A new baby quilt kit & a Doughty's Roadshow

We had a lovely time at the National Quilt Championships at Sandown Park last weekend, the weather was lovely, the visitors were very friendly, and I got to meet and talk to many other vendors which was great, it's always nice to hear the industry gossip! One of the main buzzes was Hochanda, a crafty TV shopping channel, well, these channels are so much more than shopping these days aren't they! A know a lot of viewers watch to learn new techniques and get inspired as well as shop for the next kit or project. I've been thinking about going on myself... me, in front of the camera... I just don't know! As you can see from the film below, my husband is the film star, not me :)

I also launched a new quilt kit at this show, the Novelty Nine Patch Baby Quilt Kit. This adorable quilt is made in Michael Miller's Let's Play fabrics, and would be suitable for a boy or a girl, perfect for those who don't know yet! Each kit comes with all the fabric you need to complete the top, including binding, plus thread and full colour instructions, and is priced at £30.00. 

And of course, me being me, it has a pieced backing. I have also listed this as a separate product on the website for those who may want it at a later stage.

For all you fabrics lovers in the North-East of England, don't forget quilting specialists (and my old employers) Doughty's, are holding one of their fabulous roadshows at my local quilt group in Middlesbrough this weekend!

Linking up with Let's Bee Social, Midweek Makers and Needle & Thread Thursday

A very happy customer

As you may have gathered by now, I'm a huge advocate of helping and encouraging new quilters to learn more about this wonderful craft, and also to get as addicted as I am! When I send out my Newsletters, I often get emails from subscribers telling me how much they love that month's free pattern, or asking questions about new kits, or even just asking for help, the latter of which I love to answer.

One such lovely subscriber is Ruth, though she claims she's a beginner, I think she's quickly got to the 'intermediate' stage by the look of her quilts lately, Ruth asked if I could put together a Snowballs Around the World kit in different fabrics, luckily I had a few of the Riley Blake Backyard Roses left that she was after. We talked about which fabrics to go for, then the borders and binding, and I sent off the kit... in no time at all, Ruth sent me this pic of her beautiful pieced quilt - isn't it lovely!

After that, Ruth has enjoyed working through the free patterns I have on the website, building her skills, which now include wavy quilting! And just look at the back of her All Squared Up quilt, this really made me smile.

Ruth explained in one of her emails that she doesn't have any clubs nearby to even learn the basics, and finds the Sewmotion tutorials so easy to follow, she's tried things she's never done before and is feeling pretty proud of herself, as she should! I love hearing feedback like this, quilting really does bring such joy and creativity into our lives, we are the lucky ones! Thank you Ruth for sharing your new-found love of this fantastic craft.

While I love teaching through online tutorials and email support, even I have to get out into the real world sometimes, and was over the moon when Hilary from High Street Quilting in Birtley asked me to run a workshop on my Flying Geese cushion. If you live around the Chester-le-Street area, why not treat yourself to a class?

Linking up with Sew Fresh Quilts and Midweek Makers

Basting a quilt on your bed

There seems to be a few videos floating around cyberspace at the moment showing different ways of layering and basting a quilt, one of which is this great method using long boards and a large table.

However, if you don't have a large enough table, and I don't, I thought I'd share the method I have used for years, well, forever actually, and its never let me down yet! I use my bed... admittedly I have a king size bed now, but even if your bed isn't big enough to hold your whole quilt at once, you can baste it in sections, click below for my full tutorial.

Did you notice the new All Squared Up quilt above? This version features Michael Miller's Sandpiper collection by Sarah Campbell - I can see myself wrapped up in it sitting on a pebbly beach looking out to sea. This easy quilt kit includes all the fabric strips you need to complete the top, plus borders, binding and thread, and of course full, easy-to-follow instructions. Click here to find out more. 

Are you looking for some summer sewing inspiration? Why not dig into this month's issue (48) of Love Patchwork & Quilting, full of bright and modern loveliness, great projects and beautiful fabrics, you could also try my Curved Hexy cushions for some relaxing English paper piecing.

Linking up with Let's Bee Social and Midweek Makers.

