Tag Archives: Riley Blake

english paper piecing, Giveaway, Hand Stitching, Quilting

Flit and Bloom Blog Tour: Fussy Cutting Fun

November 6, 2017 kittywilkin 93 Comments

Meticulous cutting is one of my favorite quilting past times, and with all of the new English Paper Piecing (EPP) patterns coming out, there’s ample opportunity for carefully cutting up fabric and piecing it back together in clever ways (widely known as fussy cutting, but read why I prefer “meticulous cutting” here). As soon as I saw Patty Young‘s new Flit and Bloom fabric line for Riley Blake Fabrics, I knew I wanted to create meticulously cut EPP masterpieces with it. From the fanciful hummingbirds and elegant peacocks, to the fact that there are both floral and geometric patterns in the line, there are SO many opportunities for pattern play.

Today I’m excited to be the first quilting stop on Patty’s Flit and Bloom Blog Tour, where I get to show you what I’ve been working on these past couple of months using her newest fabric line for Riley Blake Designs. Let’s just say there’s been some meticulous cutting madness in this house lately!

I began with one of my favorite EPP patterns, Moonstone by Giuseppe (aka @giucy_giuce). I built around the stunning Bloom Henna Blossom in Teal fabric as the center, adding flitting hummingbirds and flowers, some geometric fun to tie the colors together, and coy little pairs of peacocks dancing around the outer edges. I love how this block came together!

Aren’t these peacocks fun as they dance in pairs around the block?

While I was stitching my Moonstone block, Mathew (aka @misterdomestic)’s new Flowermania quilt EPP pattern arrived on my doorstep. You know I wasn’t going to just let it sit there!! So I dove in, meticulously cutting that same Bloom Henna Blossom in Teal fabric as the petals, showing how versatile this print is with fussy cutting.

I knew I wanted to incorporate the hummingbirds into this flower block, since hummingbirds and flowers go together like rock and roll, but couldn’t fit them onto any of the individual shapes. Then I realized that I could split the hummingbirds across two background fabrics and decided to go headfirst into meticulous cutting at its best.

I labeled the humming bird front-back pairs since the Flowermania block is pieced in such a way that they are only joined right at the end as the segments are stitched together. This fussy cutting feat was no easy task, I might add. From the careful cutting to make sure the hummingbird halves would seamlessly meet when stitched together, to basting the pieces *just* so, to then stitching it all together and having it meet perfectly around the green diamonds, this was a challenge. They are not all perfectly matched up, and I learned a few tricks along the way that I’ll keep in mind next time, but overall I’m happy with the outcome.

Some hummingbirds match perfectly, but even the imperfect ones are perfect in their own way. Hummingbirds are happily flitting around this Fowermania bloom, and it seems to me that it’s the perfect poster-child block for Flit and Bloom fabrics. Right!?

Finally, I started to dive into a Lucy Boston Patchwork of the Crosses block, since what is EPP without Lucy Boston? I love how rotating the fabrics creates even more meticulously cut geometric fun, and I look forward to seeing how this block shapes up.

One of my favorite parts of planning with Lucy Boston blocks is in the outer pairs. I like to make a few “test pairs” with different fabrics and arrangements to see which ones I visually like best.

I love that Flit and Bloom has plenty of opportunity for mirror image fussy cutting, since those are my favorites–can you see why?

Which arrangement is your favorite?

I used Aurifil 50wt 2886-Light Avocado thread for all of my piecing, and with the varied colors in these fabrics, its light green color seemed to be the best choice for blending in. Between careful stitching and practicing the flat back stitch, the thread blends right in. I love Aurifil thread for hand stitching!

When I first began piecing these blocks, I was envisioning a sampler EPP pillow, but with the varying sizes of the blocks, I’m thinking I may opt for a table runner instead. That giant Flowermania bloom would make a fantastic centerpiece, wouldn’t it?

I hope I’ve inspired you with my meticulous cutting fun with Flit and Bloom fabrics! Fussy cutting opens a whole new world of design, and I encourage you to give it a try!

Giveaway

To help spread the fussy cutting Flit and Bloom love, I have a bundle of Flit and Bloom fabrics left over from my project that I am giving away to one lucky reader.

To enter the giveaway today, let me know what you would make with Flit and Bloom. Leave a comment and make sure I’m able to get ahold of you if you win. For an additional entry, leave another comment telling me how you follow Night Quilter (email list, instagram, facebook, twitter, blog follower, etc.).

This giveaway is open internationally. The giveaway will be open until Saturday, November 11, at 8pm eastern time when I’ll select the winner randomly with random.org. Giveaway is open to participants 18 years or older. This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to Pamela!

