy Guide

onto my sewing machine.

I use my SEAMS SEW EASY GUIDE

for piecing all of my blocks.

It is an accurate 1/4" seam allowance

essential for me and also

essential for me when sewing

Easy Corner triangles

which we are doing for this quilt.

Also on another note...

for those of you who may not know

what washi tape is...

it was developed for paper crafting

and packaging but I also use it

for sewing and quilting!

Just think of it as cute

miniature painters tape.

It has a low adhesive so that it

can hold temporarily and can be

easily peeled off without leaving

residue on fabric or your sewing machine.

You will also need
Bee in my Bonnet Sew-In Interfacing
for the applique blocks...

And for piecing the blocks and appliqué
you will need
Bee in my Bonnet Design Boards.
Here are the new Gentler Times!!

In addition to the
Design Boards when laying out
and basting onto the background
I will be using:

Sue Daley Glue

Clover Point to Point Turner
for shaping appliques

Bee in my Bonnet Pretty Pins
(applique set)

Bee in my Bonnet
Flower Power Pin Holder

Bee Vintage Measuring Tape

Now let's talk thread for applique!

Also...
Here are the Clover Bias Tape Makers
in my jar...but the 1/4"
is on the mat and is the one that
you will need for this quilt.

You can watch any of my week one
in any of my sew along videos
if you have not seen how I
prepare my bias strips for applique.

This is my collection
of thread for Aurifil called
HONEY BEE ESSENTIALS

It has 32 - 50 wt and 13 - 80 wt
100% quality cotton spools...
both of which I use for
either machine or hand applique.
Either method will work
for the appliqués in this quilt.
CLICK HERE
to watch my video on BOTH methods.
I also use 50 wt. when piecing blocks.

I always match my thread colors
with my applique pieces...
so you will for sure find a color
within this set to use with all
of the Americana
prints we will be using.

If you are going to hand applique
there is sure to be a needle
that you will love in my needle card.

Here is a photo of my NIFTY NEEDLES...
they come in a card with several
of each different kind...
and also come in
individual needle tubes as well.

There are 6 different kinds
for all stitching tasks...
shown in the tubes are
Embroidery...hand sewing...
applique and binding.

You can also use the sewing needles
in one of the smaller sizes
if the applique needles are
too small for you.

It's really a personal preference...
they all work just as well and
there are several sizes
to choose from within each tube.

I will also definitely be using my
STITCHY READERS
I use several strengths of magnification
depending on the task.
Each color is a different magnification:)
I could not do what I do without them!

Okay...for right now just a
few words about the sew along guide.

There is no pattern to purchase...

because basically the

HONEY BEE GARDEN SEW ALONG GUIDE

AND

My weekly tutorials

are the cutting and then the

instructions for each

of the blocks

are shown weekly HERE

on my blog with the exception

for week one which will be

on my YouTube channel as

a video tutorial.

CLICK HERE

to download the free sew along guide

for this quilt.

My new fabric collection Sew Alongs

always take place here on my blog.

For this sew along each tutorial

will be on Monday's!

In the guide you will have

the schedule of blocks

we will be doing each week

during the sew along.

Also in the guide you will find

fabric requirements for the quilt...

And notion requirements for the quilt

as well as suggested notions

that I use when making mine.

You will also find several pages of

instructions for cutting each and every

piece of fabric in your kit...

And for cutting all of the

Sew-in-Interfacing

for each of the appliqués.

Towards the end of the guide you will

find cutting and fabric placement

for ALL of the

pieced border blocks...

AND...

the cutting for EACH

individual applique block as well.

YaY!!!

I hope you enjoy the guide and all

that it brings to this sew along.

All of this is very helpful information

compiled for your use and convenience

to help you to "Bee Prepared"

and stay organized throughout:)

You can cut ahead of time

if you would like to

and make individual block kits for

your quilt and have them all

ready to go for each tutorial!

After all the block tutorials

are completed and you are ready

to sew your blocks together...

You will find the diagram of the

blocks and the pieced border

along with border cutting and diagrams

for when it is

time for you to finish your quilt

and sew it all together!

And as always there is a page

for "Notes" so that you can

jot anything down from my blog posts

or video tutorial

during the sew along.

I recommend using these pages to

write down the tips

that I will be giving you during

the tutorials for each block:)

You can print as many

note pages as you would like

to take as many notes as you want

so you could print a page for

each block if you wanted...

that would be VERY handy!

Again...

For the first week I will do a

video tutorial...

and I'll be doing that tutorial on my

YouTube Channel

I'll of course also be posting

here on my blog as well

and will have a link to my

YouTube video here for you

on my week one blog post.

***NOTE***

Quite a while ago blogger changed their

format and ever since then

I have not been able

to put a button on my blog

for you to get email notifications

or to follow me here.

But...

just simply bookmark my blog page

or even better...

remember that google is your

best friend and all you have to do

is type in the name of my blog

or the name of my sew along

and it will bring you right here!

I have been using my blog exclusively

for my sew alongs for several years now

except for the week one video.

I like to be able to write everything

down here for you such as the pieced

block details and applique info needed

but I also like the visual of

actually showing you how I do my methods.

That's why I do a video

on my YouTube Channel.

Using both my blog and my channel

for these sew alongs is a perfect pair!

I do many other tutorials

on my channel as well.

So...If you would like to know

what I am up to on a regular basis...

check out my videos on my

YouTube channel.

There I talk about what I've been doing

and new things happening:)

If you are new to my Sew Alongs...

I suggest that you watch a few

of my previous week one video tutorials

because I know that

they will help a you a lot!!

CLICK HERE

to watch week one tutorial for

Chicken Salad Sew Along

CLICK HERE

to watch my week one tutorial for

My Happy Place Sew Along

CLICK HERE