2018 Online Quilters Meet & Greet

Benita Skinner of Victoriana Quilt Designs is running the 2018 Online Quilters Meet & Greet during the month of September, and asked if I would like to join in. Of course I said yes, I love any opportunity to meet fellow quilt addicts from around the world!

Throughout September you can visit Benita's page where you will find links to lots of wonderful quilt bloggers, some you may already know, others will be completely new - what a great chance to make new friends and be inspired!! Benita is also running an amazing competition open to all who take part - you can learn more and enter by clicking below.

So let me introduce myself, I am Louisa Goult, I live in Middlesbrough in the Northeast of England, though I am originally from London, and I run my own quilt business, Sewmotion. I have always been fascinated by colour and geometry, particularly symmetry in design, and what better way to express this than through designing quilts! I started quilting in my teens, then had a break in my 20s where work/career took over. Then when I and my husband were both made redundant, we decided to embark on a round-the-world trip which included the US, New Zealand and Australia. It was on a rainy day in Australia, hunkered down in our campervan where my love of quilting was reignited thanks to some wonderful Aussie quilting mags.

When we eventually got back from our travels, I had a couple of jobs in craft retail to learn the ropes as it were, then in 2014 I decided to take the plunge and set up on my own (eek!) Having worked in a quilt shop for four years, I knew how the craft was growing in popularity, I had so many people come in looking for classes where they could learn this great skill, and this is where the idea for my first quilt kit, the Beginner's Quilt kit came from. I also provide free tutorials on the website, including how to make your first quilt which can work in conjunction with the kit if people prefer to follow photographic instruction.

From that first kit, I now offer around 50 kits which include quilts, cushions, runners, purses and hoop art projects, as well as a growing collection of patterns. I have also developed a curved English paper-piecing technique, which seems to be taking over my life at the moment. This method is used in my block of the month quilt, Curve Motion Medallion, which is also a quilt-as-you-go project. You can learn more about this 16-months of hand sewing joy here. I have also made my first YouTube film, a four part tutorial on how to make my EPP Flower Cushion, hopefully there will be more of these in the future!

Having just exhibited at the Festival of Quilts in the UK, I also entered a quilt for the first time, another curved EPP creation, using scraps from my stash. I then big-stitched quilted around the rings in the grey background space.

I also send out a Sewmotion Newsletter, which includes a free pattern every month based on my love of quilting pre-cuts, though it does seem to be whatever inspires me at the time! You can learn more about that here.

Well, I think that more or less covers me and Sewmotion. Working on my own from home everyday, I love meeting fellow quilters online and sharing experiences and ideas, thank you so much Benita for running this great event, hopefully this will be the first of many! Don't forget to enter the competition - the more blogs you visit the greater the chance of winning those amazing goodies!