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🎟 ticket giveaway 🎟 (& a bit of a catch up...)

01 May 2022


I have five pairs of tickets to giveaway for The Festival of Quilts which takes place at the NEC Birmingham from 18th-21st August 2022.  


You of course know that The Festival of Quilts is Europe’s leading patchwork and quilting event, and this year’s event offers some spectacular highlights, including work by internationally-acclaimed artists Michael A. Cummings and Danny Amazonas, African-American Quilts from the Cargo Collection at the International Quilt Museum, and quilts from the Roderick Kiracofe Collection. There will be 700 competition quilts, an extensive programme of workshops, Academy classes, talks and lectures, 200+ specialist craft retailers, and a Product Stage offering top tips and advice from brand ambassadors, experts and quilting VIPs.


Last time I visited was in 2019 and it's always so fun, meeting up with friends, viewing the quilts and of course shopping ;)



If you've never been, I highly recommend it. Wear comfy shoes, take some bags with you for purchases and, if you can, visit for more than just one day.
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breaking symmetry: Earth Day x Karen Nyberg

22 April 2022

 


Creativity is a curious thing. It ebbs and flows. I have to be in the right mood. At times I want to follow a pattern, create my own patterns, stitch mindlessly, stitch with focus, colour inside the lines, scribble like nothing matters. It happens in the moment, in the mood. Recently I have realised how much I like having structure and routine in my life but without being confined or limited. This applies to my creativity too. One of the things that keeps me making and motivated is the Aurifil Artisan challenges. We are given a starting point, a theme, supplies or just a word and let loose to create whatever we feel inspired to. This month we were sent fat quarters of the amazing Earth Views by Karen Nyberg and I received a spool of 50 weight Aurifil thread, which is featured in Karen’s Aurifil collection.



The pattern I chose is Minnie Stars, Quiltfolk Patterns 007. It's one I wanted to make for a while and I thought it would showcase the prints well. I was going to chose a solid blue background fabric but none of the blues I had worked at all. In the end I went for a pale grey - I have no idea what fabric this is - note to self, label your solids!


Had I labelled it, I might have been able to get more because I did run out. Thankfully I had just enough from the fat quarters to make up for it. You might spot the areas where I had to swap the solid for prints in the photos below. I was determined to use what I had and it just added to the quirkiness of the quilt.

Nature is so fascinating and the amount of symmetry found in patterns, creatures, trees, oceans, time and space is incredible. Repeating patterns, shapes, mirrored symmetry; it's all so beautiful. And then there's distortion, broken symmetry, changes; all of which can also be really beautiful. As I laid out the blocks it was clear they weren't going to fit together in a neat pattern, without me cutting quite a bit away or losing some blocks. I could have added more using other fabric but I decided not too. Instead I pieced the blocks like a puzzle, so they would all get used. The result is the most oddly shaped quilt I have ever made. It's weird and I like it.




Once the quilt top was done, next was the quilting...
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wordless wednesday

20 April 2022

 








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sunflowers

28 March 2022


Like many of you I've sure, the war in the Ukraine has been a horrible shock and weighed heavily on my mind. As well as making donations to charity relief efforts, and there are excellent resources available online to research where to donate, the craft community responded with many designers creating patterns to donate their profits. There have also been calls to purchase digital items from creators on Etsy who are in the Ukraine, this is easy to do by selecting Ukraine in the shop location menu in filters. These may seem relatively small actions but it all helps. I purchased the beautiful Sunflowers for Ukraine embroidery pattern from Wild Olive by Mollie Johanson - she also has a cross stitch pattern in her shop now. She is donating the proceeds to Hope International's Ukraine fund.

I enjoyed stitching this project, I tried some new things and am happy to share the simple stitches I used along with a few helpful embroidery tips! 
 

I began by tracing the pattern with my favourite water soluble pen, Sewline Styla, and then picked out appropriate sunflower colours of thread. My Aurifloss collection isn't very big and the colours I had weren't quite right, so instead I included some 12 weight threads in my picks (the thread colours are listed below). I really like doing embroidery with both the floss and the thread, they are different because of course Aurifloss strands can be separated in the same way as other embroidery floss and the 12 weight doesn't separate. The 12 weight is a lovely thickness for embroidery, especially when doubled over / using two strands.


I like to use the loop method to start stitching so I often cut longer lengths of floss as it will be doubled over. When I'm being good, I like to separate the individual strands of floss after cutting. Did you know you are supposed to do this? It does help the thread behave and helps stop knotting. The strands I'm not using just get wrapped back around the spool (the wonderful wooden spool!) ready for when I need more thread.

For the inner petals I used split stitch, such a fun and easy stitch to do and it has such a nice texture for outlines.

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Double Wedding Ring block

17 March 2022

The Double Wedding Ring is a beautiful, traditional block that is associated with love, romance and of course marriage. For fabric lovers, this is such a fun block to play with, plan layouts and stitch! This is a bucket list block, one that all quilters will recognise and want to sew. It works wonderfully with either traditional or modern fabrics and is open to lots of variation within the pattern. I have made two blocks, one English Paper Pieced and one hand pieced (they are two different techniques) and will be demonstrating both methods in my upcoming online class. I had so much fun stitching the blocks and want to share my process here. Keep reading to see my two very different versions of the block...

