June's Bee Block Instructions

Hi All, Ann here. It’s time for my month of the Bee and I’m super excited to tell you all about my bee block.

For the June Bee block I have picked “X + Plus” blocks.  I’ve seen some really incredible scrappy versions of these on Flickr and various blogs.

There is a great Tutorial for making this block by Amy of BadSkirt. However, her blocks turn out to be only about 7.5” square. However, I’d like the blocks to be a bit bigger.  Below are the modifications to make the block finish at 12” (12.5” unfinished).  Please use the below measurements for cutting fabric. You can then use the assembly instructions via the tutorial.

Center Cross – two 2.5” squares + one 2.5” x 6.5” rectangle

Edges of cross – four 2.5” x 3.5” rectangles

Background triangles – eight 3.5” squares

Branches of the X (can be different fabrics for each part of the X if you want)  – four 5.5” squares

Here is an example block I made for my Feb Bee block for Janna. I originally thought I wanted them to be monochromatic but I think I like the scrappy multicolored look more.

Color palette and fabric selection: bold colors of the rainbow. Please try to stay away from pastels. You can use multiple colors in the block if you like. Multicolored prints are fine too. The scrappier the better.  For the background fabric (the white part in my example block), it would be great if you could use some kind of text or low volume print (but if not that’s OK too).  Anything light is fine (gray, white, cream, etc).

I can’t wait to see what you guys come up with! Thanks!