CHARM ABOUT YOU

I spent two days at the Festival of Quilts this year and it was fully all about friends for me. It's like a quilty friend reunion and this post is going to be unashamedly about the people I met and the friends I saw... with quilts and cool finds interspersed throughout. If you are looking for a blog post featuring all the beautiful quilts that were on display, this isn't it (sorry). You will certainly find pictures of all the quilts on social media, like here.

Friday

After a fun road trip down with my friends Michelle and Rachel we arrived in Birmingham (a bit later than expected thanks to traffic) on Friday and I went straight to find my friend Nicky. She made this amazing Expanding Universe Quilt with signature blocks from quilters that have contributed to Siblings Together.

My block is a cornerstone in the top right of the quilt but I'm too short to properly point at it. Cue the first of many friend selfies...

Next on my to do was visit my colleagues and friends at the Janome stand and of course to see the awesomeness that is this quilted jacket made by talented Lucy Engels.

I am madly in love with every aspect of this, the colours, the collar and cuffs, the log cabins and the texture of the quilting. It's the only quilted garment I've ever truly wanted to wear!

I also had to visit my friend Charlotte, we have known each other since we were in an online quilting bee ages ago and it's always nice to catch up. We also compared bee tattoos and I admired her beautiful bee dress!

I was lucky enough to get to play with some of the new Ludlow collection by Denyse Schmidt. Inspired by the mills and red brick buildings of New England, Ludlow is full of gorgeous geometrics and pretty florals. Denyse is one of my favourite designers and her colour ways are always stunning.

Using the blues and reds I revisited my Heart and Kisses quilt design, this time using appliqué circles and hearts. The large appliqué pieces means the quilt comes together quite quickly and also showcases the prints beautifully.

I made something just for me! And I love it. A few years ago I made an embroidered patchwork notebook cover and now I'm wondering why it took me so long to make another version. They really are fun to make and a fabric cover feels so lovely, it's also a good way to protect your book. After browsing the internet I decided to use this tutorial by Charlotte Scott, I was inspired by her embellishments and the measurements she gives worked perfectly! It's also an interesting construction. I didn't use any interfacing though because my main fabrics were Essex Yarn Dyed Linen and this cool Taupe Punched Faux Leather. I did think about keeping it really simple with just those two fabrics but it felt a bit boring. I have a stash of selvedges that I've collected over the years and it's nice to rummage through them and find text or graphics that work with the project. Can you guess what the book is?

I did some straight line quilting and mimicked squares within the diamond space. Given more time I think this would be incredible with a lot of dense quilting or some detailed free motion quilting.

Finally the Sailing Sailing Quilt from Beginner-Friendly Baby Quilts by Linda Causee, a simple and cute make! 

I chose to make half squares triangles, using both the traditional and four in one method, as it was quicker than cutting lots of triangles using the templates in the book. 

The quilting suits the theme perfectly, I used blue and white thread to quilt 'waves' using my Elna (mode 2, #19).

It's Sew Emma have a new quilt pattern, Dutch Tulips and I am joining in the quilt along to make pretty spring flowers! The quilt pattern can be made in four different sizes: crib, lap, twin and queen. The blocks come together easily and it is so fun choosing fabric combinations to create the tulip.

What fabric would you use for this quilt?

 

Whether you are a fan of the show or not, this free pattern from Anorina at Samelia's Mum is adorable and you could easily add your own quote. I happen to love the show and the new series. I listen to the theme song Where You Lead by Carole King on every episode!

I enjoy doing embroidery and a little project like this is a nice quick make. I used two strands of Aurifloss #2530 and a simple backstitch for the text. 

I added some hand quilting, steam coming from the cup and some little crosses to mimic the fabric print, using Aurifil 12wt #2021.

Now I'm not sure I want to put my coffee on it so it might live on my bedside table instead!

The theme at le challenge this month is 'passion'. I had lots of ideas of things I would like to make but after making my fresh flowers cushion I couldn't stop thinking about making a random bouquet. I decided to use my hoarded Chicopee by Denyse Schmidt charm pack to make the flowers, using shapes from Paper Pieces. Since I started English Paper Piecing it has definitely become a passion of mine and I enjoy discovering new shapes and ways of incorporating epp into my projects.

I wanted to have a simple background so I used XOXO in Ghost, Cotton & Steel Basics and added texture by doing some cross hatch quilting. I posted a cross hatch quilting tutorial yesterday so you can see how I did it. I don't usually quilt the back of my cushions but since this is only quite small, 12 x 20", I wanted to give it some structure (plus I was having fun with the quilting!). I used XOXO in Night Owl, Cotton & Steel Basics for the back and the binding. I quilted with Aurifil 50wt thread in #2021 for the front and #2783 for the back, I love how they blend so nicely with the prints.

Deliciousness from the Fat Quarter Shop: top row from left to right - Blue Dot Blossom, Aunt Grace Ties One On by Judie Rothermel I am OBSESSED! I ADORE this print!; Rosemilk in Mint, Brambleberry Ridge by Violet Craft; Plated in Green, Aunt Grace Miniatures by Judie Rothermel; Daisy Check in Aloe, Lazy Daisy Baskets 2 by Darlene Zimmerman; bottom row from left to right - Shadow Dot in Hydrangea, Hadley by Denyse Schmidt; Dash Dot in Sunflower, Hadley by Denyse Schmidt; Tossed Square Plaid in Hydrangea, Hadley by Denyse Schmidt; Daisy Grid in Gray, Mimosa by Another Point of View.

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We have an awesome guest post about modern calligraphy by Made Peachy on the le challenge blog today, so go and check that out!

image by Laura of Made Peachy