Mammoth Kit Production and a Handmade Christmas

This week I have been buried in cutting, folding and packing fabric into kits for upcoming shows. It seems since moving into my new unit, I just haven't stopped, not that I'm complaining of course, it's all great, but rather stressful!

My next show is next week's Autumn Quilt Festival in Duxford, one of the more interesting venues of the year as it's held in one of the hangars at the Imperial War Museum at Duxford Airfield. So once visitors have had their fix of fabric retail therapy and inspiring quilts, they can have a wander around the huge aircraft on show, read about aviation history and may even see a Spitfire taking off, it really is a great day out! The Duxford Quilt Show runs from Friday 25th to Sunday 27th October - you can out more details here.

I have also released a new Christmas Wreath Table Mats kit, this time in Merry Christmas prints from Makower. This design features curved English paper-piecing to make up the wreath, which is then appliquéd onto the background, add the borders and side panel, and then machine quilt to finish. Each kit includes fabric, pre-cut papers and full instructions to make two mats.
There is also a new Scandi version which you can see below. 

If you are making a start on your Handmade Christmas, I also have my Picture This Table Runner kits to match the mats - you can see the whole collection here.

One last word on Christmas, one of my lovely Newsletter subscribers sent me a pic of her version of my Strippy Circles Table Runner, isn't it lovely, and I'm sure will take pride of place on her festive table, thanks so much for sharing Maureen :)

Don't forget, you can receive your own free patterns every month, including this one, by subscribing to my Newsletter - click here to find out more.

Wishing you all a happy and creative week, linking up with Midweek Makers and Brag About Your Beauties

Playing on my Sewing Machine

Well, a week back and our holiday in glorious Kefalonia already seems like months ago! We had a very relaxing time, if a little too hot at times, still the town of Skala was as beautiful as ever, and one day we may even retire there... 

Meanwhile, back to reality - the next few months look crazy! With Harrogate Quilt show next week, then hopefully a house move, Duxford Autumn Quilt show at the end of October, my first Knitting & Stitching show in Harrogate in November, not to mention a few Sewing Quarter shows slotted in, I think I'll be sleeping through Christmas :)

It is good to be back in the swing of things though, I definitely needed a break after Festival of Quilts, and now I'm full of ideas again, the first of which is my monthly free pattern to my Newsletter subscribers, I know it's a little late, but better late than never right? For this month, I have gone back to an old favourite that I used to make as finished gifts back when I used to sell at craft fairs - the Patchwork Glasses Case. 

This is a great little project with some simple machine sewing, but the best thing is I get to play with some of the bazillion stitches on my sewing machine that I just never get the time to explore. As you can see, I needed to add an embroidered accent down both sides of the case, so I had a little play to find the appropriate stitch, noting down the stitch number and size as I went, so when I came to make a decision I knew what to program into the machine. I also found that unplugging my foot and using the start/stop button when sewing the embroidery stitches made it so much happier tension-wise.

As well as the free pattern - you can get yours by subscribing to the Newsletter here - I have put together three kits that contain fabric, wadding, elastic and button, plus full instructions. These are priced at £8.50, and if you're a subscriber you can get 10% off before next Wednesday.

I will be at Harrogate Autumn Quilt Show next week - Friday 30th Aug - Sunday 1st September, at the Great Yorkshire Showground, Hall 1, Harrogate, HG2 8NZ - 10am - 4.30pm. I hope to see you there!

Wishing you all a happy and creative week, linking up with Midweek Makers 

Quilts UK and Sewing Quarter

I am back from this year's Quilts UK in Malvern. This four-day show is set in the beautiful Worcestershire countryside in Malvern and is the second largest quilt show in the UK after the Festival of Quilts. My week started with a four-hour drive on my tod across the country, this is the furthest I had driven on my own ever, so I was pretty pleased with myself when I finally got there!  Then I had to set up the stand, I was really close to my old employers, Doughty's - most of the time they were laughing at me, but they did help when it was needed. 

Doing Quilts UK also means I get to return to Hereford where I stay with Ruth, Mrs Doughty, over the show. It's always lovely to catch up and we have a good old chat, she also knew the short cuts on the way back to Malvern the following morning. On Friday, I had help on the stand from the lovely Sarah, another former Doughty worker who just comes for a laugh, and then Justin arrived Friday night, so thankfully I didn't have to drive home!

I had a lot of fun meeting so many familiar faces, including many fellow Sewing Quarter presenters. I also had some lovely viewers come up to tell me how much they enjoy my shows, which was really sweet of them, it's great to know the nerves don't show and my demos make sense haha! 

Now I'm back home, I feel pretty shattered, it's weird, it's like I'm jet lagged, hopefully a few days off next week will sort me out. Before then however, I'm back on Sewing Quarter on Bank Holiday Monday where I will be demoing this foundation-pieced Garden Paths quilt by Linda Clements, and then my own Wonky Squares wall hanging using jelly roll strips and some quick and easy cutting.

Wishing you all a happy and creative week, linking up with Midweek Makers and Needle & Thread Thursday

Harrogate Spring Quilt Festival, 2018

As I sit and write this, the snow is falling yet again as the UK comes to its usual standstill during a wintery deluge. I'm only glad we're not doing Harrogate Quilt show this weekend! We had a great time at this bi-annual show last weekend, and the stand looked more colourful than ever. This was also my first chance to show off my Curve Motion Medallion quilt in real life, and it attracted some lovely comments, so thank you! For more on this glorious hand sewing block-of-the-month project, click here.

