CHARM ABOUT YOU

I made four appliqué projects, all with cuteness and handbags in mind! I always like to have little pouches to keep the contents of my bag organised, and this one is perfect for lip glosses and balms (hence the longer and shorter pockets) or pens, washi and sticky notes. The heart kam snap on the lips is a kitschy touch that works either way. 

The cord keeper is great for stopping earphones, USB cords and chargers from getting tangled up. Easy to make, I think it would make a useful gift too!

And lastly, total whimsy. Some quilted hexie badges, fun for fussy cutting and playing with stitches. I used monofilament thread, along with some embroidery.

Love Patchwork & Quilting Issue 46 is out now in the UK and also as a digital download. For the of you in the US it should be out in 4-6 weeks.

It features lots of amazing makes. Those pencils are just so cute!! Designed by the talented Jo Carter. Also I spied the lovely Laura Cunningham's Glitter Pouch, which I was lucky enough to test! So many beautiful projects in this issue and I'm not sure I can resist the new BOM by Nicole 💓

The bold combination of prints is the result of raiding my stash / scraps along with some new fabric. I love the rope text print with the striking stripes and the black and white print reminded me of the anthers of a tulip!

I chose the petal prints first and then couldn't find a green that worked well with them for the stem and leaves, so instead I decided to use this blue Denyse Schimdt fabric, which works well with the background fabric too.

I chose to machine appliqué the leaves, though you could sew them by hand if you prefer. The soft pale blue Aurifil #2847 was perfect.

I am making this into a cushion cover and haven't yet decided on a layout. I may make another tulip block and then decide!

Head over to the Jolly Jabber to see the two quilts made by Fat Quarter Shop and visit all the other bloggers to see their versions - they are all beautiful and very creative! There is also a giveaway to win your choice of It's Sew Emma patterns, click here to read more!

There have been a few parcels of loveliness dropping through the letter box so here are my latest could not resist stash additions...

Carolyn Friedlander's latest collection is just so cool. I wish I could have it all but I picked out some of my favourite prints and colours from Fat Quarter Shop. The Friedlander collection has some of the best colour combinations - the pistachio, pops of orange and lime - and I can't wait to cut into these prints!

Next is some lovely canvas from The Fabric Fox because I plan on making Aneela's new pattern and thought these would be super fun and cute:

Dolly Mix, Trefle by Kokka and Large Hidden Pandas by Cosmo Textiles, I also picked up some more Shibuya Linen, Tokyo Train Ride by Cotton + Steel (not pictured because I just started cutting it up!).

It's always fun to experiment and try new threads, I picked up these gorgeous Watercolours by Caron pima cotton threads from Patchfinders. These colours are so, so pretty and hard to capture in a photo:

I had another fun delivery, after Collette enticed me with a referral to the Papergang subscription box. So thrilled with everything in it - gorgeous note books and stationery, all in such fab colours. Can't wait to see what next month brings :) 

linking a little late to:

It might be hard to believe but we have made it to the end of the first quarter of the 2017 FAL and it's time to link up your Q1 finishes! In addition to completing all those UFOs on your lists, we hope you have taken the first 3 months of 2017 to get to know all of our new hosts! The 2017 FAL has a community of bloggers across the world jointly hosting the FAL. Our hosts are:

The Q1 Finishes link will stay open from now thru April 1, 2017 - link up your finishes early and if you have a last minute one, add that one later so you don't miss out. The prizes will be awarded as soon as we can verify all the entries and do the drawings. We will post the winners on each hosts' blog.

And don't forget to start making your Q2 lists as the Q2 list link opens on April 2nd.

Lovely Abigail's turn this month...

Back in November I was surprised and delighted to open an email from Rhonda inviting me to become one of the global host of the 2017 Finish-A-Long. There are 13 of us in all and over the course of the year we'll be introducing ourselves. Nicky from Mrs Sew and Sow started off in January followed by Jess from Elven Garden Quilts in February and now in March it's my turn.

