pretties and a cover!!
I got some lovely stash additions this week from Pin It and Stitch. I had to get the gorgeous bees after seeing Tracey use it in her Stitchy Pie and I'm going to use the hexies to make one for my Auntie.
I Heart Bees in Denim and Mint, Mustang by Melody Miller, Red Cotton Reels, Sew Stitchy by Aneela Hoey (available here in blue) and Pink Hexagons, Sew Stitchy by Aneela Hoey.
I also loved the snaps on Caroline's Stitchy Pie and got myself these Kam snaps and pliers from ebay. There are round and heart shaped ones in this set! LOVE them and looking forward to trying them out soon. There are various bundles and deals on Kam snaps, just do a search on ebay if you want to find some. I ordered mine from the UK, there are lots of international sellers so you might want to double check they are shipping from your country.
And I received month 4 of the Patchwork of the Crosses BOM from Sew and Quilt. The fabrics are so so beautiful!
Yesterday I taught a class to make rope bowls at Patchfinders. We had a fun day and they were a really creative group, here's what they made:
I got the latest issue of Love Patchwork & Quilting and was thrilled to see my Half-Moon Tote Bag on the cover!!
Issue 34 includes my pattern for the bag and a matching purse. I loved designing and making these! Appliqué has become a real favourite technique for me. I used some beautiful Pure Elements and a gorgeous metallic Cotton and Steel canvas from Bobbie Lou's Fabric Factory.
I enjoy mixing up fabrics so that the projects match in an interesting way. The half-moon shape is modern and simple, you can play around with the layout to create a really dramatic geometric design. Thank you to the Love Patchwork and Quilting team for doing a brilliant job with the layout and pictures!
Lastly if you fancy grabbing a deal, Green Fairy Quilts currently have 40% off charm packs - including new releases. I couldn't resist some of the new Jen Kingwell lines and Little Miss Sunshine because of the cuteness and am look forward to receiving them so I can play!
dear deer and a bee garden
At the beginning of the week my daughter went to a birthday party and I wanted to make her friend one of these cute Secret Pocket Envelope Clutches by Michelle Patterns. I have made the pattern before and it's a fun project to sew.
I used this sweet print, Deer and Cherries, 30's Collection by Atsuko Matsuyama, and the position of the deer worked fortuitously well!
I filled it with some stationery goodies because I know she likes to craft! Happily she loved it :)
This is finish #2 off my FAL Q2 list ✓
I also managed to finish my first blocks for this years Bee A Brit Stingy round robin and I'm really pleased with them. We are starting with a central hexagon, triangle and square, then every two months we make a triangle and square block for our bee mate based on their original.
I was inspired by Jen Kingwell's book Quilt Lovely and used two of her patterns in the blocks. I hand pieced some 'Daisy Do' blocks and machine appliquéd them to six triangles that I had sewn into a hexagon. The square is a larger version of the 'Bonnie Lass' block. I chose triangles for the triangle after seeing Sheila's beautiful version. I hope she doesn't mind me copying!
The background is The Big One in Pepper, Carkai by Carolyn Friedlander - which I got from Patchfinders. I think it makes it so striking without being too overpowering. This is going to be my 'Concrete Garden' quilt.
I was too busy this week to get them sent off but they will be on their way at the start of next week. I'm really excited to work on all the other bees blocks this year! This was a bit of a mathematical challenge for me but I had help from the lovely Helen and Sheila to work it out. Thank you again friends!
linking up:
The background is The Big One in Pepper, Carkai by Carolyn Friedlander - which I got from Patchfinders. I think it makes it so striking without being too overpowering. This is going to be my 'Concrete Garden' quilt.
I was too busy this week to get them sent off but they will be on their way at the start of next week. I'm really excited to work on all the other bees blocks this year! This was a bit of a mathematical challenge for me but I had help from the lovely Helen and Sheila to work it out. Thank you again friends!
linking up:
Quick & Easy Quilts giveaway winner!
Thank you to everyone that entered to win a copy of Quick & Easy Quilts!
The winner is...
Congratulations! I have sent you an email :)
published by Kyle Books, photographs by Jan Baldwin
To order a copy of Quick & Easy Quilts by Lynne Goldsworthy click here!
inspired Sunday Stash
Newsprint, Modern Background Paper by Zen Chic and The End Slate, Reel Time by Zen Chic.
I really wanted that Newsprint fabric after seeing how Kim Niedzwiecki @gogokim used Modern Background Paper in this beautiful block on her instagram:
All the prints in the collection are gorgeous but I really wanted the text one! You can get Modern Background Paper here.
There are some beautiful Stitchy Pie needle cases being made...
