Bee Haven Project Hop

Hey there!

If this is your first time visiting Oh Kaye Quilting, welcome! If you are an “old” friend, glad to see you again.

I have had the opportunity to work with Rachel Rossi on this project to show off her new line of fabric: Bee Haven. This has been a lot of fun, but let me tell you about the fabric.

The fabric is lovely to work with and I had no issues with fraying or stretching. Benartex does a really nice job with their fabrics. I knew I would love the botanical/bee theme prints but I was not prepared for just how gorgeous the purples are! I am a lover of all things purple and this main “hero” fabric did not disappoint.

I think there is a nice variety of fabrics in the collection but my favorites are the large purple “hero” print with the big daisies and the delicate tone-on-tone floral that I used for the background and the backing.

I used the fabric for a quilt pattern called Diamond Lil. I originally made this pattern to highlight some vintage fabrics I found when I was cleaning out my aunt’s home but never wrote the pattern. Some of you saw that quilt and encouraged me to write the pattern. . . so here it is!

Diamond Lil comes in two sizes. The throw sized pattern finishes around 60″ x 63″ and the twin size finishes around 70″ x 90″.

I say this pattern is for Intermediate Quilters for two reasons. First off, there are bias edges at work in the diamond panel and that is tricky because they want to stretch. You will also need to be able to match up angled blocks (I give some diagrams in the pattern).

That said, this quilt goes together really easily and it is a fun one to make, so don’t let the rating scare you off if you like the design. There are some examples of quilts with other fabric choices in the pattern, so if you like a more modern or less scrappy look, this can still work for you.

Make sure to check out the other incredible designers participating in this Project Hop!

Jennifer Worthen’s Centrum quilt

Lisa Ruble with her Twister quilt pattern

Tiffany Hayes and her Bee Maze Quilt 

Rachel Rossi’s free Slaphappy quilt pattern

You can see all of the projects in one place over on Rachel’s Blog too, check out all the hop goodies here!

Looking for Bee Haven fabrics? Ask for it at your local quilt shop or find a stockist near you using the store locator! Thank you to Benartex and all of these fabulous designers for generously donating prizes for this event! It was such a blast!

Oh wait. . . I didn’t tell you about the prizes.

Yes, PRIZES!!!

We will be giving away THREE prizes to contestants:

Prize 1: Bee Haven Fat Quarter Bundle, Breezy Pattern (Rachel Rossi), Bee Maze Pattern (PDF from Tiffany), Trellis Twist Pattern (Rachel Rossi)

Prize 2: Bee Haven Strip-Pie (the Benartex version of a Jelly Roll), On the Way to Cape May (Rachel Rossi), Diamond Lil (PDF pattern from Kaye), Slaphappy Pattern (Rachel Rossi)

Prize 3: Bee Haven 10×10 precut bundle (Layer Cake), Dresdens in Bloom Pattern (Rachel Rossi), Twister Pattern (PDF from Lisa), Centrum Pattern (PDF pattern from Jenn)

How to enter:

To be entered to win, you must:

1. Comment on each person’s INSTAGRAM post (one a day. . . look for me on Monday!)
2. Tag a friend (more tags = more entries)
3. Follow all designers on the hop and Benartex
   (@quiltyzest, @ohkayequilting, @needleinahayesstack, @slightlybiasedquilts, @designsbyrr, @benartex)

3 winners will be randomly chosen at 11:59PM on October 12. Winners will be notified via Instagram.

Kaye Collins is a master educator and international quilt instructor, quilt pattern designer, digital pantograph designer, longarm quilter and National Educator for Handi Quilter. She loves her family, her dogs, traveling and all things purple. Kaye is an enthusiastic learner and teacher and especially enjoys figuring out new ways to do things that may, or may not, be easier! Subscribers to her newsletter receive monthly updates and new last month: weekly thoughts that take less than a minute to read.