Another quilt which attracted a lot of attention was my new Mosaic Garden quilt kit, mainly due to Bryony's amazing long arm quilting (North Star Quilting), I know I mentioned this last week, I just couldn't resist showing it off again! The kit is now available in the Sewmotion Shop, priced at £68, though if you sign up and receive today's Newsletter, you can get 15% off! Click here to subscribe today. 

I love to wander through the collection of quilts on display  at these shows and always find something that sparks my imagination. The overall feeling of this exhibition was a wonderful abundance of colour! Greta and Mike Fitchett's work caught my eye with it's strong lines and graphic illustrations, Greta's work is inspired by architectural pattern found on her travels around the world and I thought her Reflection Quilts were so clever and striking in their use of colour.

Birmingham Post Office Tower, and Cologne Cathedral, Greta Fitchett

Designer and engineering illustrator Mike's pieces are inspired by vintage travel posters, a style I love myself, and it was great to see similar designs in quilt form. Coming from a graphics background, Mike's use of bold colour and simple shapes really appealed to me.

Heart of the Alps, and What a Shambles, Mike Fitchett

Another wonderful display of colour was to be found in "Interchange Appliqué Quilts' by Gillian Travis. These beautiful pieces are made using an innovative appliqué technique with batiks which are fused together. I'm a big fan of repetitive pattern and found these designs so happily satisfying!

Clockwise from top left: Circles 2, Notan Leaves 2, Turkish Carpets , Hawaiian Interchange, Circles 1 - Gillian Travis

These quilts are on a travelling exhibition with Grosvenor Shows, so if you get the chance to visit an event, go and explore this explosion of awesome colour!

I was so happy to meet a fellow UKQU member, Vendulka Battais, owner of Oliven quilt shop and queen of the Cathedral window! As well as demoing and teaching her stunning painting technique, Vendulka also had some of her beautiful quilts on display.

Cathedral Windows, Vendulka Battais, Oliven

Linking up with Midweek Makers and Needle & Thread Thursday

This month's free Pre-Cut Party Pattern and funky new packaging

I had a great time at last weekend's Autumn Quilt Show at the Imperial War Museum in Duxford, I had a larger stand than last year, and it seemed busier all round, just goes to show the love of quilting is growing all the time. 

I did have many more beginners going for my Quick & Easy Quilt Kits which was really encouraging, as we all know, once you've made your first quilt, you're in it for life! I also think my funky (and practical) new packaging may have helped - they also make great gifts.

So it's the beginning of another month, which means it Pre-Cut Party time! This month's free pattern, available to my Newsletter subscribers, is based on the 10" layer cake to make this beautiful Buzz Saw quilt. 

I used my gorgeous 1930s Vintage Fabric roll together with a pretty white-on-white to make this single-size bed quilt (approx. 50" x 67.5"). If you would like this free pattern, and many more in the future, you can sign up to the newsletter here. I'm also offering my subscribers 20% off this new kit for one month only.

Looking for more quilting fun and inspiration? Why not pop along to these great Linky Parties - Let's Bee Social at Sew Fresh Quilts, Midweek Makers at Quilt Fabrication and Needle & Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation 

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

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

Relaxing EPP and Quilts UK

There's little else I find as relaxing as hand sewing, in particular some good old English paper piecing. I became slightly, well very, addicted to EPP hexagons and diamonds a while ago and have been known to sew at airports and on trains while listening to a gripping audible book.

Many visitors have caught me stitching up a new cushion design while on the stand at quilt shows - this new diamond cushion was half made at last week's event in Harrogate, and will no doubt be finished at Malvern this weekend.

And it seems I'm not alone, talking to fellow quilters and show visitors, there are so many of us moving towards this quieter, more contemplative type of sewing.

Great to do in front of the tele, but also to take on holiday or on long drives, or just to sit quietly curled up in a favourite armchair. Don't get me wrong, I still love knocking up a quilt on my Janome, and adore machine quilting, but I feel that EPP slows me down, relaxes me and turns off the outside world for just a while. In conversation at shows you may have heard me say this is my free therapy, and it's true! I have also heard people say "they don't have the patience for hand sewing", which makes me sad. I have actually found that it gives me patience, I have to slow down and take one stitch at a time, which really can't be a bad thing!

So why not have a go yourself? My EPP Diamond and Hexy Cushion Kits are designed to be small undaunting projects that you may actually finish ;) Each kit contains all the fabric you need to complete the top, including binding and wadding, plus a Sewline glue pen, thread, paper templates and full instructions. What's more, if you subscribe to my Newsletter before the end of May, you can get 20% off each kit, just in time for those summer holidays.

This week we're off to Quilts UK at the Three Counties Showground in the beautiful town of Malvern. This four-day event is the UK"s second largest quilt show of the year, and fingers crossed, promises to be a great weekend. The shows runs from Thursday 18th to Sunday 21st May, 10am - 5pm (4.30pm on Sunday). If you're in or around the area, it would be great to see you.

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