Tag Archives: cotton and steel

Hand Stitching, Quilting, Sponsored Post

Lucy Boston Patchwork of the Crosses EPP {Sizzix Tutorial}

February 29, 2016 kittywilkin 7 Comments

Today I’m excited to be blogging over on the Sizzix blog, sharing a tutorial on how to piece the iconic Lucy Boston Patchwork of the Crosses (PoTC) block. Lucy Boston blocks allow for endless meticulous cutting fun, the most kickassiduously planned pattern meet-ups, and of course lots of color play. (Translation: You can fussy cut your heart out and the blocks will look even more amazing the more meticulous you get). Since Lucy Boston blocks are English Paper Pieced (EPP), they are also great on-the-go projects. If you’re looking for a new EPP project but are getting a bit tired of hexies, I definitely would recommend Lucy Boston.

As you can see, I really stretched out of my color combination comfort zone with this project. With the Tula Pink Moonshine print as my focal fabric, I went wild with the blue, mustardy-yellow, and a pop of red palette. With my favorite Essex yarn dyed linen in charcoal as the background fabric, I’m really liking the way this is headed!

In my tutorial over on the Sizzix blog, I show how to:

make a fussy cutting planning template with the Sizzix Honeycombs and Squares die (so you don’t need to buy the acrylic template, too)
Find pattern repeats in fabric
Fussy cut using a Sizzix die cutting machine
Assemble the Lucy Boston PoTC block
I share tips on matching pattern meet-ups after fussy cutting, and more!

Many of these tips would be helpful to anyone wanting to create a Lucy Boston block, with or without a die cutting machine.

So head on over to the Sizzix blog and have a look at what I’ve been working on over the past few months!

I’m planning to turn my Lucy Boston blocks into a vertical wall hanging with three blocks and red accent squares. Stay tuned…

For other color combination inspiration, you can see another Lucy Boston PoTC project I did here, or peruse the Instagram feed of Rhea at Alewives Fabrics (one of my fav Maine quilt shops)–she’s a Lucy Boston fanatic!

I’m linking up with Design Wall Monday and tomorrow I’ll link to Stephanie’s Tips and Tutorials Tuesday. Check ’em out!

Also, just a reminder that today is the last day to enter the giveaway sponsored by Fat Quarter Shop! Comment on THIS post to enter!

Stash Building

Stash Building: Happy Mail!

February 8, 2015 kittywilkin 6 Comments

I made it to the post office yesterday five minutes before they closed. Five minutes! It’s a good thing I did, too, because our mailbox has been out of commission due to height and volume of snow, so I had quite a stack of happy mail to pick up. (Including a little something something for a giveaway on Monday… yes, you really want to come back on Monday. Trust me. wink wink)

Anyway, happy mail:

First up was my Fat Quarter Back Sneak purchase from Mariner’s Compass during Superbowl weekend. I’m not much into football and didn’t even watch the game, but I certainly couldn’t resist 10 fat quarters for $15! It’s my first Cotton + Steel bundle: the pink Mustangs by Melody Miller and some Basics.

While I’m really not a fan of the actual Mustangs (please don’t tar and feather me!), I love the arrows and really love the basics in pinks and shades of grey. Mariner’s Compass even threw in an extra fat quarter. I guess they were feeling especially generous since the Patriots won. Mariner’s Compass is a quilt shop in Bath, Maine. I met Amanda, the owner of Mariner’s Compass and organizer of the Maine Quilt Shop hop last April during the shop hop. It felt great to support a Maine LQS while also building my stash in an epic way.

I also received my winnings from the #FabricForward event on Instagram: a charm pack of Storybook by Kate & Birdie Paper Co. for Moda. Thank you so much to @simplybekah for this #happymail! (Since the giveaway event was entirely on Instagram, I felt the need to write all of that in @ # IG style. Right? Right.)

It looks like such a darling collection, and perfect for a baby quilt. I love looking at stacks of fabric, don’t you?

What are some of your go-to charm pack quilt patterns? I’m a newbie at using precuts, so I’d love to add some to my arsenal.

I’m linking up with Molli’s Sunday Stash, since he’s “in the future” in Oz so I can link up even in the wee hours of the morn here in Maine, USA.

Quilting, Stash Building

Stash Building: Alewives Greens

November 16, 2014 kittywilkin 7 Comments

A couple weekends ago, I traveled to one of my favorite “local” fabric shops, Alewives Fabrics, about an hour and a half drive away. I went primarily for the Color for Quilters Class and my first ever Maine Modern Quilt Guild meeting, but also, of course, for the fabric. I knew that in a store like Alewives, I could easily buy enough fabric to fill my trunk, so I went to the class intentionally with the idea of building the greens in my stash, but without a giant fabric shopping list. (If anyone wants to fund my fabric buying budget, I’ll be happy to give you my paypal email address and you can direct deposit as much as your generous heart desires–haha)

I couldn’t resist the feathers on blue or the yellow newsprint fabric, so I let those slide into the mix. I also bought my first ever (gasp) Cotton and Steel. Here’s the (mostly green) fabric goodness I took home with me (from left to right):

1/2 yard of What a Gem by Allison Cole for Eugene Textiles
1/2 yard of Wee Wander by Sarah Jane for Michael Miller Fabrics

and fat quarters of:

Collage “Newspaper Stripe” by Carrie Bloomston of SUCH Design for Windham Fabrics;
Unknown (but awesome) Fibonacci Fabric in green;
Vagabond Parquet Moon Dial by Parson Gray for Free Spirit Fabrics; and,
XOXO in Picnic Gold by Cotton and Steel House Designer for Cotton and Steel

While I was looking through Alewives’ awesome fat quarter bins, I stumbled upon the amazing Fibonacci fabric. Not only was it green (my color of choice for the day) but it is totally math-geek friendly. As a complete closet–or maybe not so closeted–math and science geek, there was no way I was going to leave that shop without buying the Fibonacci Golden Ratio fabric.

I have no idea what I will do with the fabric yet, but I sure am happy to have it in my stash! If anyone knows any of the designer/manufacturer information for this fabric, please let me know.