When I saw Lucy Boston’s Patchwork of the Crosses the first time, it appealed to me immediately, and the fascination grew when I realized that the blocks were made with only one shape—the 90 degree hexagon—and the blocks are linked with squares.

The hexagons are available in two Inklingo sizes:

• 1.0 inch sides
• 1.5 inch sides

There is a size comparison in a PDF at the bottom of those pages.

There are several one-patch layouts in Electric Quilt, but this is not one of them, so we decided to prepare it for you.

   EQ7 Project File

This new Electric Quilt project file includes the traditional POTC block with 24 hexagons. I also included three other variations with fewer hexagons.

  EQ7 Project File

We are hoping that 20 Inklingoists will submit designs in the June Club EQ Challenge. The theme is Twenty for the 20th anniversary of EQ. You can use these EQ project files even if you don’t have the Inklingo Shape Collections.

There are several more EQ7 Project Files free to download from this blog too.

Kathy Timmons was inspired by Lucy Boston too and she has created many beautiful blocks with Inklingo (see more). Just like Lucy Boston, she is an artist with fabric.

She fussy custs many of the shapes. (There are tips for fussing cutting and fussy printing on the blog and in my book too.) You can see all of Kathy’s POTC, QD, and other blocks in her albums on Webshots and in the Inklingo Yahoo group.

Traditionally, these hexagons would have been sewn with English Paper Piecing, but Inklingo provides the cutting and stitching lines, so you don’t need templates and you can sew by hand or by machine. 

When you use Inklingo to print the shapes on the wrong side of the fabric with an ordinary Inkjet printer, it is faster and simpler.

Lucy Boston was famous for her gardens at Hemingford Grey in England.

The Patchwork of the Crosses gives some information about Lucy Boston, but if you would like to know more about her life, her children’s books, her quilts, her ancient manor house (built about 1130), and her famous gardens, you need The Patchworks of Lucy Boston by Diana Boston. It is one of my favorite quilt books even though it doesn’t include any patterns. The story of her life and the photos of her quilts are beautifully presented. The book is full of inspiration for quilts made with simple shapes, and many of them are inklingoable.

(I buy the book directly from Diana. There are only a few left in stock.)

Russ is the gardener here, but he lets me pick the colors. Blue salvia, mauve wave pentunias, and cascading white lobelia will fill the pots on the patio in a few weeks. They are certainly getting enough rain!

Every comment for Kathy will be forwarded to her. Thank you for visiting!

Linda & Monkey

PS Don’t forget to enter Tilde’s 15 Minute Challenge . You could win in the next draw on June 30!

New to Inklingo? Order and download free shapes and start sewing in the next few minutes. Quick Start (Always FREE.) There are triangles, diamonds, and squares  in the free collection—great for dozens of different blocks.

(Click on the images for a larger view.)

I met Kathy when she was making her Dragonfly Diamond quilt using my Quilted Diamonds books.

It was fascinating to touch her perfect diamonds and admire the fussy cutting. Every one of the blocks used different dragonfly fabrics for the background and the focus. Think about it! That is a lot of different dragonfly fabrics! Kathy is a true fabric connoisseur.

  Click the photo for a larger view.

Kathy’s QD quilt is a masterpiece, in the true sense. You can see the individual blockson Webshots. Her Dragonfly Diamonds quilt was juried into the AQS show in Paducah.

Kathy started printing with Inklingo five years ago. For her current quilt, she is fussy cutting owl fabrics with the 90-degree hexagon from Lucy Boston Patchwork of the Crosses.

Kathy says:

I really had fun making my Dragonfly Diamonds quilt and I guess I was missing all the fussy cutting. The owl fabrics must have been calling to me because I did not consciously start collecting them. I buy fabric all the time, just because I like it. I rarely have any idea what I am going to do with it. . . other than play. I love having a stash to pull fabrics from.

Kathy prints the shapes (90 degree hexagons and squares) on the fabric with Inklingo and hand pieces.

For the fussy cut shapes, she prints window templates from Inklingo and prepares the shapes à la Quilted Diamonds with freezer paper templates. She has the best of both worlds. There are tips for fussy cutting (Yin Yang example) on the blog here.

Kathy is one of my quilting heroines. She is talented, perfectionist, and prolific. Every seam is perfect.

Kathy’s friendship is a blessing to me.

I am thrilled that she gave me permission to show her owl blocks here.

