February Stash Builder Box

When Amanda, owner of the Stash Builder Box subscription service that changes lives by contributing 20% of all purchases to help make quilts for kids, asked me to review the February Stash Builder box I said, "Yaaaas!"

After all, what's not to love about three yards of quilt-shop quality cottons produced by top-notch companies such as Art Gallery Fabrics, Cotton + Steel, and Cloud 9? The fabrics are from new collections and geared toward the modern aesthetic, but not too outlandish, so they appeal to traditional quilters also. To get an idea of the types of fabrics chosen for the boxes, check out the Stash Builder home page to see those selected for previous boxes.

Ever a collector of Cotton+Steel fabrics, I was gleeful when I sighted the selection of yard cuts chosen for the February box, Yours Truly by Kimberly Kight. Aren't those strawberries darling? This bundle reminds me of the Honey Pot Bee January block.
Three one yard-cuts is the perfect amount of fabric for starting a quilt project. I like to combine three yard-sized cuts of printed fabrics with a favorite neutral solid fabric, which serves as a low-cost background and makes the feature prints stand out.

Fabric and a contribution towards making quilts for kids, specifically the current donation organization Give Kids the World Village, isn't all that you receive in a Stash Builder Box. It also includes a spool of coordinating Aurifil thread, signature sewing truth pencil (Mine says "Makers Gonna Make."), and an exclusive quilt pattern. This month, the exclusive pattern was Kiss Me Red by Cheryl Brown from Quilter Chic. All the Stash Builder Box contents are immediately applicable, so you aren't paying for extras you won't use or already have. For even more fun, the Stash Builder Box blog has a free block pattern every month. To see the blocks being made, check out the hashtag #BOTMSBB. 

Stash Builder Box offers different subscription options, varying from a contract free, one-time gift box to a year-long subscription. The more months you purchase, the less you pay per month. Remember the cutoff for any given month is the 15th. To save $3 off your first month's box, use code IHEARTSBB.

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Four is Greater Than One, A Blue Moon Quilt Group Quilt Con Charity Quilt

I'm so excited about today's big reveal! I'm especially excited because the complete work exceeds what I could hope to accomplish individually. I am so fortunate to have found astoundingly talented individuals to collaborate with, that are not only extraordinarily talented quilters, but wonderful people that encourage me with their friendship. I speak of the Blue Moon Quilt Group composed of Yvonne of Quilting Jetgirl, Renee of Quilts of a Feather, Sara of Blue Quail Studio, and I. We decided to take part in the 2017 Quilt Con Charity Quilt Challenge, and this magnificent quilt is the result.

We chose to use the Storm at Sea Block as a foundation for our design. Yvonne transferred our ideas into a working design using Inkscape, and we all began to play with color options. You can read more about the process in Yvonne's introductory blog post.

We narrowed the color palette down to Fog, Lagoon, Gold, and Royal Michael Miller Cotton Couture Solids. The Blue Moon Quilt Group is very grateful to Michael Miller for generously supplying the fabric for this quilt.

Yvonne is a professional pattern designer, and she worked up pattern instructions and fabric requirements for us. We printed out paper-piecing units using EQ7. Everyone helped with the cutting, and Renee helped me label the units with the appropriate colors. All of us took part in the piecing. My (literally) small contribution was the center block.

Composed of 25 units and 141 pieces, the center block finished at 7" before sashing was added.

Renee and I pin basted the quilt, and Renee began what we refer to as "quilting the life into it." She did a spectacular job. When the 2016 Quilt Con Frameless Machine Quilting winner spends over three dozen hours turning her hard-earned talents into art, the results are incredible.

Moreover, she bound the quilt and added a sleeve and label before it was shipped off to Savannah, where you can see it in person if you will be in attendance at Quilt Con East. Speaking of, who's headed to Quilt Con?

I am so appreciative of the sponsors who enabled us to create our charity quilt; The Warm Company was kind enough to supply us with batting, and Aurifil provided the thread. Thank you Michael Miller, The Warm Company, and Aurifil!

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A Few Thoughts

As a warning, I'm about to go very random on you, but here are a few tidbits of interest anyway.
First of all, this little guy is due to emerge July 7. That's right; I'm pregnant, and it's a boy!

In other news, Quilt-non is coming up for all of you who are lamenting missing out on Quilt Con East. It promises to be a fun event.

Also, I found a great travel case for sewing machines at Harbor Freight. The 20" Rollaway Tool Bag by Voyager was only $24.99 before I used a 20% coupon, so I was one happy customer.

Well, that's all the scattered thoughts I have at the moment. Thanks for visiting!

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