Bluebells & Buttercups Fabric Tour: Sweet Stitches

Greetings, friends!

I’m so happy to be joining the Bluebells & Buttercups Fabric Tour featuring the newest collection from Elea Lutz for Poppie Cotton. If you've followed Elea's fabric lines over the years, you already know how beautifully she combines sweet vintage-inspired motifs with fresh, cheerful color palettes. This collection is no exception. Bluebells & Buttercups includes 18 coordinating prints filled with floral bouquets, ribbons, berries, cherries, charming little birds, and other whimsical details that feel as though they've stepped straight from a treasured storybook.

The collection offers a lovely range of coordinating colors and prints that make mixing and matching effortless. Whether you're creating quilts, bags, home décor, or small sewing accessories, the fabrics work together beautifully and provide endless opportunities for playful patchwork and creative embellishment. You can view the entire collection on the Poppie Cotton website here: https://poppiecotton.com/pages/bluebells-and-buttercups.

For my stop on the tour, I couldn't resist making several smaller projects that highlight the sweetness and versatility of the collection.

🌸Mini Medi Tote Bag

My first project is a Mini Medi Tote Bag, one of my own designs available in my Etsy shop:

Digital Pattern: https://blueribbondesigns.etsy.com/listing/1743028230
Paper Pattern: https://blueribbondesigns.etsy.com/listing/1743026780

This pocketed patchwork tote measures approximately 12.5" wide x 12" high x 3" deep, with a 5.5" handle drop. I had so much fun combining ALL of the Bluebells & Buttercups prints to create the patchwork exterior. One of my favorite things about this tote is how an entire collection of fabrics can be showcased in a single project.  The smaller-scale prints really shine in the patchwork, while the coordinating Country Confetti fabric provides the perfect finishing touch for the lining and handles.

🍒Cherry Project Bag

Next up is a Cherry Project Bag, measuring approximately 12" wide x 10" high.

This little bag features patchwork piecing accented with miniature rick rack and a wool felt cherry embellishment. To add an extra handmade touch, I used pink baker's twine for the zipper pull. The bag is both lined and backed with Country Confetti, which complements the collection perfectly and provides a nice visual contrast to the feature fabrics.

The cherry-themed fabrics inspired this project from the start, and the wool felt embellishment was the perfect finishing detail. I didn't use a specific pattern for this bag, just creativity.

🍓Blissful Bloom Fabric Bowls

I also created two fabric bowls using my Blissful Bloom Fabric Bowl Tutorial, which is available free on the Therm O Web website:

https://www.thermoweb.com/blogs/blog/blissful-bloom-fabric-bowl-featuring-bliss-batting

For these versions, I decided to give the original design a Bluebells & Buttercups twist. Instead of the wool felt flowers featured in the tutorial, I created wool felt strawberries and cherries to coordinate with the fabrics (of course, as always, I used my favorite Wool Blend Felt from Benzie Design).

For the strawberry bowl, I embellished the flowers using ¼" buttons and a seed bead in the centers, adding even more texture and dimension. These little bowls are perfect for organizing sewing notions while also adding a cheerful decorative touch to the sewing room.

🍅Tomato Pincushions

No sewing-themed fabric collection would be complete without a few pincushions! 

I made several tomato pincushions, using my own method rather than a formal pattern. The hand stitching was completed with DMC pearl cotton, which adds beautiful texture and detail. The tomatoes are stuffed with fiberfill, while the attached berries are filled with emery sand to help keep pins sharp.

Wool felt was used for both the tomato leaves and berry caps, creating a classic look that pairs perfectly with the vintage charm of the collection.

These may be small projects, but they are such a delightful way to showcase favorite fabric prints.

🧵Covered Tape Measures

My final projects are several covered retractable tape measures.

I used standard round 60-inch retractable measuring tapes and covered them using fabrics from the collection. These quick projects are both practical and fun, making them perfect gifts for sewing friends or charming additions to a sewing basket.

The smaller prints in Bluebells & Buttercups work especially well for projects like these because every side reveals a tiny glimpse of the collection's sweet details.

Let me know in the comments if you would be interested in a tutorial on how to cover a round retractable measuring tape...

🌷Final Thoughts

Bluebells & Buttercups captures everything I love about an Elea Lutz collection—sweet motifs, beautiful coordinating prints, and plenty of opportunities for adding handmade details. From bags and bowls to pincushions and sewing accessories, every project was a joy to create.

I especially enjoyed incorporating wool felt embellishments (my signature), trims, and hand stitching alongside these fabrics. The collection lends itself beautifully to projects that celebrate traditional sewing techniques and thoughtful handmade touches.

Thank you so much for visiting my stop on the Bluebells & Buttercups Fabric Tour. Be sure to visit the other talented makers participating in the tour for even more inspiration, and don't forget to take a look at the full collection from Poppie Cotton—it's shipping to quilt shops this month. I can't wait to see what everyone creates with these delightful fabrics!

Happy sewing! 🍓🌸🍒🧵