Patchwork of the Crosses

Today's view from the office..

If this looks familiar, we're still here ... and, I'm still working on my Lucy Boston blocks!!
We usually see at least one manatee while we're here.  They're very friendly and will swim right up to us...which is a little scary until it gets close enough to see exactly what it is!

Sightseeing...

and notable landmarks...

Can anybody guess where we are from the pictures?

Call the shop or check out the website for more information on Patchwork of the Crosses or to order additional supplies.

Patchwork of the Crosses

A fun summery block for this week...

These are the fabrics I used...

All these fabrics are left from the last block; the addition of the pink makes the whole block look different.

Need more paper piecing supplies?  Check out our website.
Don't forget to send pictures of your blocks for the Pinterest Board!

Log Cabin - Improved

Fun times at Wool Works! The second Friday every month stitchers, rug hookers, knitters and weavers gather together to share and encourage. Mary brought this log cabin quilt she worked on for more than 5 years. Her hubby counted more than 3000 pieces! It's not a wool quilt....but we all loved it!...it's stunning!

Mrs. Chillingsworth

Mr. Chillingsworth was so popular last year that he's being reprinted! We even asked Andover fabrics to make a Mrs. Chillingsworth! Well they didn't print a Mrs. Chillingsworth....so...we decided to 'dress' our own. Tricia made the first Mrs. Chillingsworth with the orange purse and hat. Then Wanda
C. made "Ruby" Chillingsworth, her sister with a ruby red ring and 'real' pearls on her neck, plus flip flops and a tutu! We have 'tutu' tulle netting if you want some with your kit! A fun door cover for the Fall!

Second Saturday Sampler Show and Tell Part Two

Quilts by Madeline.
Skeleton Kit purchased here at Little Quilts. Mr. Chillingsworth kits still available http://webstore.quiltropolis.net/stores_app/Browse_Item_Details.asp?Shopper_id=87527121922268752&Store_id=597&page_id=23&Item_ID=2157.

Tennessee quilt with fabrics purchased from Little Quilts.

Second Saturday Sampler Show and Tell

Jean brought two quilts. the first quilt is Spring Cleaning. Pattern by Diane Knott.   What a great scrap quilt designer.  Follow her blog. .http://www.butterflythreadsquilting.com/

 The second is a Saturday Sampler program from another local quilt shop.

Patchwork of the Crosses

Today's view from the office...

The only sewing project I brought along with me is Lucy Boston POTC.  Hopefully I'll have made a lot of progress on my quilt by the time I get back home!  It's a little windy on the beach, but you can even work on these blocks in a beach chair if you anchor everything down.  Now, that's a portable project!

Daily visitor...

Sunset...

Loving my vacation time!

Call the shop or order paper piecing supplies from our website.

Adapting Sampler to Valentine Fabrics

Second Saturday Sampler blocks  that Carol did adapting with  Valentine fabrics

Little Quilts has great kits for quick finish panel kits

Loretta with her finished kit she purchased here at Little Quilts.

Patchwork of the Crosses

Stitching these blocks in the summer is so relaxing.  They're so portable you can even work on them while you're sipping lemonade and soaking up the sun from a lawn chair outside.  Happy summer stitching!

These are the fabrics I used for this block...

My blue fat quarter didn't give me four identical cuts of the part I wanted to use for the center, so I used a slightly different cut for one of the honeycombs.  To me, it was an acceptable substitution, but if you want to make sure your cuts are all the same, you may need to use a different design area than I did. Think carefully before you start cutting!

Be sure to save the left-overs from this block...you'll be using all three pieces in the next block.

Go to our website to reorder supplies.

Check out our Pinterest Board for fun new blocks.

Another Great Tote Bag

We're absolutely loving all the finished tote bags from the Project Tote class.  Alycia just stopped by with her finished bag...

The back of Alycia's bag...

This very popular tote bag is made with upholstery fabric and wool making it a very durable bag.  If you can't take the class, we have patterns or kits available.  Just call the shop to order!

Patchwork of the Crosses

Are any of you having trouble with your stitches showing on the front of your work?  I may have a solution for you!

The easiest way to sew your honeycombs together is put them right sides together and do a whipstitch down the edge.  When doing the whipstitch, it's important to catch only one or two threads from each honeycomb...if you catch more than that, called taking too big a "bite", you will end up with threads showing on the front.  Sometimes you can "paint" over the thread on the front with a micron pen that matches your fabric and hide the thread, but I think I may have found a method of stitching that will alleviate the problem altogether!

