Quiltmarket - Making Connections

Hi, I'm Kim and I'm the Chief Fabric Enthusiast at Cotton Cuts! I've been married to my best friend for 15 years and we have two boys, Lincoln (6) and Dominic (4). We live in St. Louis, via California, Arizona, New Orleans and Boston.

I've been quilting since I was 13 years old. It was a formative year - not only was I able to learn how to use a rotary cutter (life changing), but it was the same year I obtained my first hunting license. There were some basic tenets of my mom's teaching - no scrap left behind, no need to backstitch, press early and often, cut as few times as possible, always use 1/4", only use pins if you have to. I made my first quilt for a friend in high school. It was a quillow (remember those quilts that used to fold up into pockets to make a pillow?) I love to make baby quilts because they are quick to sew and can be done in a weekend - perfect for my busy go-go life.

I started Cotton Cuts earlier this year because I was looking for a new source of inspiration for my own quilting. I was stuck in a rut with the baby blankets – I could only do the same thing for so long. With many of the local quilt stores near me closing, I went online and found site after site of fabric stores but felt overwhelmed by all of the options. Wouldn't it be great if someone could help me navigate all of those options and provide me fabric that I might not buy for myself but would actually love? Cotton Cuts was born!

I recruited some friends to be fabric enthusiasts and to help with all things member care, while I focused on operations. I knew that I wanted to outsource all of our cutting and folding, but it was important to me to invest in my local community and keep all the work close to home. I discovered a workshop for disabled individuals that was willing to take on our project and knew I had found the perfect partner. I had used workshops for other projects and knew the capabilities of these very talented folks. Every Cotton Cuts purchase contributes towards supporting local jobs.

A few months ago, Sheila reached out to me about her Puzzle Mystery Quilt.  I was taken from the first introduction - I am a sucker for quick, fun and new projects.  This wasn't another block of the month and it wasn't a heavy lift for the quilters involved.  It keeps you guessing for 10 months, we do all the cutting AND you get your choice of colors?  It fits so well with the vision and mission of Cotton Cuts, I had to say "Yes!"

It has been my vision that every Cotton Cuts (boxes and Mystery Quilt) delights your inner quilter and challenges you to step out of your comfort zone to try something new.  I hope that we deliver on that vision every month!