English Cottage Crazy Quilt Block - Beginner Basics

This is a Beginner Basics Crazy Quilt Block that I offer as a workshop and will be teaching next week. Making 35 kits took longer than creating the block! 

It's a perfect little project  for beginner silk ribbon enthusiasts. And this block is a breeze to piece. I use silk doupioni from the RibbonSmyth doupioni assortment packs. Give a seasonal block a bit of contrast by using apricot and plum fabrics together. Always a great combination and I don't often see the colors used together.

 Once the block is pieced, fuse the vintage cottage image into place. That's what I love about the RibbonSmyth fusible vintage images. Never a pucker and no time wasted stitching the image to the fabric.

A great way to use up that floss in your stash, make a tree! I've been teaching the "tree" technique for years and it's an enhancement to the cottage image by continuing the landscape. Add silk ribbon French knots to the foreground for dimension.

 Add a bit of RibbonSmyth leaf garland and sprinkle Silk French knots and gold beads among the garland. Did you know in New York the garland sells for $7.50 at  a popular trim store? We sell it for $1.75 a yard. You can embellish quite a few pieces with a yard of leaf garland.

Add a few more simple silk ribbon blooms and a glass butterfly for added dimension. The Czech luster glass butterflys are 6 pieces for 99 cents.

Turn this piece into a block for a wall-hanging and use a different cottage image for each block. The 9"x9" block will be a small cushion complete with fringe. A great shabby chic statement for a guest bed or a small love seat. I will add the finished cushion once I can make up my mind on which fringe to use!