What do you think when I say "urchin". Is it a sweet thing or an insult? I've been pondering this as I stitch together this fun new block with Mathew Boudreaux's (of Mister Domestic) Delicious (with a capital D) Loved to Pieces collection for Art Gallery Fabrics.

Did you know the word Urchin comes from an old French word herichon which means 'hedgehog'? That's cute, don't you think? A sea urchin is a sea hedgehog! I know it can also mean a poor, bedraggled child, but we also use it to describe my daughters when we can't find the hairbrush, which is almost always. I like it. Urchin. I think it's sweet.

Sweet is a great way to describe Loved to Pieces also. Mathew is a joyful guy, and I could feel his happiness in the little details of these prints as I stitched them together slowly.

This new Dresden-inspired Urchin was designed over a year ago, as we were packing to move, and then has sat patiently waiting for the right mix of colour and headspace. The blues in this collection were just the serendipity I was waiting for to make my sweet mini.

It's easy and fun to stitch together. I sewed the 8 point diamonds into a star first, and then stitched a 4 point star piece to each side of an elongated honeycomb. Then I sewed in 4 elongated honeycombs at north, south, east and west. And then I sewed in the corner units. I like it on point, like I've appliqued it here. But you can also stitch it so that the star is a traditional setting.

Urchin is now available in the shop! You can purchase it by block, in a set of 4, or 12!

Mister Domestic's blog party has turned out the most incredible collection of inspiration! Check out his Party page and Instagram feed to be blown away! Beautiful, beautiful.

Urchin Block - Loved to Pieces Blog Party!