Fun at Harrogate and a new All Squared Up Quilt Kit

We had a great time at the Great Northern Quilt Show last weekend, it was so nice to meet many of my newsletter subscribers who had lovely things to say about their free monthly patterns. It's always nice to put faces to names of regular customers. Thank you for your kind words!
Below is a little video of my stand, if the quality is a little suspect, click on the settings symbol (the washer-type circle) at the bottom of video and you should be able to click on HD which should improve it. You can also turn up the sound though my little commentary seems a bit drowned out.



As you can see above, I have a new All Squared Up Quilt Kit, this one is in Riley Blake's gorgeous Happy Day fabrics, together with some Makower Spots. 

This popular quilt kit is great for beginners, and comes with all the fabric strips, borders, binding and thread you need to complete the top, plus of course full instructions. It is priced at £45.00 and there is also a fabric pack available for my pieced backing included in the instructions.

Don't forget this month's free Pre-Cut Party pattern is out, just subscribe to my Newsletter to get this strippy table runner PDF straight to your inbox, plus access to previous free patterns! There's also a code for 20% of the kit below.

I'm currently taking part in a great tag on Instagram, the #GreatBritishQuilter which runs all month. There are so many amazing quilters in the UK, why not pop along and say Hi!

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

Summer Sale & New Designer Fabrics

The sun is kind of shining, now and again, up here in the North East, so I thought I'd celebrate with a Summer Sale!

Simply use the code SUMMER20 at checkout to get 20% off everything across the store, including quilt and cushion kits, fabrics, pre-cuts and patterns or what about a backing for that previously bought quilt kit?

Talking of fabrics, I've also just listed some new designer fabrics in the shop, available by the metre. When I buy these fabrics, I have great intentions of making quilt and cushion kits in all of them, but time is catching up on me, so rather than have them sit on the shelf staring at me, I thought I would share some fabric joy. This first range, Wildflower Garden from Michael Miller comes in two colourways, and I know they would both make beautiful quilts, I thought my Mosaic Garden design would be perfect, it's on the list!

Next up is a collection I have been using in a secret magazine project. This Riley Blake range, Gingham Girls is in a lovely retro colourway, though I seem to have missed the actual prints featuring the gingham (?) Still, I love how the navy and yellow sit so nicely together....

Finally I've also listed the latest gorgeous collection from British company Dashwood Studios, Norrland is Bethan Janine's Winter collection and features her signature woodland creatures and gold metallic accent. I've also been using this in another mag project, and those animals are great for fussy-cut EPP!

Enjoy the sale, meanwhile I have larger-than-expected top to quilt so I can get on with my EPP BOM ;)

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

We have a Giveaway Winner!

Congratulations to Sarah J who has won these fabulous Vintage Rose quilting pre-cuts - I can't wait to see what you make with them Sarah! I have emailed you for delivery details.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I'd like to thank everyone who entered this fabulous Giveaway, and to welcome my new subscribers - as promised I'll be letting you know about my latest products, new projects and events as well as inspiring you with free quilt patterns and tutorials.

As a thank you for entering, I'd like to offer you all a 20% discount off my entire range of Pre-Cut Strip Sets and Charm Packs in the Sewmotion shop - simply add the code Giveaway20 at checkout to get your discount (offer ends midnight, Sunday 31st July) What's more I offer free UK postage, prefect timing for that summer project :)

A Vintage Rose Pre-cut Giveaway!

Well, it looks like summer is finally here, and we have two new quilting pre-cuts in the shop - so I thought I'd celebrate with a fabulous Giveway! 

I introduced my new Charm Pack a while ago, and I've just added this gorgeous 20pc fabric strip set to the collection. This strip roll features 14 strips from Riley Blake's Backyard Roses collection, together with three in Kona's Banana and three in Peony. 

I think this set would look fabulous in my All Squared Up quilt - find the free pattern here - and used together with the 42pc charm pack, there really are so many possibilities! If you're stuck for ideas, why not have a browse through my Pinterest boards?

To win a pair of Vintage Rose Pre-cuts (one strip set and one charm pack), simply subscribe to Sewmotion's Newsletter. To enter, click on the down arrow in the box below, click on the link and subscribe - this only takes a minute - then come back here and type VintageRose in the box below to be entered into the Giveaway.


I will not bombard your inbox with daily emails trying to sell you things you didn't know you wanted! Instead, around twice a month I'll let you know about my latest products, including quilting supplies, patterns and kits, upcoming events where you can meet me in person, plus I'm currently planning a whole range of freebie patterns, templates and other goodies, only available to Sewmotion's lucky subscribers.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

This Giveaway is open internationally. The lucky winner will be chosen at random and be announced on Wednesday 27th July, 2016, when I will contact the winner for delivery details. 

