Well, what a year! I won't go into the stresses and strains of 2020, but instead focus on being grateful. Thankfully, my family and friends, up until now (fingers crossed, touch wood and all that) have all stayed safe and well, even though this has meant not seeing them as much as usual. But as we know, this time will pass and these sacrifices will be worth it as there is finally an end in sight. It may take another few months and even more sacrifices to get there, but things will return back to normal and we can restart our lives again.
I know I can't wait to get back to exhibiting at quilt and sewing shows, I have really missed the in-person interaction I have with my customers, having a good old chat about quilting, as well as meeting up with my fellow business owners. Since March I have relied solely on online sales, and have been overwhelmed by the support and kindness from my customers who really have kept Sewmotion going this year. As well as placing orders, many of you took part in my block-of-the-fortnight quilt along, and shared some lovely pics of your progress. I have also received some very lovely and often timely emails with such kind thoughts and encouragement - thank you so much.
So to show my gratitude, I thought I would host an online gallery of Sewmotion makes to end the year on a high. I am also offering a prize bundle of Sewmotion goodies - the winning participant will be drawn out of a hat on Friday, 1st January by my glamorous assistant Justin :)
Having put a call out to my Newsletter subscribers and on Facebook, I have been inundated with photos of some truly gorgeous makes, I'm sure you'll agree. Many of us have kept busy working through the stash or finishing that pile of UFOs, and of course working through all those kits bought over the years. So without further ado, enjoy!
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| Clockwise from bottom left: Lynda, Sue, Naomi, Ven, Ven (again) Jan and in the centre Jill |
As it's still the festive season, I thought we would start with a collection of Christmas EPP Hoop projects, aren't they beautiful?! I just wanted to mention Jill's hoop, she made this for her daughter Joanne, who sent in the photo and explained that even though she couldn't see her mum this Christmas, receiving this beautiful gift felt like she had some of her mum with her, how wonderful is that!? Well done Jill ;)Continuing the Christmas theme, next we have the Table Runners and Placemats, one of the great things about these projects is that they can be brought out year after year, so even though you may not have used the whole set this year, they will still be there for 2021 :)
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| Clockwise from bottom left: Naomi, Suzanne, Dileas, Karen, Jacquie, Carol & Laura. |
Finally, a little more Christmas with some fabulous bunting...
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| From left: Fiona, Lesley & Theresa |
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| Alison |
Rather than making a string of bunting, Alison made these individual stars to send to friends and family around the world who she wouldn't be seeing over Christmas, another wonderful example of how craft has brought people closer together during these times of separation.
Many of you have spent 2020 making cushions, and even better, discovering new techniques such as EPP and my fave, curved EPP. Starting with the ever-popular Diamond Star...
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| Clockwise from top left: Carol, Ven, Janet, Kay, Lynda, Christine, Debby & Pamela. |
And then there were the gorgeous curved EPP cushions...
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| Clockwise from bottom left: Lesley, Lesley (again) Pamela, Sue, Joanne, Julie, Debby, Shirley, Jacquie, Kathy & Carol |
Some of you went tiny with your EPP projects and made these beautiful pincushions - you can never have too many right?! I love Helen's embroidery to remind her of her day out at Duxford quilt show where she bought the kit :)
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| Clockwise from top left: Michele, Kay, Kay (again), Patricia, Helen & Naomi |
Some of you got creative with machine quilting, while others found their own projects to make using my designs and fabrics...
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| Clockwise from top left: Patricia, Pamela, Katy, Tess, Naomi & Lynda |
And then there are the quilts, so many glorious projects...
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| Clockwise from bottom left: Fiona, Anne, Joanne, Karen, Jan, Naomi, Pat and in the centre Margaret |
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Clockwise from top left: Barbara, Joanne, Sally, Sally again, Ellen & Jan.
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And finally, I would just like to end with these glorious Hope in the Stars quilts - this was my quilt-along offered free to my Newsletter subscribers earlier in the year using traditional hand piecing, a technique that was new to many of you. I also sold sets of templates, raising over £400 for the NHS Covid-19 charity. Thank you all so much for taking part, I know there are many more half finished quilts out there, and I look forward to seeing them in 2021 ;)
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| Clockwise from top left: Ven, Helen, Shirley, Joanne, Laura, Samantha and in the centre Gracie |
I love every one of these quilts, and it makes me so happy to see my design created in so many different fabrics. I don't have favourites of course, but I would just like to mention Gracie in the centre, who decreased all the templates so she could make an English paper-pieced version, this finished mini quilt is just 14inches square, isn't it stunning?!
Thank you to everyone for taking part in this celebration of the Makers, we will be announcing the winner of the prize draw on a Facebook live tomorrow at 1pm (Friday 1st Jan). The winner will also be announced on a future blog and the next Newsletter.
With all the best wishes in the world for you and your family to have a much happier 2021, keep on sewing, sharing and inspiring xxx