Quilts UK and the Red Brick Tile Quilt Pattern

Blimey, it was cold the other night! As it's now June, the heating's off and we've gone to the summer duvet... I know, we live in the north east, so brave! So with the wind and rain battering the windows, and even leaking from somewhere through the roof, we were cold! Thankfully though, I have a room full of handmade quilts! Hahaha!! We were soon cosy again. But what is going on with this weather?! What's more we've just heard that our insurance won't cover the roof as the wind was only going at 42mph, not the 47mph they demand... you couldn't make it up!

Anyway, it seems like ages ago now when we were sweltering under the marquee at this year's Quilts UK in the beautiful town of Malvern. Sewmotion had a great weekend, and it was so nice to see so many familiar faces from our time living in nearby Hereford, especially lovely Doughty's customers who were so encouraging about my venture into the 'quilting world'.

With it being a four-day event, I even had time to have a wander and look at the beautiful quilts on display, here are a few that caught my eye.

"Churned to a T" was designed, pieced and longarm quilted by Abigail Sheridan de Graaff - isn't the quilting on this quilt beautiful, and such a great use of negative space.

Frances Meredith's "Nearly Insane" quilt is based on the original sampler quilt by Salinda Rupp of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania in 1870, as published in the book of the same name by Liz Lois in 2003. I know of the Dear Jane and Farmer's Wife quilts, but this is a new one on me, and it's stunning! Hand-pieced using English paper piecing (my favourite) using red and white fabric scraps, it is hand-guided quilted on a longarm. This quilt quite rightly won show awards for Sampler Quilt, Piecing and a Judge's Merit.

Finally, "All Things Bright and Beautiful" is Evelyn Walton's version of Kim McLean's stunning design. Made using Kaffe Fassett prints, Evelyn has machine pieced and hand appliquéd the top, and it was longarm quilted by The Bramble Patch. This quilt also marked Evelyn's journey to full recovery from severe M.E. Again, this quilt quite rightly won show awards for My First Bed Quilt, Use of Colour and a Judge's Merit.

Meanwhile, back at Sewmotion HQ...

My Red Brick Tile quilt is now available as a pattern, both in paper form, and as a PDF for instant download. If you like these fabrics, why not subscribe to my Newsletter and get 20% off the whole kit!

Linking up with Let's Bee Social, Midweek Makers and Needle & Thread Thursday

Pre-Cut Party Time and a New Quilt Kit

It's the first of June, which can only mean one thing, it's Pre-Cut Party time! For those new to my blog, I send out a monthly email to my Newsletter subscribers giving away a free pattern based on my love of fabric pre-cuts. These patterns range from full size quilts and table runners to cushions and small gift items such as make-up pouches. Together with the free downloadable pattern, there are often discount codes for the associated fabrics, or for the whole kit if available.

Having recently taken delivery of Dashwood Studios' gorgeous Birdsong collection, I couldn't resist using them to make these Octagon Star Table Mats for June's free pattern. I love how the larger prints, the birds and the trees, are perfect for that side panel for your cutlery. 

To grab your free pattern, plus access to previous free PDFs, subscribe here.

Talking of Dashwood, I've also just uploaded these gorgeous fat quarter bundles, there are eight from the range, and are priced at £24.00.

It's been a mad couple of weeks with two quilt shows, and then thankfully a few days away. Quilts UK at Malvern was a great show, I even managed to snap a few pics of some of the gorgeous quilts on display, but I'll leave those for a later post when I've got my head together. 

My Red Brick Tile quilt kit, as seen at Malvern, is now available in the Sewmotion shop. This beauty is approx. 77" x 79" and would look lovely draped over a double bed, or laying on top of a king. The kit includes all the fabrics you need to complete the top, including ten designs from this beautiful Coonawarra Red collection from Red Rooster. You also get the binding, thread and full colour instructions. What's more, if you subscribe to my Newsletter, you can get 20% off this whole kit (at £68.00, normally £85.00)

For more quilty fun and inspiration, pop along to these Links parties; Let's Bee Social, Midweek Makers, Needle and Thread Thursday and Main Crush Monday.