Hi everyone! I’m Janice and I blog at Better off Thread. I was so excited when Alyce told me about the idea for the Bee Hive Series, so I got right to work figuring out a suitable block. It was not easy! I wanted to come up with a block that wasn’t too complex, and would still give the illusion of a secondary pattern even with random fabrics from various Bee members.
I give you the Wanta Fanta Block:
When you repeat the block you get a faux Orange Peel effect without sewing those blasted curves:
You could choose all one color for each block, or four different colors. It would also work with a scrappy low-volume or darker background. Here is a scrappy quilt mock-up with 30 blocks:
The X squares are paper pieced (don’t worry, it’s super-easy). If you need a primer you can check out Alyce’s paper-piecing tutorial. The PDF block pattern can be downloaded for free here.
I can’t wait to finish my entire quilt and also see what everyone else creates! I hope you Wanta Fanta too!
Alyce’s Take
I will be sewing each of the guest designer’s blocks as we go, plus sharing any tips or pointers I think of to add to the tutorial. Janice’s block may have a few smaller blocks to paper piece, but you can chain piece them to make them go even faster! Just remember to back stitch at the start and end of each seam to lock it in place before you tear the paper off.
I decided to stick with one fabric to see what it looked like when I made a collage of the block…
Oh hello, beautiful! Not only does using one fabric really emphasise the Orange Peel-ness of the block, but it shows off those pretty diamonds in the background.
You can find all the block tutorials on the original The Bee Hive post. If you’re sharing your blocks or quilts from The Bee Hive on social media, be sure to use #thebeehivequilts and @blossomheartquilts so we can find your awesome work!
If you are in a swarm for The Bee Hive, please see the quilting bee etiquette post for answers to any questions you may have. If it’s Star Plus specific regarding the block construction, please ask in the comments on this post and I will answer it here so that everyone can benefit from the question/answer.
Aileen says
that is an amazing effect! I love this pattern. Thank you so much for sharing it!
Barb N says
You’ve got a hit on your hands – love it!
Beth says
i have been enjoying and saving pretty much all of the blocks you have shared and I love and hope to use many of them. This block, and the resulting quilt is one that I really intend to make! I love the pattern it creates in both the scrappy and solo fabríc versions. Thank you so much for taking the time to develop this and share it with us!
bobbi dougherty says
newbie here. How do you do the other block? Eyeball it? measure? Sorry, I am a little overwhelmed lolol. I would love to make one of the single color ones though! Are there fabric requirements? 🙂 Thanks.
elsa says
Oh, I do love the effect this block gives ~ I’ve got May and this may be the block for me!
Thanks for the great block!
Kathleen says
What a sweet baby quilt this would make!! Thank you for sharing.
Bobbie Campbell says
Love,Love,Love this block! Had to download and go sew.A big hit for me. Thanks
Laura says
that’s a great block! I might be tempted to try that one!
Sarah says
This is a great block, and a great series. You have done a tremendous amount of work. Great job!
Susan says
This one might tempt me to paper piece! Really pretty whether scrappy or planned.
Jennifer @NeverJustJennifer says
this is a great block! Can we use it as our guilds block of the month?
Amie says
Beautiful design! Did you know AccuQuilt and Sizzix both have the die to cut out the X blocks? It’s only about $2o amd goes super fast. Love your quilt!
leanne says
as I was reading Janice’s post I was wondering what it would look like as a two colour block and hello – your two colour looks so gorgeous !!