Be sure to visit the rest of the stops on the Flit and Bloom Blog tour to see what everyone has made with this fun fabric:

Monday, Nov. 6th – Night Quilter <—YOU ARE HERE!
Tuesday, Nov. 7th – Winging It!/Hummingbird Highway
Wednesday, Nov. 8th – Blue Nickel Studios
Thursday, Nov. 9th – ReannaLily Designs
Friday, Nov. 10th – The Sewing Loft
Saturday, Nov. 11th – The Cloth Parcel

What would you make with Flit and Bloom?

Stash Building: Cotton Crates Subscription Box

May 1, 2016 kittywilkin 3 Comments

Subscription services are all the rage these days, and who doesn’t love to receive packages in the mail? You can get boxes of stylish clothing in just your size (StitchFix), food ready to prepare healthy meals (Hello Fresh), science experiments ready for parents and kids to build together (TinkerCrate), wine curated to your tastes (Club W), and now fabric and sewing supplies, all mailed to your doorstep each month (Note, I’m not affiliates of any of these subscription boxes, simply stating one of many examples in each case). In the recent months, I’ve seen more and more fabric and sewing notions subscription boxes arise, so when Cotton Crates contacted me asking if I was interested in trying out a box in exchange for writing an honest review on my blog, I was intrigued. When they mentioned that the month’s box would contain 15 fat quarters of bright Riley Blake solids, I was sold. Full disclosure: Cotton Crates provided compensation in the form of product, a subscription box with fabric. All opinions expressed are my own. My excitement and heart eyes are also my own.

Let me tell you about my Cotton Crates experience. There’s something that comes from having a mystery box arriving in the mail that has a different feel than when fabric you specifically selected and purchased is delivered. Yes, any online fabric purchases arrive in your mailbox, but the cotton crates box held a bit of mystery that made the whole experience more exciting. My kids take turns getting the mail, and on this particular day it was my son Max’s turn. As soon as he opened the mailbox and saw the package he excitedly said, “Is it for me!?” I had to contain my glee when I said, “No, this one is for Mommy.”

During the walk back to the house along our driveway, I was excitedly anticipating what I might see inside the box. Sure, I knew pretty specifically what it would contain, but still that excitement was there–specifically what colors would be included? What would it look like? Cotton Crates gives clues on social media (Instagram | Facebook) during the month to give you an idea of what types of fabric are included each month, but once you order it, it’s easy to keep it a surprise. Solids are such a versatile stash builder, since projects using all solids shine, and solids can also be a great compliment to the right print. In my humble opinion, one can never have too many solids in a stash.

Opening the box was like opening a present, tissue paper, sticker, candy, and all.

I love that Cotton Crates includes a card with a schedule of inspiration blog posts with projects you can make using the month’s box. You essentially have fabric and projects all in one box, with some candies, too, unless your kids grab them first!

I captured the beauty of the fabrics, and then, true to my style, immediately put them into rainbow order.

Sigh… ahh, much better!

I do have a thing for rainbows.

Now, how about some details? You can head over the the Cotton Crates website to read all about the subscription process, see or order previous boxes, and visit the blog for project ideas. Basically, the longer the time you subscribe, the cheaper the price you pay per box. For example, if you subscribe for one month, you pay $38 for the 12 (or in this case 15 solids) fat quarters, but if you subscribe for a full year, you only pay $34, which is a bit over $2.80 per fat quarter. I can definitely see the fun in fabric subscription services, and it is a great option for building a stash.

Many thanks to Cotton Crates for the opportunity to try out their subscription box!

I’m linking up with Molli’s Sunday Stash since my solids rainbow grew in a beautiful way this week.

Quilting

Fabric Giveaway Friday Link Up

February 28, 2014 kittywilkin 1 Comment

I’m not yet a sponsored blog, so I don’t have a giveaway of my own, but one of the best things about Fridays (other than the fact that it’s FRIDAY!) is the chance to win free fabric. Here are a couple of great blogs with today’s fabric giveaways. Good luck, although secretly I hope I win 😉

Maureen Cracknell Handmade

Today, on the blog Maureen Cracknell Handmade, Fabric Fly is offering a Fat Quarter bundle of Riley Blakes’s gorgeous new Damask Basics fabric collection! I really love that these have such a range of color options. They would be a great addition to any fabric stash, OR would make a great quilt alone.

Pile O’ Fabric

Pile O’Fabric is offering their beautiful blogger bundle of 8 fat quarters from Marmalade Fabrics. I don’t know about you, but I’ve been really into low volume prints lately, and the teal and gold combo in this bundle make me want to create something.

Are there any other blogs that offer Fabric Giveaway Fridays? Please link to them in the comments!