Hello, my name is Abigail and I blog here at cut&alter. I found the FAL late on in 2015 and couldn't believe how it motivated me to get things finished. I have always been a list maker and the FAL is no exception. My lists are somewhat larger then most people's, although I have certainly seen longer as well! I know that I will never get everything ticked off within the current Quarter but it does give me 1) accountability 2) a reason to tidy up and reorganise my studio each quarter to find those projects which have been languishing on shelves and at the bottom of boxes 3) it brings projects to the front of my mind and a lot of work goes on in my mind even before I get in the studio 4) if a project has been rolled over just one too many times I can then see that it's probably never going to get finished and I can pass it on (does that count as a finish?!!). Last quarter I had a particularly low completion rate and this one is shaping up to be the same but I have a few finishes and some projects are considerably further on!

I live in Stratford upon Avon with my husband, who is from New Zealand, our two daughters and a black and white cat. We have been back in the UK for just over 4 years and prior to that we lived in Otaki, New Zealand. We have been called gypsies before now due to our constant moving, and usually not within the same area. This is the longest time I have ever lived anywhere! (Can you keep a secret? Maybe, just maybe, my feet are itching again!) Some of the other places I have lived are: Nottingham, Leamington Spa, Sydney, Wellington, London, Waihi Beach, Cambridge, Tauranga, Rowington, Shirley, Waitarere Beach and Feilding. The whole idea of living here (the UK) or there (NZ) was the inspiration for this quilt. I was delighted when Should I Stay or Should I Go? was awarded Best Piecing in Show last November in Bristol!

Up until January this year I home educated the girls, which was brilliant. I always felt honoured to have as much time with them as I did and whilst it certainly was tiring and had its moments we had a lot of fun along the way. They have now started school, primary and secondary, and have settled in really well. We have a new rhythm in our lives which, for me, is taking some getting used to. I thought I would have all the time in the world, that I would have time to sew, quilt, go to the gym, make lovely healthy food ...... oh silly, silly me!! You don't actually get much done in the six hours between 9am and 3pm do you?!! One thing I have done is learn to do improv curves - I love them!!!!

I have been sewing since a child but, like a lot of women, I came back to sewing when my first child was born, although I had been making curtains for our houses every time we moved! Little children's clothes are such a pleasure to make - fitting is not important, they don't use much material and they are quick (although when sleep deprived they sometimes didn't seem to be that quick). I had made a puff patchwork quilt for my eldest soon after she was born and then made a simple square quilt from vintage Laura Ashley soft furnishing fabric from our various childhood houses. These two quilts are well loved and well worn!

It wasn't until 2010 that I 'learnt' to quilt. I took a 6 week night class in NZ and a passion was born. I joined my local quilt club and I listened to the other ladies of my group talking about all their WIPs. I was horrified! I vowed that I would never have projects sitting on my shelf - I would start and finish one before embarking on another. Oh how naive I was! Needless to say I have lots of projects on the go all of differing ages. Last year I finished my most long standing project - ANZAC Hearts, it was on my FAL2016 Quarter 2 list! This was a Bee quilt and I love it - luckily as much now as when I started it in 2010!

Back in 2015 I made the decision to purchase a longarm quilting machine and I totally love it!!! I bought a Handi Quilter Avante and it brings me a lot of joy. With the girls at home I did not have the time I would have liked for learning and practising but I am getting there. I have done a few customer quilts and hope to do more this coming year. Before then I have a backlog of my own tops that are waiting to be done. This was the first quilt I quilted on my machine ....

There you have it! Remember there's just a couple of weeks left for you to get your Quarter 1 list project finished. The link up opens on 26 March and will remain open until 01 April. Be sure to link up because there are amazing prizes to won (and I should know because I have won twice before!!) I look forward to seeing all the finished projects this quarter. x