She has also fussy cut shapes for her Inklingo Feathered Star blocks.

Kathy’s amazing Inklingo version of Lucy Boston Patchwork of the Crosses (POTC)was juried into the AQS show in Paducah too.

You can see all of Kathy’s POTC, QD, and other blocks in her albums on Webshots and in theInklingo Yahoo group.

If you ever need a little inspiration, you know where to go!

We are still hoping to see 20 Inklingoists submit designs in the June Club EQ Challenge. With that in mind, I have drawn the POTC hexagons in EQ7. Leave a comment if you are interested in seeing the file. You could use the “fussy cutting” tool in EQ7 to create designs the way Kathy has been doing with fabric.

Thank you, Kathy! You are the Queen of Fussy Cutting, and a heroine for quilters.

Every comment will be forwarded to Kathy. Thank you for visiting!

Linda & Monkey

PS Don’t forget to enter Tilde’s 15 Minute Challenge . You could win in the next draw on June 30!

New to Inklingo? Order and download free shapes and start sewing in the next few minutes. Quick Start (Always FREE.) There are triangles, diamonds, and squares  in the free collection—great for dozens of different blocks.

     Norsk

Berit Hansen Gilde in Norway translated the Download Instructions and the Quick Start Guide into Norwegian for us! The generosity and kindness of Inklingo quilters is quite amazing. I am very pleased to have an authentic translation from the land of Norse legends, fjords, trolls, reindeer, and the midnight sun. Thank you, Berit!

Seven special Inklingoists have given me permission to add photos of their newest Inklingo quilt tops on the web site too. Click on each one to see a larger view.

Cathi in Toronto designed and hand pieced Cameron’s Windmills with one-inch half hexagons from the Inklingo One Inch Hexagon Shape Collection. If you haven’t already, you need to subscribe to Cathi’s blog, Quilt Obsession, and order her free pattern for Emma’s Butterfly Stars, which she made for Cameron’s big sister. Cameron is only a couple of days old and already has a quilt from Aunt Cathi. If we ask, maybe Cathi will write up how to sew this one too!

Deanna Ahern in Michigan has completed her Insanity Quilt Top with 10,339 tiny hexagons (0.5 inch sides). Yes, that’s right 10,339. She was inspired by a quilt on the cover of Australian Patchwork & Quilting. I wonder how many quilters have started this amazing, impressive design. Deanna actually finished it.

Jutta in Austria has made a spectacular Aunt Clara Quilt with the 90-degree one-inch hexagons (Inklingo Lite # 4).  This is the same shape collection that we use for Lucy Boston Patchwork of the Crosses. I love the way the color dances across this quilt!

Kathy Timmons in Nashville is the absolute, undisputed Queen of Fussy Cutting. These are just two of the many Inklingo Feathered Star blocks she has made with fussy cut owls. The rest of Kathy’s Feathered Stars (and other amazing blocks) are in the photo albums of the Inklingo Yahoo group. “Seeing Kathy’s Stash in person” is on my bucket list.

Martha in NY lives on an island. Maybe that is why she chose Inklingo Storm At Sea. I have a feeling that Martha would be an artist at heart no matter where she lives. Her use of color is wonderful. You can follow her creative life on her blog, Quilt Contemplation.

Mary in Wisconsin has already made six 15 inch Feathered Star blocks. Some of Mary’s other Inklingo quilts have been featured on the blog before. I wish we could all be in Wisconsin this week to see Mary’s One Woman Quilt Show in person. For now, we have to settle for seeing the her Inklingo quilts online—here. Congratulations, Mary. We are very proud of you!

Sue Hodge in NY made this Rainbow Flower. It is the newest shape collection, less than two weeks old. Sue is a good friend and a longarm quilter. She has done a few quilts for me. Don’t you love the fussy cut butterflies and the curvy edge? Sue sewed this partly by hand and partly by machine—an Inklingo hybrid. (Click on the quilt to see the butterflies up close.)

Thank you, Berit, Cathi, Deanna, Jutta, Kathy, Martha, Mary, and Sue for inspiring us and keeping us energized.

Isn’t it wonderful that such talented quilt artists are using Inklingo to bring their designs to life? And that we can share all around the globe?

I will pass your comments along to these eight Inklingo friends. Thank you for visiting, from your corner of the world. Oh!—when you leave your comment, please tell us where you are, okay?