Instead of doing a whipstitch, I've been holding the honeycombs together flat and running the needle across the seam allowance on both honeycombs, as shown above.  It doesn't seem to matter how large a stitch I take - no threads show up on the front.  For me, it's a little more awkward to hold the pieces flat, but it gets easier with practice and it's definitely worth trying if you can avoid stitches showing on the front!
Let me know how this technique works for you... I'm loving it!!

Need paper piecing or gluestick refills?  Check out our website here to order.
We're always adding new customer blocks to our Pinterest Board so be sure to check it out.  Your blocks are all amazing!

We have a winner!

Our shop has a winner for the Row x Row Experience Shop Hop!  Barbara Kulik was the first quilter to bring in a finished quilt using rows from at least eight different shops - Barabara actually used nine rows in her quilt!  

Our row features Sunbonnet Sue and Overall Bill fishing in the Chattahoochee (2nd row from the top in Barbara's quilt).

She also had a cute idea for the back of her quilt which allowed her to use the fabric license plates she got at each shop...

Barbara used a quilt as you go technique to get her quilt finished in record time!
For her prize, Barbara won 25 fat quarters of her choice.

Chattanooga area road trip...

 Chattanooga Quilts in Ooltewah TN is the last stop on Mary Ellen's trip home from Cooperstown NY. See their row 'Chattaquarium' (love the name of their row!) on their website: www.chattanoogaquilts.com. It's a cute shop with a contemporary feel, plus reproduction fabrics. They also sell a handmade pottery collector's mug made by a Tennessee potter. They shared  the artist's name with us and we also carry the mugs with our name on them too! Check our LQ  website to see our mug.

Going to class in style

If you're looking for the perfect tote bag to take to classes, we think this one is the best.  These ladies just finished the Project Tote class here at Little Quilts and they're going home with finished bags!

The bags incorporate upholstery fabric and wool for a very durable bag with lots of pockets on the inside.  Carolyn added extra wool applique to the back of her bag...

Amy prefers brighter colors so she chose a brighter, more contemporary palette for her bag and isn't it fun!

As you can see, the bags are large enough to hold everything but the sewing machine!

Travel - hit the quilt shops - for the Row by Row experience

Mary Ellen stopped at Sew What Fabric -Batik's Etc. in Wytheville, VA, on her way home from Cooperstown NY. Owner Carol Britt wasn't in. She's recovering from a knee replacement. Her store's the place for batiks!! They have zillions of them on the bolt, charm packs and jelly rolls! Hope your travels bring you to her shop. The building is over 100 years old - was a bed & breakfast - turned into a quilt shop in the early 1980's. Check out their website www.batiks.com to see their block "Waterwheel". The other picture is a darling shop called "The Secret Inside". Loved the outside!!...it was closed!

Patchwork of the Crosses

Another fun block using a very unusual stripe...

 This is the fabric before it's cut.  As you can see, except for the corners, all the honeycombs came from the same fabric.  The gold fabric for the corners was left over from a previous block.

Check the website if you need to reorder paper piecing supplies.

For more block ideas, check out our Pinterest Board 

On the Road Again...

Mary Ellen's traveling!  On the way to her grandson's baseball game in Cooperstown, NY, she stopped at Heartworks Quilt Shop in Fly Creek NY .

They're participating in the 2015 Row x Row Experience. Their row pattern is "The Great Snowball Fight of 2015". Here's a picture of it....hope you get to visit and purchase a kit!

Isn't that just the cutest row?

Anyone going to Houston Quilt Festival...?

....Here is something to look forward to. 
Little Quilts customer and teacher, Marty Young, received news today that her quilt "Judie's Neighborhood Folk" was among the 23 chosen to hang in Houston this year by the Primitive Quilts and Projects Quilt Exhibit! Not only that but she is the 1st Place winner in the "Original Design" Category!!
She will get to see it there too because her prize is a trip for two to Festival.  Congratulations Marty.

 

Sew Cute Critters

Linda works at "Quilters Dream" in Loveland CO. She brought in her sample of "Sew Cute Critters" from the book by Cindy Taylor Oates. Isn't it darling?  We have the book here - we also one sample  block that Cindy Taylor Oates sent us.