Making Katie Jump

So,  I’m still on the path to finishing up some of my bee quilts.  I have entirely too many as mentioned before because I was in a ridiculous number of bees the past year.  And to think that I had to leave at least three of them because I was so overwhelmed (don’t worry, I did it the right way!).  I would have even more quilts to make!!

And the one I am tackling next is my quilt made from blocks from my Busy Bees group.  A year ago I sent out some khaki Kona and a whole bunch of katie jump rope fabric.  My instructions:  make a 12.5″ block with one word as inspiration, triangle.

What I received:  Some of the most beautiful blocks I’ve ever had the pleasure of owning!  Each one is as unique as the person who made it.  And there were some pretty fabulous people who made blocks for me.  This was my first “dream bee”.  I started it because I had lofty aspirations of working with some of the people that I most admired around the quilting world.  And to my surprise, I had quickly acquired a group of really impressive women.  Still surprises me…they weren’t there because of me.  Trust me.  People came for each other!  And I’m so grateful that they did.

But I’ve been baffled with what to do with the blocks ever since.

Making Katie Jump

I think in an odd way I’ve been intimidated to do something with them because I want to make sure I make a quilt worthy of all the people who contributed to it. I don’t know why I get these hang-ups. I also wasn’t totally confident in my idea for the quilt and the fabrics I chose. I usually have a really strong vision for a quilt before I start (makes sense, right?), but with this quilt, I just sent the fabric and relied on the creativity of the group to help make the blocks work.

Making Katie Jump

But ask 12 different people to make a block with the same fabrics and same inspiration and you get A LOT of variance in the result. Fabulous…but different. So my quest became how to work all of the blocks into the same quilt.

Making Katie Jump

And a huge part of that was contingent on finding the right background fabric. I had this obsession with making this an all “katie jump rope” quilt. But you know what? Those prints are all really busy. And I just couldn’t see one acting as the background. I thought that you would totally lose the beauty of the blocks. So it took me a year to figure out that it would be okay to add a fabric that is not part of the line. Phew! I’m a little slow sometimes. But I love the fabric I chose.

Making Katie Jump

And I’m attempting to be different, so I am grouping some of the blocks together in clusters. I’m still experimenting with the layout, but here is a general idea.

Making Katie Jump

There are some sets of four blocks and a few single ones. I also plan on throwing in some smaller squares of just the KJR fabrics framed out in the Kona Snow.

Making Katie Jump

I’ll leave you with a pic of my absolute favorite block. I know that you’re not supposed to say one is your favorite, but it’s been a year and I feel okay doing it. 😉 Plus I love plenty of things that these ladies have made over the year…this just happens to be the favorite one of MY quilt. And it just so happens that it is made by my lovely friend Lynne.

Making Katie Jump

I’m thinking of giving this one to my nephew who is headed off to college in the fall. Is it boy-friendly enough?

10 thoughts on “Making Katie Jump”

  1. Shoot! I was just thinking if you didn't know what to do with those blocks you could send them to me. They are gorgeous! Then I read the penultimate sentence in your post. Sigh. Lucky nephew! Should I say that it ISN'T boy-friendly…?

  2. I love the plan you have, and the white frames is a great idea. I know my boys and my nephew would all love this quilt, so I say yes, boy friendly and one spectacular present, you will be a favourite aunt.

  3. Wow, the blocks are gorgeous! I love your plan for the layout, I think that blocks of fabric with the white border will really add something to it. I think I'm alone in my dissent though as I would have thought it was too flowery for a boy…

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