Spelling Bee Quilt: Letter F {Quilt Along}

 Fat Quarter shop is running a a quilt along to celebrate the Spelling Bee Book.

The Spelling Bee Book is by Lori Holt of Bee in my Bonnet and features complete instructions for 100 letter, number, punctuation and picture blocks in two sizes plus 18 quilt projects!

The Sew Along will feature 88 of the blocks from the Spelling Bee Book! Lasting 44 weeks, the Sew Along will feature 2 blocks from the book each week. I was asked to join and and have a few exciting projects from them!

Today is the seventh week and I have the capital letter F.

I will confess, I wasn't sure what I planned to do with a lonely letter F.

Until my sweet Button walked in the studio and said "F-O-X, mom!".

 If you anyone knows us well, Button is obsessed with foxes for the past year and a half!

The book has a bunch of cute options for characters like globes, butterflies, and hearts, but no foxes.

So I designed an English Paper Pieced Fox head that resembled an "O".

There isn't eyes as of yet, because he cannot decide what he wants at the moment. 

 I think sleepy eyes, but he isn't sold yet.

We did agree to make a giant pillow cover for his bed.  

We both love the linen background, Cotton + Steel basics,

and the leftover fox print form his Fox quilt!! 

He really loves it on his bed, so that is all that really matters!!!

Quilt Stats:

Measures: Block size 6', Pillow size 12x25"

Pattern: F and X from Spelling Bee Book by Lori Holt, Fox by myself

Fabrics: Cotton +Steel basics, Kona white, Essex Linen, Cloud 9 foxes

Quilted: Crosshatch on Babylock Symphony

To see another rendition of the F, visit Pam at Pam Kitty Morning!

 

Stay tuned for more letters and picture blocks from the quilt along. 

 I have one more this month and another next month!!!  There is a list of all the weeks and the contributors at the Jolly Jabber!

Hexie Caddy {Pincushion}

 I love mini swaps.  Making them.  Receiving them. However..... 

It's the extras that always confound me!

Enter in my go-to "extra".  The Hexie Pincushion Caddy

Tutorial is available at Penny Hands.

This time I chose three colors from the Cotton and Steel with Essex Linen

Made my Hexie and rectangle templates.  One of the rare times I use glue under protest.
Then I simply handstitch them together....

Our Favorite Part!

Add stuffing and you have a fun gift!

And for size, that is not a small pair of scissors and those are large corsage pins for scale.
I put some colorful gel pens so it can be a pencil holder too!

I think it went perfectly with her mini, if I do say so myself.

Palatina {Mini Quilt}

I decided to join one more Schnitzle & Boo mini swap and this is what evolved.

My partner mentioned she liked the Lizzie House Meadow quilt.  

Since I haven't taken her workshop and her pattern wasn't available, I seriously contemplated making my own version.  But, then I remembered my friend, Lindsey at Happier Than a Bird, using a pattern for a pillow cushion that she had made awhile back.

Palatina Pillow

I shot her a quick message and she directed me to the the Palatina Pillow from There's a Thread.

I think the one thing that intrigues people the most with the Lizzie House Meadow quilt is the colors in the background.  I knew I wanted to switch the original idea of the low volume at the "back" of her pillow, behind the appliques. I instead wanted to move the low volumes to the front so that the colors revealed that cool secondary shape.

I chose the Cotton & Steel Basics fabric line to get COLOR!!

Here is my confession.  Their fabric lines tend to not really "fit" me. I like them, but generally can't see myself using them....until I bought their Basics line!!!


The big, giant DISLIKE my partner had was pink.  She said NO PINK!!!

 So I pulled as much pink from this GORGEOUS Cotton & Steel basics bundle  as I could.  I really worried she wouldn't like the purples I left in, but I felt that the mini needed their "cool" tones for balance.

I used the whites and taupe fabrics of my crosses.

I decided to use cardboard to secure the edges of the crosses while I hand appliqued them.
 When I was finished, I cut from behind, close (a bit more than 1/4")  to the seams on the back and then pulled the cardboard out.

The original pattern had minimal quilting, so I hesitated to matchstick the mini.

I do not regret it.  One bit.

The quilting hardly showed up on the linen backing.  I've been feeling lately that if you plan on doing intricate negative space quilting, don't use linen as a background!
 

 I love using a black and white binding on colorful or rainbow quilts! 

The quilt label is the circle of Cotton & Steel basics bundle. 

I sent along the mini with this coordinating hexie pincushion caddy.  

More details HERE.

Quilt Stats: 
Measures: 18" Square
Pattern: Palatina Pillow by There's A Thread
Fabrics: Cotton & Steel Basics and Essex Linen
Quilting: Matchstick with Gutermann Thread on Babylock Symphony

 I also made a Daysail version as a gift HERE.

But I still have a serious hankering to make a larger version with the Cotton & Steel Basics leftovers!!