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The 100 Day Project for me

28 February 2022



I fell for the Merrow Croft pattern at the Festival of Quilts in 2019, where I met Margaret Mew and was enchanted by her work. My wonderful friend Michelle very kindly (and sneakily) bought me the pattern and gifted it to me later, just when I really needed something to smile about. It's taken me some time to start working on it but my plan was to finish a couple of other things first - they're getting there! With everything that's going on though I decided I really needed something that was no pressure, that I would enjoy making and that was a bit of a challenge. For those reasons, I have chosen to work on the Merrow Croft pattern for The 100 Day Project and you can follow my progress at #100daysofmerrowcroft. Obviously there's a lot of hand sewing in this quilt so I don't expect to be anywhere close to a finish after 100 days, all progress is good though and I'm excited to spend a little time each day working on it. It's mostly hand piecing and hand appliqué, I have looked at how Margaret stitches and preps her work so that I can try and do things in the way she does, much of which I have never done before. Learning is my love, I get excited about new information and trying different techniques... more on that shortly. 

View this post on Instagram
 

I have chosen some fabrics for the quilt (see the first picture), however it may be subject to change and additions! I have no plan, I'm working on each section or round at a time and choosing the fabrics as I go. These were my choices for the central part of the quilt:

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a piece of me scrappy pouch

24 February 2022

 

A fabric zippered pouch made with patchwork fabric scraps and hand quilted with a cross hatch pattern
patchwork fabric scraps, the reverse is shown with the hand stitched seams and an open small tin of pins

Back with another make that was finished last year. I can never have enough storage, sewing or bags for sewing supplies. I made this pouch on a whim, using up pretty scraps and repurposing a little jewellery bag (the mustard yellow above), because it was so soft and it seemed wasteful to throw it away. 

hand sewn fabric patchwork

I began hand piecing the scraps together, organised by size, starting with the smallest pieces. It grew until it was enough for a panel and then I repeated the process to make a back panel.

patchwork fabric scraps, shown being sewn with a needle loaded with stitches

It was so fun, just stitching the fabrics together and not being too precise about it. I like using a long needle for piecing, a milliners or straw needle, and Aurifil 50wt thread. I decided to continue the hand work by hand quilting the panels and used Aurifil 28 weight #6722, a nice neutral. 

A spool of Aurifil 28 weight thread laying on fabric patchwork with quilting lines scored

I used the Clover Black Gold quilting needle #12 and it sewed beautifully. I have used the Black Gold applique needles and they are my favourite. The coating really helps the needle glide through the layers and they are so sharp.

straight line hand quilting stitches and needle

Of course I went with my very favourite quilting pattern, a simple cross hatch. I adore the texture.

cross hatch hand quilting on patchwork

What is cool about this pouch pattern is you can see the quilting on the inside of the pouch too. I used a plain fabric for a pop of colour, my stitches are always smaller on the reverse and I love that it shows it's handmade.

reverse of hand quilting

For added fun, I used some alphabet stamps to add lettering. Hooked on a Feeling has been on repeat in our house because my middle child is obsessed with it and it is a super happy song. I stitched some split crosses randomly around the letters for a bit more texture too.

Hooked on a Feeling in ink stamped onto fabric

Time for assembly! Despite having a stash of various coloured zips, I went for simple white and cut the bias binding ready from the blue and white print. 

pouch making, panels, zip and bias binding

This pattern has the SIMPLEST zip insertion and what I love is how neatly it turns out. No faffing, just clever needle alignment. If you struggle with zips (or even if you don't!), do buy my pattern because it makes sewing them joyful!

two panels opened out with zip sewn in the middle

Looking at it now, the white zip does contrast nicely with the lining and because it coordinates with the thread it makes the quilting pop too. So good choice past me.

open pouch showing inside the pouch with quilted texture

Rounded corners - instructions in the pattern - add such a nice modern and aesthetically pleasing bottom. 

hand quilted zippered pouch

For even more pizzazz I finished it off with a little zip charm I made. A felt pom pom, glass bead, split ring and perle thread holding it together. I left tails and cut the ends of the perle thread rather than burying it, and I like the fluffy texture it adds.

zipper charm, felt pom pom with glass bead and tufted black thread

a piece of me pouch - scrappy patchwork hand pieced and hand quilted, round bottom zippered pouch

Not intentional, but because of how I pieced the binding strips (cut from scraps so didn't have enough for one long strip); the print ended up on one side for one edge and then shows on the bottom and other edge on the other side. I actually love it, random in the best way.

a piece of me pouch - patchwork, fabric scraps, hand pieced and hand quilted, round bottom zippered pouch

This pouch ended up being 7.5" x 7", a handy size for bits and bobs! Earlier in the week I used it to take some hand piecing with me to Cardiff, I got everything I needed in it (48 squares of fabric, embroidery scissors and a spool of basting thread - I even managed to store my glasses in there when I realised I forgot my case) and it fit perfectly in my smallish handbag. Gotta love portable projects!

You can purchase the A Piece of Me Pouch Pattern here - remember it's easy to adapt the pattern to any size and this version is a perfect stash buster, so have fun making pouches for all the things!


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shining blue quilt

03 February 2022


This quilt was made last summer and gifted to a wonderful educator who retired from my kids school. I used some fabulous new products in the making of this quilt, which helped me make perfect blocks and perfect points with pins! I don't know why I didn't blog about it at the time but here we are, months later and it seemed a shame to have documented the making of the quilt and not share. 
I sneakily got the girls to find out her favourite colour... blue! I went through my stash and picked out loads of blue prints, many of which were leftover from previous projects. My fabric stash is not coordinated by colour, much of it is organised by designer or style of print instead - it just makes sense to my brain that way. So it's always interesting when I do go to shop my stash for a certain colour, I never quite know how much I'll have.
It was a bit of a tight deadline to get the quilt made so I decided to keep it simple, with mostly patchwork squares and some star/cross blocks using the blue fabrics I had more of.

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Hello!
I'm Lucy from Manchester, UK.
A modern / traditional quilter and stitcher with miscellaneous style.
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