Today we're linking up with;

Handmade Monday at Lucy Blossom Crafts

Main Crush Monday at Cooking Up Quilts

Mop Monday at Tweety Loves Quilting

Sew Cute Tuesday at Blossom Heart Quilts

Let's Bee Social at Sew Fresh Quilts

NTT at My Quilt Infatuation

Finish It Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts 

Big Stash and May is for Makers

In between designing, cutting, sewing and packing, I try my best to squeeze in some reading, particularly some of the wonderful quilting blogs from around the world. One of my favs is Yvonne Fuchs, aka Quilting JetGirl – not only do I love her style of quilt design, modern and simple yet so striking, but also her whole philosophy behind our craft. If I’m feeling in rut or just not happy with myself, her mantra “you are doing your best work right now” always seems to bring me up again.

Yvonne recently shared a fellow quilter’s blog, LR Stitched. Lindsey Rhodes is another fabulous quilter who shares my love of colour and designs some beautiful patterns. This month she launched a campaign called “May is for Makers” - you can read her full post here.

One thing that really resonated with me was the fact that I am terrible at buying other quilters’ patterns, or products come to that. I know I spout on about how great it is to give something handmade, but when it comes to me buying other people’s creations, I think to myself, “I could make that”, or “I could design that pattern” so why buy it? Now of course, I then go home, get distracted with my own work and never get round to making or designing anything of the sort.

And this is the point, why should I spend my own precious time doing something that someone else has already spent hours upon hours designing? Why shouldn’t I buy that quilter’s pattern and just make it?! Maybe this need to work everything out and design it myself comes from my own background. I have no formal training in this sewing lark, but rather am totally self-taught – I love working out “how did they do that?” However, I now realise this isn’t helping anyone, not me, and certainly not the quilter who has slogged their guts out to perfect their latest creation in the hope that someone will make a purchase.

In a world of free online tutorials (Lindsey’s and mine included) we need to do more to support those talented designers out there. As a quilt designer myself, I know the hard work over many hours that goes into writing a pattern, from designing the quilt, making it, possibly in various sizes, writing the instructions, drawing the illustrations, and that’s all before the actual marketing…

The patterns you see on sale on Etsy, Craftsy and quilters’ blogs really are worth every penny and I for one am going to make a concerted effort to invest. Afterall, as every quilter knows, that stash needs using, so why not treat yourself to a wonderful pattern from a talented quilter and just get stuck in!! Looking for ideas? Why not visit some of my favourite bloggers from My Blog List at the bottom of the column on the right?

So my first purchase was this beautiful block design, Triple Goosed by JeliQuilts – this girl really has a thing for flying geese!

This pattern was a joy to make, you do need to know your foundation piecing, and there are no fabric cutting instructions – I cut 3”, 2½” and 1½” strips and cut them down as I went.

I’m not sure how and even if, I’m going to quilt this, the thickness of the Essex linen is making the seams quite chunky, so I may just make it into a cushion panel… we’ll see!

Meanwhile at Sewmotion HQ

We’ve had yet another delivery! This gorgeous collection is American Patch by P&B Textiles – who knew red and pink could go so well together!

I’ve also tried to go a bit more boy-like having noticed how ‘pretty’ my recent purchases were, so we have this funky collection, Keep On Groovin' by Riley Blake.

Both of these ranges will be used in my growing collection of pre-cut quilt kits, so I best get designing!

Looking for more quilty fun and inspiration? Why not pop over to these wonderful Linky Parties and say hello;

Let's Bee Social at Sew Fresh Quilts

Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation
Sunday Stash at Molli Sparkles

Designing a quilt back - and a Giveaway!

When working on my latest quilt kit, I realised just how much I love a pieced quilt back! I know there are more pretty extra-wide backings available than ever before, but there's just something about using some of the same fabrics you've used on the front, on the back, and sometimes, depending on the quilting, you can end up with two quilts in one!

It does make me laugh when some people see my quilt backs and then step back in complete awe, as if I'd just scaled Kilamanjaro! Let me tell you folks, pieced backings are really not that difficult! Or should I say, they're only as difficult as you make them - with a little maths and some added creativity, you can make your quilt backs just as beautiful as your fronts!

Read my new tutorial on designing and piecing your own quilt back - hopefully you will be inspired to try your own!

Elsewhere, there is still plenty of time to enter our free Giveaway! To celebrate springtime (well, it seemed so last week anyway) we're giving away a set of our new Mono Flowers Strip Set and Charm Packs. Featuring Riley Blake's Dot & Dash fabrics together with Kona Solids, this monochrome colourway would make a stunning modern quilt, with just a hint of yellow for the spring sunshine (she says hopefully...)

