CHARM ABOUT YOU

This is a round-up of quilts I have made for Sewing Quarter - including a couple that I failed to blog about and made some time ago. It's nice to have a document here of the quilts I have finished. The quilt above was made using a jelly roll of Kaffe Fassett fabric and some solid white squares. I had made Bright Hopes blocks before but never a whole quilt of them, I think it makes a beautiful random pattern and I would like to make another quilt using this block, it's a great stash buster too!

I also made this random curves quilt using a Tula Pink layer cake. This was a fun and simple quilt to sew.

Laying out the blocks took me a while because they are so many different patterns you can create. Curves are possibly my favourite thing to sew. If you haven't tried it you should! I learnt how to sew without pins using this video, though I prefer to use my quarter inch foot. I know people have different methods so it might be worth taking a class or just experimenting to see what way you prefer.

Earlier this month I made this sweet baby Stunning Stars quilt using a pattern from Annie's Quick & Easy Quilts. It was an unusually bright day in Manchester so the colours look a bit washed out here. I enjoyed adding a scrappy solid binding to this one:

Today was Christmas at Sewing Quarter (because it's four month away!!) and so I used adorable Makower prints to make this simple baby quilt with cute fussy cutting.

I wanted a vintage look to my mug and decided to use this cool retro style print, Peach Deco Motosu Moon Flower Stripe by boris_thumbkin from Spoonflower.

Doesn't it work so well with the metallic background too - Luster by Brigitte Heitland for Zen Chic - festive and fun. I think I would fill it with hot chocolate... now I'm really looking forward to winter.

Over the summer I had fun on instagram with Stitched In Color. Rachel's use of colour always inspires me and she runs exciting mosaic contests on her blog - it's always fascinating to see the fabric collections people create! This challenge was a bit different because it encouraged you to dive into your stash, to create and play with fabric, and to create fabric stacks with what you already have.

We collaborated over the themes for the #30 days of fabric stacks challenge, though Rachel already had a list ready because she's a pro at themes! Some were straight forward and then there were a few that took a little more thinking about, it really was an excellent way to explore your stash. Thank you to Bobbie Lou's Fabric Factory for sponsoring 30 Days of Fabric Stacks and allowing there to be amazing prizes. Bobbie Lou's offers a fabulous selection of vibrant, eclectic fabrics. It was perfect to allow a 'cheat day' for the challenge, allowing everyone to use a photo of fabric from Bobbie Lou's when they weren't able to create a stack from their stash.

So although the challenge is over I thought it would be a good idea to put all my fabric stacks together and see what they look like. I really learned a lot from doing the challenge... what I like, what I don't, the colours I'm drawn to, the colours I use the most from my stash. And even more meaningful discoveries like how so often I go with my gut feelings and that they're near enough always right; fabric holds memories, which is more important to me than the print; and I actually have finally been able to define my style in a way that makes sense to me.

That's my style... I don't have one, I have several... actually nearly all of them! My style doesn't fit neatly into a genre. I'm dancing around the margins, appreciating modern, retro and traditional fabric and designs. My style is my mood, idea, feeling and instinct. It always evolves, adapts and is pretty random. I have a miscellaneous style and I'm happy to finally claim that as my definition!
I also love that this looks like an improv quilt.

While it might seem odd, being able to confidently state what my style is has been incredibly freeing. I don't have to over think anything and can trust my instincts. I felt like overhauling a few things after that, one was my blog (I hope you like the new layout!) and next I would like to work on my sewing space. It's too messy to function right now.

If you missed the challenge I still suggest going to take a look at the themes, just play around with your fabrics and see where it takes you!

It's a tough decision but then I thought about Clare, things I know she loves, the things I think she does beautifully and I put a lot of thought into it.

It started with a challenge. Metallic thread + cork fabric. I wasn't sure it would work, honestly it wasn't easy, especially since it also had a layer of Bosal and lining fabric too. I also sew really fast and metallic thread doesn't like that, after asking advice on social media I slowed down a lot and it got better. And the result looked really cool!

I used colour 7731 and I will definitely be experimenting more with it, I think it would look stunning on a low volume print too.

I chose to make it into a bigger version of my A Piece of Me Pouch, I wanted Clare to be able to put art supplies in it, maybe with a sketchpad too. I love her art and want to see more of it so I hope this encourages her in a way.

Of course I had to do some English Paper Piecing because it was through Clare's blog that I learnt to do it - specifically this blog post. Then she did a block party with her fabulous Rose Star tutorial, which was the quilt that really made me want to learn epp!

I chose Liberty Wiltshire berries and the Monstera print by SkinnyMalinkyQuilts because I thought Clare would like them, the bee is me in Manchester and the background is the rain! 

I had somehow managed to misplace my stuffing but happily I found it after a bit of a hunt. I love using this ball type stuffing, it's nicely bouncy and really easy to work with. It is fluffy but doesn't go everywhere like other stuffing I've used. Also it's cheap for a massive bag! To get the best stuffing (in my opinion) click here.

My Festival of Quilts 2017 experience was filled with so much good stuff! I'm going to start with people, then goodies and then the quilts! So jump through this post as you like :)

Of course I wanted to attend the festival but I knew I had to when Clare - Selfsewn told me she was going because we have been online friends for years. I love meeting people in real life and Festival is the best place to meet quilty friends (Nat and I did a few years ago!).

I'm sure I squealed when I saw her, gave her a big hug and I might have even held her face because I was so happy to see her! We went in the festival together (having both failed to fill in our details on the back of the ticket!) and on the way to meet Collette, we stopped to exchange gifts. Clare gave me the most magnificent mini quilt and I will share what I made for her tomorrow.

