Quilty Box Subscription Box Review + Coupon – May 2016

Quilty Box is a monthly subscription box bringing you quilting supplies, from fabric to patterns to thread to notions, with a promised retail value of at least $50.  Boxes are curated by guests (bloggers, designers, etc.). 

This box was sent to us for review purposes. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)

The Subscription Box: Quilty Box

The Cost: $48 a month (save with longer subscriptions)

The Products: Four or more themed quilting items such as fabric, patterns, books, threads, notions, and other tools.

Ships to: US (free), Canada ($10), International ($20)

Check out all of our Quilty Box reviews and see the Craft Subscription Box Directory for more great crafty boxes!

Keep Track of your subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription list or wishlist!

This month there was an information card with a list of items in the box.  The other side profiled this month’s curator, Annemarie Chany from Gen X Quilters.  (Her work involves taking traditional patterns or motifs and mixing something a little modern into them.)

Pie Making Day by Brenda Ratliff for RJR Fabrics (10 fat quarter bundle) – Value $26.88

I just love the way QuiltyBox packages fabric which is why there are two pictures.  These fabrics really appeal to me, I think because of the bright colors and geometric patterns.  I also like that it is easy to find this collection online so I can get more.  10 fat quarters is good for getting a feel for a fabric collection but isn’t enough for a full quilt top (one of the patterns in this month’s box calls for 24 fat quarters, for example).  I am one of those people who can’t just jump in and start working while waiting for items to arrive – I have to plan things out and have every piece cut before I start sewing.  It’s kind of obsessive but that’s just how I am.  (Any other way of doing it and I would end up with 32 partially-begun projects and nothing ever finished…)  Moving on.

Gen X Quilters Bella Maiden Paper Pattern – Value $9.50

Gen X Quilters Lacuna Sampler Paper Pattern – Value $12

You almost always get patterns from the month’s curator in QuiltyBox.  The Lacuna Sampler appeals to me quite a bit, I think because it is my preference to have similarly-sized visual elements in each block, and less white space.  I think it would go really well with the fabric from this month but I would need to buy a fair amount more to get started.

FriXion Erasable Gel Pen – Value $2.68

I took the value from the information card.  I am finding these in a lot of sets with other pens, refills, etc., so it is not straightforward to calculate.  Anyway, I have been using marking pencils for a long time but I am willing to give them a rest and give this a try the next time I use a light-colored fabric.  My initial test on a piece of scrap fabric worked pretty well.  Erasable pens have come a long way in the last 30 years.

6 ½ Triangle Square Up Ruler – Value $9.68

This helps with measuring and cutting triangles, which is wonderful.  I love simple, geometric patterns but I can’t stick with squares all the time.  (I probably would’ve done really well about 150 years ago, with what was fashionable for quilts at the time…)

Verdict: I calculated a value of about $60.74 for the May Quilty Box.  That is about average for a Quilty Box and is above the cost of the subscription on a month-to-month basis, so from a value standpoint, it is good.

I like that there are some common themes with this box each month (pretty fabric! I am a fabric hoarder!) but that the individual monthly curators also do something to make the box their own.  I particularly like this month’s fabric and the Lacuna Sampler pattern and that I learned about a couple of new, useful tools.

What do you think of the May 2016 Quilty Box?