Fussy Cutters Club ~ We Are All Connected mini quilt
Angie Wilson AKA Gnome Angel is such a joy, her blog and social media are filled with gorgeous projects and the most wonderful fussy cuts! I was super excited when I found out she was writing a book and leapt at the chance to be part of the blog tour - or bribed her - either way I was thrilled to discover this book was even better than I thought it would be (and I had high expectations).
Fussy Cutters Club isn't a dry 'blah blah blah' book, this is like a clever friend explaining fussy cutting to you. With all those really helpful practical tips that you know they actually use. There aren't hard and fast rules, Angie is real and honest in her approach. It makes total sense.
"You need time to think and consider fabrics. Sometimes a project will come together quickly, and you'll know the moment you get the right fabric. Other times you'll need time to think, and that's not a bad thing".
The projects in the book are also all brilliant, with a good range of smaller makes and quilts.
I opted to make the 'We Are All Connected' mini quilt, knowing right away those Echinacea's would be the central hexies and then doing a big stash dive to come up with the right colours and prints for the 'rings'.
Duck Egg Threads ~ Giveaway! 💙
I am thrilled to welcome Duck Egg Threads as a new sponsor! Duck Egg Threads was born from the love of Liberty prints but not wanting (or needing) to buy large pieces of this expensive and luxurious fabric for quilting projects. The shop has come a long way from selling a small range of Liberty Tana Lawn fat eighths at launch to growing into being the go-to online shop for a large range of Liberty cuts, Art gallery fabrics’ Pure Elements solids (they stock one of the largest ranges in the UK), patchwork notions and the hugely successful We Love Liberty Monthly Club. Take a look and have a browse – you’re sure to be tempted to add to your stash!
My weakness for Liberty fabric is strong and, while I would buy bolts of tana lawn if my purse allowed, I appreciate being able to get smaller pieces in a much wider variety of prints. I have a growing collection and even the tiniest scraps get used in epp or hand piecing projects.
Duck Egg Threads have beautifully displayed all the Liberty prints on their website. It is easy to navigate by colour, collection and style. The hardest part is choosing between which ones to buy, though you can easily get all your favourites since the prices start from just £1.38!
Duck Egg Threads have beautifully displayed all the Liberty prints on their website. It is easy to navigate by colour, collection and style. The hardest part is choosing between which ones to buy, though you can easily get all your favourites since the prices start from just £1.38!
it was a good day
Life has been a whirlwind recently, with such a busy schedule and not much time to play. Then a funny thing happened, in the way that sometimes things just come together and everything works out to give you just what you need. First up though I'm going to show you the quilt I made for the Sewing Quarter last week, using fat quarters of Kaffe Fassett and a simple HST layout from Modern Baby Quilts by Fons & Porter. The dark background fabric allows the prints to shine and gives it a bold, modern feel.
I really like this action shot of the quilt blowing in the wind. Wouldn't a wonky chevron quilt look cool?!
So a couple of days earlier I received an email invitation to a beauty event, not something I would usually have time to attend but I realised that I would be travelling back into Manchester on Saturday afternoon anyway, and decided that it would be so good to do something just for me! That's a rarity and I was intrigued.
2017 Finish-A-Long ~ Meet the Global Host Team ~ Felicity
Helloooo!
I'm Felicity
and this is my family - Husband of 17 years K and our nearly-10-year-old daughter G:
being silly, something we do very well
I am lucky enough to live in Naramata, British Columbia. It's a village of fewer than 2,000 people nestled on the Naramata Bench in one of Canada's fruit- and wine-producing regions, the Okanagan Valley.
As you can see, we're on the side of a lake, and it's a big tourist destination because our summer weather is hot and dry.
We moved to Naramata from Vancouver just over a year ago. After living for nearly 25 years in Vancouver, we grew tired of the traffic and the astronomical cost of living and decided to take a different approach to life. We couldn't be happier.
I quit my job in the financial services industry and now I work part time in a local quilt shop as a designer, teacher and retail associate. I also work from home as a training and development consultant. My husband was a stay at home dad in Vancouver and he also works part time here in the area.
I began quilting in 2000, shortly after I got married. My husband is the one who encouraged me to look for a beginner's class because I spent a lot of time looking at and admiring quilts in museums and at shows but I was too intimidated to try it myself. But boy am I glad I did. I knew from the first minute of that first class that this was going to be my thing.
Triangles
It is always good to challenge yourself with different techniques. This table runner has y-seams, angled edges and a few points to keep pointy. Funnily the thing that I struggled with the most was the self cover button, turns out I had the back piece the wrong way round!
