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Thursday 23 August 2018

New Printed Patterns Now Available

In the run up to the Festival fo Quilts earlier this month, I decided it was about time I had some more of my patterns printed up and available for sale in paper form. I'm glad I did, they went down very well at the show, especially the EPP patterns which include all the pre-cut papers you need for the project. You can see some of the collection below, and click here to visit the shop.


A lovely friend from my quilt group posted a pic of her latest creation on Instagram this week, and I was over the moon to see that she had used this month's free Pre-Cut Party pattern - the Rail Fence Quilt - isn't it beautiful! If you would like your own copy, plus a free pattern every month, sign up here to the Newsletter.



Meanwhile, when not preparing for the Great Northern Quilt Show next week in Harrogate, I've been playing round with my Christmas Wreath idea, I posted the photo on the left on IG and Facebook (forgive the lap shot, I was sewing in the car :)) intending it to be a new hoop art kit in the style of a wreath, only for suggestions to come flying in for other uses, such as table mats to go with the table runner, a table centre or even a tree skirt! I do love a good group brainstorm and love all these ideas! 



I am veering towards the placemat idea, so I went back to the wreath and tilted the shapes to resemble the branches of holly and fir... my next challenge is to see if I can sew the inner ring on top of the outer one, another idea that has been rolling around my head for a while - anyway, watch this space, whether I get these kits ready for next week's show is another matter :)

As I mentioned above, I will be at the Harrogate Quilt Show next week, you can find out more about this fantastic 3-day event here. So I will be back in a fortnight, until then, happy sewing everyone.

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

Thursday 16 August 2018

The Festival of Quilts 2018

What a week!!! The Festival of Quilts, Europe's largest quilt show, never fails to deliver and this year was no exception! Having worked with Doughty's for the last eight years, building, working and then breaking down their five stands, I thought nothing could be harder...! Well, it was just as hard and I feel as completely shattered as ever! Even more annoying, I've come away realising I hadn't seen half of the show, sadly including the Jane Austen Coverlet, so sad!

Anyway, as my first FoQ for Sewmotion, it was a great show, I met so many lovely existing customers, and those who know me from Instagram, so nice to put faces to names! And I also met lots of new customers who had such nice things to say about my products. Here is my stand...



This was also the first time I entered a quilt of my own into the show, Rainbow Rings. I've been showing sneaky peeks of this hand quilted EPP quilt for a while now, here is the grand reveal...



I had some lovely comments from the judges about my use of colour and design, though I definitely think next time I'll make sure I block it properly so it hangs better, oops!

There have been so many pictures on FB and Instagram from the show, half of which I didn't even see, if it's not on the way to the loo, I tend to miss it - in a quiet moment I'll remember to go and have a look at something, then I'll get busy again and forget, I blame my addled brain! However, I did spot a few eye-catching beauties, including this miniature masterpiece from the amazing Phillippa Naylor, always to be found in the Winners Gallery! Circuit Training is machine and hand pieced, hand appliquéd and hand guided free-motion quilted - isn't it stunning!



Alexandra Kingswell had her Creations collection on show, in which she uses mathematical ratios found in nature and bright colour to create these very striking pieces, Let the Waters Teem! (left) and Let the Rainforest Sing! I love using geometry and bright colours in my own work which is probably why I was drawn to this wonderful wall of joy!



One quilt that caught my eye on the very first day, and many others by the sounds of it as it won Visitor's Choice, was Starburst by Elizabeth Wife - machine pieced and hand appliquéd, Elizabeth has then added hot fix crystals to the background to make the star really shine - I loved this so much!



Finally, a few more that took my fancy... Sue Faulkner's Sailing Home and Anna Orduna's 1977,



while this quilt by Ann Pill is a fantastic lesson in thrifty quilting, aptly named Hundred & Thousands of Scraps, Ann has hand sewn 9216 1.5" squares from her scraps alone to make this truly stunning quilt!

So back to normal life.. well until the Great Northern Quilt Show in Harrogate in a couple of weeks' time. Back at Sewmotion HQ, I've finally had time to upload the two Christmas Table runner kits into the shop. This beautiful runner features partial seams and HSTs and comes in two variations - Makower's Silent Night and their Scandi Christmas - you can find out more here. I also plan to get all the patterns seen at the show up online soon, both printed and in PDF form.



Wishing you all a very happy week of sewing!

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

Thursday 2 August 2018

It's Pre-Cut Party time... again!

Where on earth is this year going!?! I seem to say this every month, but how did it become August already?? Anyway, a new month means a new Pre-Cut Party pattern. For those new to Sewmotion, I offer a free pattern to my Newsletter subscribers every month, based on my love of the quilting pre-cut, be it jelly roll strips, charm squares, a layer cake, or even scraps from the stash.

This month I have taken inspiration from one of the many strip sets I've been making up for next week's Festival of Quilts - my Rainbow stripper made up of Makower's Spectrum solids. They are so bright and cheerful and I wanted to show how the most traditional of quilt blocks can look amazingly modern in the right fabrics. So here is my Rail Fence Quilt...



This quilt finishes as approx. 53" x 65" so would make a great lap quilt or a child's bed quilt. It uses just 20 strips and around 2m of background fabric. 



For your own free copy, and more free patterns every month - subscribe today! You also get special subscriber-only offers, including 20% off the jelly roll used in the quilt.




Meanwhile, I have a winner on my latest Instagram Giveaway... congratulation Jacqui, I know you're going to love making your Rainbow Overlapping Circles cushion!



As you may have gathered by now, I'm off to the Festival of Quilts next week where you can find Sewmotion on Stand F16. As well as many, many boxes of quilt, cushion and EPP kits, I'll have lots of gorgeous fabric pre-cuts just begging to be stroked and a large collection of printed patterns including some Pre-cut Party gems - so if you're coming along, come and say hi! 

See you on the other side :)

Linking up with Let's Bee SocialMidweek Makers and Needle & Thread Thursday.