CHARM ABOUT YOU

Just a quick post to let you know that I will be teaching at The Stitch Gathering in Edinburgh, on Sunday 7th October this year! Alongside an incredible line up of teachers, including organiser Jo Avery herself, this year promises to be as good as the last. Hurry, the modern retreat has only a few tickets left! Get your ticket HERE!

Spider Web blocks are quickly becoming a favourite of mine and I created this simple cushion using the Creative Grids Spider Web & Kaleidoscope Ruler - which makes it so easy and accurate. The pink and red combination is lovely for spring! 

Another cushion, this one from the book Quilt Petite by Sedef Imer. This is such a sweet design and I really loved making this, with so many different techniques in one cushion it was a fun sew.

All the little details are so cute and it was nice to do a bit of hand stitching. I did forget to trace the text before backing with fusible fleece though, so had to freehand 'Bonjour!' but it turned out ok!

Then I had some fun making a block keeper from quilt as you go pre-printed wadding. This is am easy project and would make a lovely quilters gift. I loved cutting the Anna Maria Horner fabric, it looked especially cool on the 'spine'. Totally forgot to take photos of the finished project though, so you'll have to make do with some stills of it on the show!

On to the quilts...

First I made a smaller version of the Seventh Heaven pattern from the book Dessert Roll Quilts by Pam and Nicky Lintott. A lovely one to sit and chain piece, then rearrange the blocks to create that random look!

A reminder to be mindful when adding borders, I was so 'in the zone' I completely missed noticing my upside border until I was already half way through quilting it! Thankfully it still sort of worked so I decided not to unpick.

Finally my Forest Mountain quilt, I designed this one to make with the Creative Grids 60° ruler. It's pretty large at 74" and it was fun to just use solids and one simple shape. It was a fairly dull day when we took these pictures, right before all that hot weather, the colours are far more vibrant in real life and the greys at the top are actually a little more subtle. I think this has a nice whimsical feel, a sense of the great outdoors in a modern quilt interpretation!

I wanted to do some free motion quilting but kept it fairly simple (in part due to the size but also deadlines!). I quilted a rough tree / branch shape on the background triangles to give some texture and organic lines and curves in the sky to represent clouds. The back gives off a sort of Blair Witch vibe, glad I used yellow or it would be creepy.

From the front I think the texture looks good and my son was completely in love with this design. He wants it for his room, which is a huge compliment. I still have a work in progress bee quilt for him that I know he'll love too and that's also a tree / triangle theme so he knows what he likes!

I designed the Crossed Orange Peel quilt last year and now it is available in my shop! To read all about my process, the fabrics and specifics click here. Essentially I created this pattern as a modern take on the classic orange peel block. It is hand pieced and finished with machine appliqué. If you've never done hand piecing, don't fret! The pattern comes with my free bonus 8 page technique guide, so you can learn this simple technique and enjoy some hand sewing.

The pattern has instructions to make a 19" mini quilt but you could repeat the blocks to make any size quilt!

Don't let the curves frighten you either! The design is actually a great one for beginners as it can be quite forgiving and there are lots of tips and photographs in the pattern that guide you step by step to make the blocks. 

I recently taught this pattern to the South West Modern Quilt Guild and they made such beautiful versions of the block. I love seeing the pattern in different fabrics and people creating their own projects with my design. You can see them being added to #crossedorangepeel. 

Get your copy of the pattern in my shop or buy on Etsy now!

There is nothing quite like being in the company of other quilters! This past weekend I spent a day teaching the South West Modern Quilt Guild my Crossed Orange Peel pattern. I had met a few of the group before, some were familiar to me from social media and then there were new people to meet - all are utterly lovely and so welcoming!

The pattern is hand pieced, you can see my original mini quilt here (it will be available to purchase soon!) and it was really fun to see all the different fabrics everyone chose to use. Here are some blocks in progress:

And brave Helen took up my challenge of using one piece of fabric as the X. I'm still working on my own version of this but I think hers worked so nicely!

I really love teaching and it was an honour to teach such a talented and enthusiastic group! I am hoping to see finished projects popping up in #crossedorangepeel (that's my way of encouraging them to carry on sewing!!). It was nice to get to chat with everyone and there were some fabulous ideas about what they were going to do with their blocks, there was talk of a full sized quilt too - that would be brilliant!

We had a delicious lunch, everyone brought something to share, and then there was a show and tell. I didn't manage to get pictures of everything but Helen showed her beautiful apron that you can see in the top photo. The style is so wearable and I would like to make one for myself! And here are some of the other fabulous makes I did capture...

Surround yourself with good people. Whenever possible I like to read / watch / listen to positive people. There is grounded, honest and real talk to be found, which I gain confidence and inspiration from. 

I've been following the Creative Women's League on instagram since it started. Kate is genuine and enthusiastic, and the network she's developed is so awesome. With two episodes a week, the Creative Women's League podcast is packed full of motivation and encouragement. I was thrilled (and also nervous) to be on this week's show.

We chat about some of my random life experiences, motherhood, how I got started quilting and how that led to being on telly, along with a few tangents! Plus I prove I can be a real geek.

click here to listen on iTunes / click here to listen on PodBean

Sharing some happy mail delights I've received recently. Grab a cuppa, I have a lot to show you! 

I'm working hard on secret makes so no finishes just yet but it always nice to nosy at people's recommendations and fabric stash additions. And just to be clear none of this is sponsored or affiliated, one item was a gift and the rest I bought myself.

I have been doing a lot of hand sewing; like the demo of the lovely Hexie Kisses pattern by Jen Kingwell (above), embroidery, working on my own epp and hand piecing projects. Combined with all the cold weather we've had over winter, my dry skin was really acting up. I have always had dry skin and sometimes it gets itchy and can even crack. I'm really careful about what I put on my skin, trying to avoid chemicals like SLS, because it's sensitive. 

Last year I did 100 days of silent sewing, it was a great exercise in mindfulness that allowed me to simply sew without all the distractions of day to day life. It was meditative and gave me some much needed space.

Starting tomorrow on instagram #the100dayproject kicks off again - you can find all you need to know about here by clicking here!

You chose a project to do for 100 days, pick a unique hashtag and then share each day. Hosted by @elleluna and @lindsayjeanthomson, they provide encouragement and motivation. What I loved about doing this project is there is no pressure, no expectations. It really is an exploration of creativity and the 'rules' are up to you.

Originally the plan was to use the same hashtag and redo my #100daysofsilentsewing (click to see what I did!). Then I thought some more and decided I have that down - I'm good at it and still enjoy it. So it may well be that some of my sewing will be silent this time. But that's not enough. I really want to have some intention with my sewing. It might be that I have a project to finish (ha! I do! loads!!), a pattern I intend to release (yes, a few!) or a skill I want to learn or hone. This year my project is going to be #100daysoffocusedsewingbylucy.

Again I am leaving it pretty open so that I can work on whatever I most want to give my attention to. My idea is to have a sense of purpose and a reason for sewing a particular project. The aim is for that purpose to provide me with focus. I'm hoping that by doing this daily the benefit will be more clarity and drive, perhaps more finished projects but also a focus on my own style, designs and skills. While having a reason to be working on a project might seem like an obvious thing, for me it often gets lost. Like I can't see the wood for the trees. Focusing on the bigger picture could be just what I need to stay motivated and to do the work.

You can follow along at #100daysoffocusedsewingbylucy I would appreciate some encouragement!

Are you joining in this year? Let me know what project what are doing or what you would like to do for 100 days...?