Stitch Gathering 2017
On Sunday I was in Edinburgh for the Stitch Gathering retreat organised by Jo Avery of myBearpaw. I went to teach my hand pieced Whatever the Weather mini quilt pattern (which will be available to buy soon!). It was a brilliant day spent with wonderful people and it all went by in a flash, as these things tend to do. The loveliest part was getting to meet up with quilty friends, make new ones and spend time with people I have only ever known online. It's amazing how well you click with people on t'internet (pun intended) and when you meet they are even more fabulous than you expected. Events like this really cement that feeling of belonging for me and I only wish Stitch Gathering had lasted longer. Nevertheless we packed a lot in!
dazzling thead and fabric
Experimenting with thread is always fun and I'm keen to try different varieties of threads. I have been adding metallic thread to sewing projects, even using some Wonderfil Spotlite on cork (which had it's challenges!). Metallic thread definitely requires you sew at a slower pace and do use a larger needle so it doesn't break.
This week I bought three spools of Aurifil Brillo from Lacewing Designs, in Black/Gold #646, Dark Copper #752 and Light Copper #723. They have really nice colour choices and I'm very tempted by the pinks.
It almost has metallic specks rather than being metallic all through because of how it's twisted. So it has both colour and a glittery effect.
2017 Finish-A-Long • Quarter 4
It's time to link up your list of unfinished projects that you propose to finish in Q4 of the FAL. We are hoping that the FAL community will be finishing a lot of projects as we move into the last quarter of the year.
The FAL is hosted by a community of bloggers across the world. Our hosts are:
- Rhonda - Rhonda's [Quilt] Ramblings - USA
- Nicky - Mrs Sew & Sow - Great Britain
- Abigail - Cut & Alter - Great Britain
- Izzy - Dizzy Quilts - Canada
- Ella - Throw a Wench in the Works - USA
- Lucy - Charm about You - Great Britain
- Sarah - Sew me - Northern Ireland
- Judith - Just Jude - Northern Ireland
- Felicity - Felicity Quilts - Canada
- Marci - Marci Girl Designs - USA
- Karen - Capitola Quilter - USA
- Leanne - She Can Quilt - Canada
- Sandra, Sew of Course - Ireland
For those of you who are new to the FAL, it is a place to find motivation and encouragement to complete those unfinished projects that are hanging about becoming UFOs. Every quarter you post a list of projects you hope to finish in the next three months, and then at the end of the quarter, you post a link from your blog, Flickr or Instagram of each successful finish from your original list.
Each finish is an entry for wonderful prizes from our sponsors.
There is no penalty for not finishing a listed project, so feel free to make your list long or short, as you wish.
The 2017 Schedule and Rules for the FAL are on my permanent FAL page, let me know if you have any questions.
Here are the fantastic and generous sponsors for Q4 of the FAL - you can see each of their prizes listed under their logo (think about visiting them and saying thank you):
It's time to round up those projects you want to finish over the next three months, take a photo of each one and make your list. Please ensure that you have at least started your projects - pulled fabric with a pattern is considered a UFO, and remember it is only finished projects that will get you an entry toward the above listed prizes. So while we love to see your bee blocks, the "finish" is when they are a completed, usable project.
It is very helpful if you tag your list as #2017FALQ4yourname when posting on social media: Flickr, Facebook & Instagram. Using the same hashtag over the quarter when sharing progress or finishes before the link, helps the hosts find your original list quickly - especially when this is done over a 3 month period. IMPORTANT: Don't forget to link your finishes up when the quarter closes.
The 2017 Q4 link for your list of proposed finishes is now open below on my blog and on each of the hosting blogs. You need only link your list once, on one blog - and that link will show up on all of the blogs. If you are using Facebook, Flickr or Instagram, link a mosaic and put your list in the description. Katy of The Littlest Thistle has a great tutorial on how to link-up if you need it.
We also ask that you become part of the FAL community. Please check out the links of others - visit and comment on their lists. We all need encouragement to get those finishes done, so please share some of your own too.
When creating your list there is one thing to remember....No deductions for not completing something so ..... Aim High! Nothing to lose!!!
Well Now..... Get those lists together and get linked up.
The Q4 proposed finish linky party will stay open until 11 pm EST, October 7, 2017- as we are global, you might want to check your time zone to determine your last possible time to link. Remember: you only need to link up on ONE hosting blog and it will automatically show up on all hosting blogs.
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