For the first block of the Kansas City Modern Quilt Guild Scrappy Bee 3×6 round two, I decided upon a large wonky star. Scroll down for the sizes of the pieces needed to make a 13″ unfinished (12.5″ finished) block, and to read how a 3×6 bee is organized. There are seven blocks for month one.

Elizabeth requested all wonky star blocks using
Kona Snow she provided as the background fabric.

Mary requested blocks using a purple batik focus fabric
she provided, along with other purple, blue and green fabrics.

Lesley requested blocks using low volume fabrics.

Toni requested blocks using orange and cream fabrics.

Nikki requested blocks using only solid fabrics in any color.

Nikki is making a Quilt of Valor quilt and requested
blocks using only green and gray fabrics.

I’m making a quilt using an Aboriginal fabric as a focus fabric.
The bee blocks will be solid black, blue, gray and white,
to be set on point along with the Aboriginal fabric.

How to make the wonky star blocks
I created this diagram as the basis for the blocks I made. To learn how to make the star points, refer to the Silly BooDilly wonky star tutorial.

How a 3×6 bee is organized
Each member of the six-person bee lets the group know her color preference. She may, or may not, provide a focus fabric for her blocks. Each month, each person makes a total of six blocks of her choice: one for each person in the bee, including herself, using her beemates’ color preferences or fabric provided. At the end of three months, each person will have made a total of 18 blocks, and have 18 blocks of her own (15 provided by her beemates). Most likely it will yield a sampler quilt, because each person gets to decide upon the block pattern she makes for everyone else. Clear as mud? In the coming months I’ll continue to post pictures of the blocks I make, as well as those I receive, which should help clarify any confusion. Click here to see the month two blocks.

In the Kansas City bee, we build in an extra month, so the bee lasts four months instead of three to allow for life to get in the way of sewing. Also, some of us choose to make an extra block each month for a Quilt of Valor. I really dig this this type of bee because it’s a short-term commitment with a sizable and creative yield.