pink turntable cutting mat and other questions

 After my last LUCY post
I had some questions I thought I'd address...

The Project (yes, capital P!)
occupying my hand stitchin' time is
Lucy Boston: Patchwork of the Crosses
by Linda Franz.

Lucy Boston (1892-1990),
was an author,
spring and summer gardener,
and winter quilter from the Cambridge area of England.
Lucy designed and sewed through her octogenarian years,
and made more than 20 impressive patchworks,
which can still be seen, as her d-i-l Diana now lives
in the 1130 manor-house where Lucy lived and stitched.
Lucy's story is fascinating to me, and there are books to read
if you like history as I do.

What also fascinated me (like the author was fascinated)
 was the design of this quilt...
only two shapes  - the honeycomb and the square,
and so many different looks accomplished
with the arrangement of fabrics within the same block layout...
placement of stripes and depth of colors
and PLAYING with fabric!!!
 

So, on to the questions!

 

PINK  turntable cutting mat:

(I'm not receiving compensation for this, just sharing my opinion)

made by Busy Fingers Patchwork 

designed by Sue Daly.

You can tell that it was designed by a quilter!!

• NO CORNERS!! (which my previous rotary mat had).  I have a problem with corners on a turntable...every time I turned it for trimming, I'd knock stuff off my table.  EVERY time.   Stuff on the floor.
• has a slightly rough surface which grips the fabric you are trimming, so NO slippage, NO mis-cuts. I love that. 
• the cutting surface is still perfect, with no lifting or cuts in the mat after a year
• 10 inches across - a great size for fussy cutting, and 'cause it would fit into a travel work bag for taking to class. 
• The turning mechanism was a little stiff when I first got it, but it loosened up quickly and is still great. 

If you don't have a nice cutting mat turntable
and you're thinking of starting a fussy-cut or paper-piecing project, then I would highly recommend you invest in this one - about $30.
I would definitely purchase one again, and highly recommend it to others.
 
The English Paper Pieces and templates:

• I'm using the PaperPieces - these are perfect, precut shapes:  1" Honeycomb (#HON100) 100 pieces-about $3.50 and 1" Square (#SQU100) 150 pieces - about $3.50
• Acrylic Templates, also by PaperPieces, the Honeycomb shape (HON100) and the square (HON100)  - they have a built-in 3/8" seam allowance (I usually cut my fabric pieces with only a quarter inch allowance, but this works perfectly if you're using the pre-cut papers.)

The rotary cutter:

• the small 28mm cutter so I'm not over-cutting into fabric pattern repeats that I might need in my next honeycomb shape.

Thread: 

• YLI quilting thread-it's a glazed cotton 40/3ply in light brown for the colored/inside portion of each block
• same YLI but in cream for the outside/border portion of the block

Book/pattern:

• Lucy Boston - Patchwork of the Crosses

I've tried to include all the different links to the supplies for this project,
but I picked up all of my supplies in one place: 

at my wonderful, LQS -

Good Wives Co., Marion Ohio.

If you haven't visited this shop, either in person or on their blog, then you are missing out!
They only carry Reproduction Fabrics!!! Not a white in the house!  Their website is not active, but their blog shows new arrivals frequently and if you call, they ship!!  Sorry, can you tell I love this shop??!!  (Again, I'm not receiving compensation for this, just sharing my opinion).

Hope that answers all the questions about my love of Lucy.

Back to cutting more LUCY pieces!
Happy Stitching!