Patchwork of the Crosses

I'm back from the Houston Quilt Market, and what a fun time we had!  We saw lots of great new products and patterns that will be appearing soon in the shop, and the quilts in the show were absolutely stunning.  What I really wanted to share with all of you is the fabulous Patchwork of the Crosses quilt that was hanging in the show.

The blocks were all so beautiful and so different - I stood studying this quilt for a long time trying to take in all the colors, fabrics styles, and block patterns.  I can hardly wait to get my quilt finished now!
One of the new gadgets we saw at market is perfect for all of us Patchwork of the Crosses stitchers.

It's an acrylic Fussy Cut Finder.  They're available in all different sizes, but the perfect one for us is the 1" Honeycomb.  There's also a 1" Square.

As you can see, it's just a little gadget, but it makes it so much easier to see the exact unit you want to cut from the fabric.  Of course, when you're cutting the fabric you'll want to use the clear acrylic honeycomb template that has the seam allowances  on it, but this is so much easier to slide across the fabric to find the perfect spot to cut.  Keep one in your purse when you're shopping for fabric to make sure the scale of the fabric is right.

They will be on the website soon, but in the meantime, call the shop to order Fussy Cut Finders,  I'm getting two - one for my sewing area and one for my purse!

 One my favorite things about Patchwork of the Crosses is its portability.  I took a small sewing bag along with me to Houston just in case I had a few minutes to sit and sew.  This is a block I made from the left-overs of the Jo Morton fabrics that were in the October fabric packs and a fabric that was in my stash.  Your leftovers may be a little different than mine, but these were such perfect fabrics for fussy cutting there are lots of options for using them!  For the corner "frilly" units be sure to cut mirror image units.  With the new little Fussy Cut Finder we brought back from market, it should be even easier for you to design a great block of your own.

Be sure to send me pictures of your finished blocks to post on our Pinterest Board.  It's fun to see all the different blocks and it's a great place to get new design ideas for your blocks.

Shop on our website if you need paper piecing supplies or glue pen refills.  Watch the website for Fussy Cut Finders!