You can enter in a three ways – the more ways you enter, the more chances you have to win:   

a) Like our Facebook page, and leave a comment on the top Post telling me which is your favourite quilting pre-cut and why. If you have quilty friends, why not Share this post and spread the word!

b) Subscribe to our monthly Newsletter to be kept up to date with our latest products, pattern releases and events.

c) Leave a comment below on this Blog post telling me which is your favourite quilting pre-cut and why.

The draw will close at midnight on Wednesday 13th April 2016, so good luck everyone! For full term and conditions of this competition, click here.

This week's I'm linking up with;

* Lorna's Let's Bee Social at Sew Fresh Quilts
* Needle And Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation 
* and Tips & Tutorials Tuesday at Late Night Quilter - come over, say hello and get inspired!

Spring is here – she says tentatively…

Time to celebrate with a FREE GIVEAWAY!?!

We’ve been busy adding to our fabric pre-cuts collection recently, and one of my favourite is our Mono Flowers range. These fabric strip and charm square packs are made up of six designs from Riley Blake’s Dot & Dash collection, plus co-ordinating Kona Solids in White, Banana and Silver (the charm pack does not include white).

The Mono Flowers Stripper consists of twenty 2½ x 44” (approx.) strips, and the Mono Flowers Charm Pack has forty-two 5” squares. Monochrome is very popular at the moment, and with a hint of yellow as an accent colour, a quilt made from these modern, fresh prints should fit nicely into many modern homes.

Both of these pre-cuts, plus many more to come, are available in our Sewmotion shop, our Folksy shop and on Etsy. The Strippers are £19 and the Charm Packs are £10, with free UK postage! I am also in the midst of designing some new quilt patterns to go with these, so if you’re stuck for inspiration, subscribe to our Newsletter to be kept up to date with our new pattern releases.

Are you inspired already? Or know a friend who will be? Why not enter in our Free Giveaway with a chance to win both a strip set and a charm pack?

You can enter in a three ways – the more ways you enter, the more chances you have to win:

a) Like our Facebook page, and leave a comment on the top Post telling me which is your favourite quilting pre-cut and why. If you have quilty friends, why not Share this post and spread the word!

b) Subscribe to our monthly Newsletter to be kept up to date with our latest products, pattern releases and events.

c) Leave a comment below on this Blog post telling me which is your favourite quilting pre-cut and why.

The draw will close at midnight on Wednesday 13th April 2016, so you have plenty of time, good luck everyone! For full term and conditions of this competition, click here.

Sewing for Pleasure 2016

Yep, it’s March already, and the first big craft show of the year. As you may have realised by now, even though I no longer actually work for Doughty’s in Hereford, I am what they like to call an ‘associate’ – basically someone who they can bring back for shows without having to close their shops due to lack of staff!

So starting with set-up on Wednesday, I’ve been lifting, folding, shelving, smiling, cutting and bagging fabric for five days solid at the NEC, and man do I ache?! Something tells me I need to do some more exercise before Festival of Quilts in August!

Pain aside, I did have a great time, working with some wonderful people and sharing the common joys of fabric addiction with our customers. The only gripe I had were the roadworks on the M5 (geat timing) and the general bedlam at the NEC with four or five shows going on at the same time. I did enjoy seeing the odd superhero wondering around for ComicCon though.

As ever at these shows, I rarely get a chance to look around, but I did manage to take a couple of pics on my way to the loo. One that did catch my eye after seeing an MC Escher exhibition earlier in the year was this beautiful piece by a member of the Royal School of Needlework. One day I will get round to designing a quilt inspired by this tessellation….

Another exhibition was Images of Egypt, part of a private collection owned by Sandra Hardy, who as an enthusiastic Egyptologist has been collecting handmade ceremonial textiles and decorative artefacts for many years now. In 1998 Sandra introduced the quilting world to the amazing work of the tentmakers, who have now inspired many to include beautiful symmetrical applique designs in their own creations.

During my uni days, I remember trips to the V&A Museum in London, where I would sketch out the decorative Moorish and Islamic mosaic designs thinking these would make great quilt blocks…

Meanwhile, back in Sewmotion world… we have another Hexy Cushion Kit on the horizon, available after Easter. I thought I would make a softer version in more neutral colours which I’m sure would fit into many modern day interiors, grey is absolutely everywhere right? And this gorgeous dusky pink is so elegant.

As with all the kits in the collection, you get all the fabric, paper pieces and thread, plus glue pen and instructions to make up the top, you just need the cushion backing and pad. These kits make great portable holiday projects, and come together pretty quickly.

We’ve also just taken delivery of some Dot & Dash fabrics from Riley Blake, and I’ve been playing with Kona co-ordinates – this strip set and charm pack with also be available soon. In fact, why not sign up to our monthly Newsletter to hear about all our latest product releases and recieve discount codes for the following month.

We're going on a much needed Easter break to see our dear friends in Hamburg, so please forgive me, but after tomorrow orders will not be posted until Wednesday 30th March. Happy Easter to you all!