Absolutely, perfectly Clare. Beautiful stitching and quilting. My very own 'quilt label' - she knows I've always loved her labels (so much so that I naughtily looked at the back of her quilt hanging at festival last year to see the label she made!). And can we talk about the pink ribbon and heart so prettily appliqued?! LOVE! Also striped binding ♡♡♡

We met up with Collette - Poppy and Poochie, another long time friend and inspiration to me! We had a good chat and all met Victoria Findlay Wolfe as we admired her quilts. I failed to get pictures of that. Then we wandered through the exhibition, chatting and taking silly selfies.

We met lovely Irina - Zepher Skies, who is so sweet and her joyfulness is contagious! And the superwoman Catrin @patshyncatrin, who totally amazes me with all she does and her huge heart. Also she's hilarious and speaks Welsh so beautifully I could listen to her all day and wouldn't care that I don't understand. Lucky she speaks English too though ;) Then I got to chat more to Anna Maria Horner after meeting her when we did Sewing Quarter the day before - she was so funny and genuinely lovely, I think everyone I spoke to that met her fell in love!

I was lucky to chat to so many other lovely friends I saw as we walked around. It's so cool to see familiar faces and meet new people! I end up in a bit of a daze so sorry if you saw me looking blankly, I do get overwhelmed by the sheer size of the place and slight anxiety that I can't find the exit!! I also didn't take that many pictures this year, I did put quite a few on my Instagram story but the quality of those pics isn't so great and then I just got tired of holding my phone.

So on to my haul... well this time it's quality not quantity. I'm not lacking in fabric but I can't resist Liberty, especially good sized scraps that are £1! These are from Alice Caroline - who had a beautiful stand and the ladies there were really lovely. And thank you Clare for treating me and buying the bright one on the left for me! (I forget what that print is called - leave a comment if you know!) The one on the right is Pepper - I love this print and have a couple of other colourways. It's a great stash print. 

I also got what I wanted! A wooden seam roller from Purple Stitches. I can't wait to try this out, I will let you know how I get on with it. Purple Stitches also had an amazing selection of fabric, gorgeous florals and a great mix of modern prints from different designers - do check them out, they also have a crazy good sale section!

I realised that Simply Solids is always a 'base' at festival - because Justine and Lisa, as well as Katy and Kelly who were there on Saturday are the most fun, the shop is awesome and they always know where to go and where people are somehow!! 

The Aurifil stand was fun too, I watched Anna Maria Horner do a hand quilting demo!

There were so many great demos and things going on, I couldn't see everything and I just can't mention it all because I'd be here forever but it was all so good.

So let's get on to some quilts shall we... I am just going to show a few here, ones that I would like to remember because they caught my eye (and perhaps I hadn't seen them on social media - so if you don't see your quilt here please don't take offence, it may just mean that I already know where to find it!). Do go and see all the pictures people took at #FOQ2017!

 Pippa Moss

 Victoria Findlay Wolfe 

 Vivian Fox

What an exciting time I'm having! Today I got to meet Anna Maria Horner who made a special guest appearance on Sewing Quarter. She was genuinely so lovely, it was a thrill to meet her and see her beautiful quilts up close because I have long been a fan of her designs and work.

Of course I was there demonstrating projects I have made using her latest collection Floral Retrospective.

Keeping with the colour scheme I used a lovely soft green #2840 Aurifil 40 wt thread to quilt around the diamonds. It would be a great quilt pattern to do some free motion quilting or hand quilting because of those nice spaces and the geometric shapes.

If you would like to watch Anna Maria Horner talk about her career, design process and take a look at some drawings that are part of her next fabric collection then click play below!

Hello! I am Lucy, Charm About You blogger and one of the Finish-A-Long hosts, here to share a little more about myself.

I come from a creative family, everyone is an artist or crafty type - whether it's by profession or a hobby. My creativity and love of art was encouraged as I was growing up but it wasn't until I was at university when I made my first quilt. It was really, really bad. I used the type of wadding meant for furniture, it was nearly impossible to quilt and it put me off for a long time. Fast forward and after breaking my elbow in a roller derby accident, with two small children to look after at home, I needed a safer hobby and I returned to quilting.


Eager to learn, I got some great advice and support from the two women in my family that quilt, I read lots of blogs, tutorials and quilt books and then went for it. I made simple quilts and a sampler quilt, building up my skills trying out new patterns and techniques. The addiction gripped me and the more quilts I made the more I discovered which elements I was good at, enjoyed and wanted to do more of!

I live in Manchester, UK with my husband and our three kids. They are wonderfully supportive of me and put up with the piles of fabric and works in progress that have filled the house. During the evening I love to do hand sewing, whether that be English Paper Piecing, hand piecing or quilting. It's my time to relax and I find it really hard to sit without sewing now!

The tangible products we create, the snuggly comfort of quilts and the fact that they are enjoyed and used is a big part of the joy of making. I am also drawn to all the possibilities of patchwork and quilting, the various techniques you can use, the choice of fabric - prints / solids / colours and all the patterns. Machine sewing is my choice for quick sews, the precision of foundation paper piecing and meditative chain piecing. More recently I have had to hone my skills at machine binding because I just don't have the time to hand sew binding on the quilts I make for work. Hand sewing would generally be my preference for patchwork and quilting, though I really love being able to switch between the two and do machine sewing when I have that need for speed.

Having insatiably explored various patchwork and quilting methods I share tutorials and tips on my blog, from cross hatch quilting to cleaning your cutting mat;  free patterns and fun things to make.

So how is everyone getting on with their Finish-A-Long list? Any finishes checked off yet? If not, don't fret - there's still about 7 weeks before the link opens... just remember that time flies when you don't stick to one project!

Hope you all have a great week! 

Lucy