I love this fabric and the gorgeous thread colours in this picture by @pinitandstitch:
Two beautiful versions, including some pretty embroidery by Caroline @lalinsocal:
And Hadley @mrsflyingblind made this gorgeous one with Priory Square and a brilliant dotty binding:
It is so exciting to see people using my pattern and I am so grateful for all the incredibly positive feedback ♡
The older kids are back at school tomorrow so I'm about to relax with some epp before another busy week!
fine ~ le challenge ~ bee basket
The pattern is from the project booklet designed by Fiona Calvert that came with issue 29 of Love Patchwork & Quilting, you can download the 2.5" and 3.5" clamshell templates here!
The bees are fussy cut from a 'Flying High' panel by Skinny Malinky Quilts, it's printed on Kona Highlight - which is hard to photograph and much brighter than it appears here! I'm looking forward to more of her collections, the panel is fabulous quality.
I like that it looks like the bees are trying to fly out of the basket!
I like that it looks like the bees are trying to fly out of the basket!
I added some hand quilting to echo the clamshells and picked colours that worked with the Japanese denim.
For the top stitching on the basket and the handles I went with a soft buttery yellow, 50 wt. Aurifil #2130 and it stands out without fighting the brighter Highlight yellow.
The basket fits a fair bit of fabric and is a lovely size to sit on my desk and hold charm packs, scraps or fabrics for my next project! This is the first finish off my Q2 FAL list ✓
I just wanted to make it, it doesn't really fit the Le Challenge theme of 'fine' specifically but I'm going to go with the fact it's a fine way to store fabric!
If you have any 'fine' projects made in the last month, head over and link up - there is a giveaway :)
I'm also linking up with:
Quick & Easy Quilts ~ Giveaway!
**giveaway now closed**
I'm excited to be part of the Quick & Easy Quilts blog tour. As soon as I received my copy I sat down and spent time admiring the 20 beautiful projects. I even made notes on which ones I want to make and which fabric I would use!
I really love Lynne's style and have followed her blog Lily's Quilts for as long as I've been quilting. The projects in the book are all beautifully photographed by Jan Baldwin and there are great illustrations by Bess Harding. It's really helpful to have pictures and diagrams, it makes the instructions so clear and I like seeing full photographs of each finished project.
I was so inspired and just had to make the 'Gypsy Cushion', it's a good size at 17" and there's something so homely and pleasing about a circular cushion!
The book helpfully contains full size templates, I'm often put off other patterns by the thought of having to mess around enlarging templates, and it meant I could start sewing right away! I made a photocopy of the template, cut it out and glued it to thick card so I could rotary cut all the wedges. The hardest part was thinking about the direction of these fussy cut vintage ladies.
I added some hand quilting with black perle thread and used a cheater patchwork print for the sides and back. The instructions are really clear and it was quick to make!
Lynne is an experienced quilter, the 'Equipment and Materials' and 'Techniques' sections of the book are excellent for beginners and there are tips for quilters of all abilities. It is definitely a book written by a quilter for quilters and Lynne has created 20 gorgeous projects that you will want to sew. The 'Under My Umbrella' quilt is next on my list.
I think the publishers Kyle Books have done a fabulous job too - as a book lover I really like the textured cover, the fact it is hard back and the way it's been bound means that the pages easily lie flat, a big bonus when you're following a pattern!
**giveaway now closed**
The giveaway is open internationally, it will end on Monday 18th April and the winner will be chosen by random.org.
You will not win if I can't contact you so for the love of a good book please check you are not 'no reply' and leave your email in the comment e.g. modernquilting (at) quiltymail (dot) com
Good luck and to check out the other stops on the blog tour click here!
work to do ~ FAL Q2 2016
I like to be realistic with my list of finishes, I'm not sure I am being realistic here but a girl can try! It could have been much longer.
Here are the projects I would like to get finished in Quarter 2:
1. A little basket, the main panel is now finished so it shouldn't take too long.
2, 3, 4 and 5. I do love little makes, it's always fun to have quick finishes while working on bigger projects. I got some snaps (I actually call them poppers) and I have three gifts to give so I'm planning on making three secret pocket envelopes by Michelle Patterns. It would also be nice to have a cute business card holder so I'm going to make the smallest size for me!
4. I'm looking forward to quilting this one! The Kevin Baby Quilt.
5. My Auntie does a lot of patchwork and quilting, all by hand, so I want to make her a Stitchy Pie needle case (my pattern, click here).
Now some projects that have been on previous FAL lists of mine *sigh*...
6. Flowering Lone Star - this is such a gorgeous quilt top and would look fab with straight line quilting so just need to get on with it! Pattern by Sew BitterSweet Designs.
7. This crumpled mess is probably even worse now!! I did start adding borders after putting on my list a while ago but something shiny and new must have distracted me. I was going to hand quilt this baby star quilt but maybe just finishing on the machine would be better to get it done!
8. I have started hand quilting my Star Crossed Night Sky quilt so nearly there! Star Crossed by It's Sew Emma.
9. Tote bag, for me. Fabric I love, great pattern by svetlana sotak. Must do it.
And that's my lot. Achievable? I hope so! Even writing this list has motivated me... we can do this!
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