Tag Archives: quilting

Three Ways to Make Buttonwood Village

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One of the things I love most about Buttonwood Village is that it gives you options. There isn’t just one right way to make this quilt—you get to choose the version that fits your space, your time, and your stitching mood.

Option 1: The Original Village
The original Buttonwood Village features 9 house blocks surrounded by 20 border blocks, finishing at 60˝ x 60˝. This version feels complete and cozy, with the houses nestled right into their own little neighborhood.

Option 2: Houses Only
I know some of you prefer a smaller wall quilt. You can make just the 9 house blocks, add a 3˝ border, and end up with a sweet 46˝ x 46˝ quilt. Simple, charming, and absolutely perfect.

Option 3: Border Blocks on Their Own

The border blocks measure 10˝ x 10˝, and if you make all twenty of them, they can be set together into a more traditional quilt that finishes at 46˝ x 56˝. It’s a great option if you fall in love with the border designs and want to let them shine.

You don’t need to decide right now. Just tuck these possibilities into the back of your mind as the Block of the Month moves forward. One project, three paths—and plenty of room to make it your own. 😊

Find Buttonwood Village BOM at Piece O’ Cake: https://pieceocake.com/products/buttonwood-block-of-the-month-digital-pattern

Find Buttonwood Village plus the the Live monthly class on Creative Spark: https://ctpub.com/products/3324756?ref=BECKYGOLDSMITH

Show & Tell… My Whimsical Quilt Garden

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Kathy Sue sent me this photo of her finished quilt. It’s wonderful!

Kathy wrote:

I love your patterns, especially My Whimsical Quilt Garden!!!! It turned out adorable. It made me so happy, every stitch I took. I never made a quilt that was so much fun!!!!! Thank you Becky

Thank you, Kathy, for the kind words! I am so glad that making this quilt brought you joy 😊.

If any of you want some happy stitching too, you can find the pattern here.

This is why you buy big prints 😁

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Anna Maria’s Zinnia print first came out years ago and since then it has been reissued in different colors. I love them all! Not sure which one I bought first, but it could have been this one:

Each flower is 3 3/4″ wide by 3″ tall if you count the stem. The spacing is tight in all the right ways. but I do wonder if some people shy away from it because the flowers are larger than your typical “small” print. Personally? I don’t mind one bit. As I said… I LOVE this fabric and have it in every color.

I haven’t pieced with it yet, but I will. I even have a stack of Kaffe stripes that would be perfect with these zinnias—later. When I have time. Right now I’m deep into Buttonwood Village and have already found three perfect places for a flower to sneak in.

The flower becomes a tree
Is that a pineapple bush?
The flower is a palm tree!

One flower becomes a tree. Another becomes a pineapple bush? And the third one could be a palm tree!

That’s the thing about bigger prints: if you avoid them, you miss out on so much fun. I encourage you to give them a try—you might be surprised where a big, beautiful print can take you 🌸.

Find Buttonwood Village BOM at Piece O’ Cake: https://pieceocake.com/products/buttonwood-block-of-the-month-digital-pattern

Find Buttonwood Village plus the the Live monthly class on Creative Spark: https://ctpub.com/products/3324756?ref=BECKYGOLDSMITH

Show and Tell… Winter Bird!

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Regina Grewe sent this cheerful little bird for us to enjoy! Thank you, Regina!

Regina, the big berry in the lower left corner is a nice touch! It balances the block in a very subtle way. Well done!

This is one block is our Backyard Birds pattern pack—click here to find the digital pattern.

Coloring Buttonwood Village…

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Welcome to Buttonwood Village—my newest Block of the Month! I hope you are excited to get started and the place to begin is with fabric :-).

The first decision to make is your background, because everything else is built on top of it. I pieced my backgrounds from more than one fabric, but you may prefer to use just a single fabric—and either choice works beautifully. I chose a light, almost-solid off-white with tiny slubs of color woven in. From there, I added light blue prints (because… sky!) and a few light tan prints to give the background a little more visual weight.

For the border block backgrounds, I switched things up just a bit. I’m using a cotton/linen blend in a slightly darker tan. Since there isn’t an inner border strip in this quilt, that change in value—and texture—helps visually separate the border from the interior of the quilt. It’s a subtle shift, but an important one.

With the backgrounds settled, it was time for the fun part: coloring the village. I raided my scrap bins first, pulling out all those small, lovely pieces that I just couldn’t part with. You’ll notice there’s a little bit of almost every color in the mix—that variety is exactly what gives the village its charm.st colors.

Next, I visited my stash to fill in a few gaps and expand my color palette. I won’t use everything you see here, and I may add more as I go. This part is meant to be flexible and playful. Gather the colors and fabrics that you love, see how the colors talk to each other, and remember—you can always adjust along the way.

Once you have assembled the fabric, your village will be ready to come to life, one block at a time.

Find Buttonwood Village BOM at Piece O’ Cake: https://pieceocake.com/products/buttonwood-block-of-the-month-digital-pattern

Find Buttonwood Village plus the the Live monthly class on Creative Spark: https://ctpub.com/products/3324756?ref=BECKYGOLDSMITH

Where does inspiration come from?

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Houses have shown up in stitched work for hundreds of years, and that really isn’t a surprise. We live our lives inside houses. The people we love are part of our household. When we stitch houses, we’re often stitching feelings too—memories of homes we’ve lived in, homes we’ve loved, or maybe homes we’re still dreaming about.

Buttonwood Village is a happy place, built with a whimsical attitude and lots of color—and it truly feels like home to me :-). You might notice that the houses are small. Steve and I have never lived in big houses, so small just feels right in my bones.

And those giant flowers and trees? My yard doesn’t look exactly like that, but it is full of plants, flowers, and trees. This photo was taken last spring—by summer everything had grown taller, bushier, and a little bit wild. Just the way I like it :-).

Find Buttonwood Village BOM at Piece O’ Cake: https://pieceocake.com/products/buttonwood-block-of-the-month-digital-pattern

Find Buttonwood Village plus the the Live monthly class on Creative Spark: https://ctpub.com/products/3324756?ref=BECKYGOLDSMITH