Linda & Monkey, in Burlington, Ontario
. . . Canada, North America, Earth, Milky Way
(Sorry, couldn’t resist.)

New to Inklingo? Order and download free shapes and start sewing in the next few minutes. Quick Start  (Always FREE.) There are triangles, diamonds, and squares  in the free collection—great for dozens of different blocks.

You can buy tickets online to see From Time to Time, the new movie based on Lucy Boston’s famous Chimneys of Green Knowe.  It just keeps getting better and better for fans of Lucy Boston, especially those who are making the Patchwork of the Crosses (POTC) with Inklingo.  Read on!

This movie trailer was posted on YouTube.

Diana Boston was at the Premiere at the London Film Festival last October.  She told me that when I see From Time to Time,  I will see Maggie Smith stitching on the Patchwork of the Crosses (POTC) beside the fire.  WOW.  The movie did not have a distributor at that time, so I have waited until now to mention it.

The writer and director, Julian Fellowes, wrote the screenplays for Gosford Park (one of my favs) and Most Mysterious Murders (excellent).  From Time to Time was not filmed at Lucy Boston’s ancient manor house at Hemingford Grey, but at Athelhampton, which Russ and I happened to visit in 1991.  Athelhampton was a good choice for several reasons, including the topiary garden.  You can see some great photos of Athelhampton in the online guide book (in 3 parts). 

According to the entry on IMDB several of my favorite actors are in the cast. In addition to Maggie Smith, there are Timothy Spall (Oliver Twist), Hugh Bonneville (many great films, including Miss Austen Regrets and a small role in Notting Hill), Harriet Walter (many, including S & S), Pauline Collins (Shirley Valentine), and others. 

Gosford Park is another connection between Maggie Smith and Julian Fellowes. I know it so well that I can enjoy “watching” it while I am drawing Inklingo shapes on the computer.

It has always amazed me that movie makers have endless budgets for big stars, but seem to spend too little to get a competent script. In this case, the writer is the director!  Judging by Julian Fellowes’ novels and other screenplays, he knows how to tell an engaging story, plus he was given an excellent start by Lucy Boston.

(The Young Victoria will be at cinemas here in Burlington soon, and he wrote the screenplay for that too.)

I can hardly wait until I can see From Time to Time! There is no news yet about dates for North America, but if I were within a few hours of Glasgow, I would find a way to get there! Let me know if you are lucky enough to see it, okay?

Linda & Monkey

The draw was done on January 6th.  I wondered why I had not heard from Lillian TractorLewie@aol.com .  I just need your mailing address, Lillian! If I hear from you in time, this gorgeous fabric will be mailed first thing tomorrow morning from Niagara Falls NY, and you can start Inklingoing.

Thank you to everyone who commented here to enter the draw, or added an Inklingo button to a blog or web site. The majority of quilters still have not heard about Inklingo, so every time you mention it, it might be someone’s very first time and you are helping me and your quilting friend.

If you haven’t yet, you need to order and download Tilde’s wonderful FREE pattern for the Passacaglia Table Runner.

I will write more about the new Dresden Plate Design Book (free) and collections too. Stay tuned!

Linda & Monkey

I only learned the word recently, thanks to Diana and Lucy Boston, but a young boy from Virginia got it right. P-A-S-S-A-C-A-G-L-I-A Tilde was inpsired by Lucy Boston to write a beautiful pattern for it. Yesterday we announced a Give-A-Way of fabric for it. You could win. Details here. 

Passacaglia was my first gift.

I also received an e-mail alert about some short videos presented by The Morgan about Jane Austen. I am giving them to you because they appealed to me.

The Divine Jane: Reflections on Austen from The Morgan Library & Museum on Vimeo.

Next, Fran Lebowitz explain why she thinks Austen is popular for all the wrong reasons.

Fran Lebowitz: Reflections on Austen from The Morgan Library & Museum on Vimeo.

Harriet Walter reflects on playing various characters from Austen’s novels.

Harriet Walter: Reflections on Austen from The Morgan Library & Museum on Vimeo.

The Morgan will be adding more of these short videos soon. 

Companionship, music, words (we stayed tuned for more), quilting, Inklingo, Jane Austen, Lucy Boston. My Christmas Day in Burlington, shared with friends.

I’m going to join Russ now.  There are only three spellers left, including Passacaglia Boy. I hope he wins.

Merry Christmas!

Linda & Monkey