Fancy Some Modern Chic? Meet Mia May!

Look what I just launched! Mia May is everything that’s bright and fun about new fabrics and uncomplicated applique. Whilst I’ll always love designing intricate applique, some fabrics demand a ‘let loose’ modern twist in the design to show off cheerful prints and Mia May really fits the bill. The applique is simple and the finished quilt size is perfect for a weekend project. Finished size:  49 x 65 inches

I know most of us have a stash of gorgeous prints we want to showcase with minimal fuss and whether you’ve fallen in love with these tones or have a completely different fabric scheme in mind, this lovely design is sure to please.

Releasing patterns from my folio is always such an exciting venture, I'm thrilled to launch Mia May today and hope you'll love her bright enthusiasm for fabric as much as I do.

WOW: Still Plodding Along

WOW = WIPs On Wednesdays

I'm still plodding away with Part 3 of Secret Garden - that's the block with the cat peeking through the foliage. I would have been done by the weekend, but I came down with a winter cold and have been working away at little bits of applique here and there in between chicken broth and recovery naps.

Normally when the cooler weather arrives, I like to dig out my knitting or crochet in the evenings. My ripple afghan is super cosy and warm and the perfect snuggle blanket for these frosty nights.I'd quite like another one, in completely wild contrasting colours. But this year I've decided to resist the temptation and instead work on my WIPs. They're getting out of hand actually. I do hope to get them under control by the end of 2018 and this means no 'new' arts or crafts. No matter how bad the temptation..

What's Your WOW?

An InLinkz Link-up

WOW: WIPs and Cake

WOW = WIPs On Wednesdays

I made a birthday meringue for an afternoon tea yesterday and let me tell you, it's been a while since I baked any cakes. I forgot how much work was involved. And it was quite funny because I spent most of the morning looking for a whisk attachment for my beater- and I made a big fuss about it, looking everywhere, searching high and low, and even went through all the kitchen drawers and was at my wits end (and about to go to the store to buy a new one) when I found the missing whisk in my apron pocket. How ridiculous! And the worst thing was that it was my DH who pointed it out to me. 

Needless to say, I needed a cup of coffee and a few minutes quiet after that episode! 

Still, all's well that ends well and yes, it was delicious. I don't think things get much better than a crisp meringue with lots of whipped cream and mellow strawberries. 

Today I'm going to finish my Secret Garden Block 3 - that's the one with the cat peeking through the foliage. I am loving all the stunning blocks being made up and shown off over in the Group, it's a lot of fun to drop in and see what's going on as we have members working on everything: from Love Entwined to Tickled Pink to Hazel to Diamond Hill. It feels like everyone is in a hugely productive mode at the moment. Sometimes I go into the Group and I can't believe how much progress has been made from one day to the next. It's a real motivator. 

What's Your WOW?

An InLinkz Link-up

My Secret Garden Cat

The Secret Garden Cats that have been created over in the Group are all gorgeous- in fact, we even have a tiger in the mix! For my own SG Cat, I couldn't decide what fabric to settle on, which is completely typical for me. Instead, I decided to draw and colour my cat as I went along - a kind of adult colouring in book version of applique. They're all the rage right now, aren't they? Why not just play around and let the crayons decide?

 I actually thought I might have a white cat, but somehow ended up with a blue gray-blue cat.

I traced the outline from the pattern and then painted in the shading I wanted. When I was finished, I turned the edges of my plain background fabric, clipping the seams to keep them neat and tight.

And here is my finished feline! She looks a bit odd without a mouth or whiskers, but this is the area that will be covered with a bloom and I will stitch in whiskers later when everything else is in place. 

 I've been spending my evenings in front of the TV making up the bloom heads, so I will show you my progress with those once I get them all down.

How are you getting along with your SG Cat??

“If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden.” 

― Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden

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Welcome to this wonderful Mystery BOM 

This very special applique Mystery BOM has launched!

Will you join me on this adventure?

The journey started February 1st, 2017

You can join right now

Digital pattern downloads are instant!

The BOM runs for 12 months

The pattern will be emailed to you directly each month

The finished quilt size is 80 x 80 inches

WOW: Paint Brush Fabric Roll Done!

WOW = WIPs On Wednesdays

A few years ago I realized that I was spending far too much money on paint brushes that I could somehow never locate. Whenever I needed them, they were nowhere to be found. I'm sure I left a few at workshops here and there, but the rest simply vanished without explanation and I wasn't happy at the constant replacement expense. Back then I was buying them after much fussing and deliberation in art stores. I thought that if I put together a 'set' I would have many long years of enjoyment from them and that, this way, it would be worth the investment. Ha!

Since then I've purchased paint brushes everywhere - the supermarket, paper shops, toy stores, newsagents and discount variety shops. I have a whole assortment of them now and most of them work perfectly fine for my uses - which is fabric painting. My latest collection came from Ebay and it's actually better that the expensive art set I had beforehand. But expensive or not, I have had enough of constantly replacing them, so I've finally gone ahead and sewn up my brush roll WIP. This is one of many 'little' projects that I know would be so useful if I actually got around to doing them...but usually I leave it for a few years before I bother. Well, no matter how long it took, I have zipped up several for my different brush sizes and grades and even offered to make my DD a cosmetic brush roll (which was rejected). Yes, it's been a productive WIP day.

Done!

And just in the nick of time too, I'm taking a class this weekend and expect to put them to use with some fabric touch ups. For once, I'll be the student and not the teacher so I am glad to take a back seat and allow myself to play around a bit.

What's Your WOW?

An InLinkz Link-up

Happy Easter 2017

Wishing you each 

a thoughtful and peaceful Easter this weekend 

Diamond Hill: Part 4 is Launched

What an April it's been. And now, it's time to launch Part 4 of Diamond Hill. Wow, these Hill quilts are shaping up to be real beauties, I just love seeing the progress each month over in the Group. 

                

For those of you who haven't joined the Group, you can download Part 4 right here and right now by clicking on the bade below, the download will start as a PDF instantly.

How To Make: the 'Tickled Pink' Block

This is my first Tickled Pink block (and it hasn't been ironed yet) 

but as you can already see, this block really shines!

Once you've decided whether to opt for the 16 x 16 inches or 20 x 20 inches block, it's time to make a start on your block. Here's how I made my own Tickled Pink.

'Map out' your block before sewing anything and make sure you understand the pattern arrangement. It's really important to follow the grain indicated on the pattern pieces to prevent buckling and warping as you sew your pieces together too, so pay attention to these pattern details. I think it makes a real different whenever you are piecing stars to pay extra attention to grain lines.

Tickled Pink Is Launched!

Tickled Pink is a one block beauty - you simply decide what size block you want to make and then make it, sixteen times. Voila! Isn't it striking? I love the satisfaction of a perfectly pieced block and a touch of applique for the stems and leaves adds a nice finishing touch too.

I've been meaning to make this quilt for years and right now I'm feeling completely smug that I've managed to cut and bundle the entire quilt up into stages to make it an ongoing 'slow quilt' for those times when I'm in the right mood and place for an 'installment.' This is one of those quilts that's been in my design folio for years and I am over the moon to be finally sharing it with you today.

The finished quilt size is either 68 x 68 inches, or  84 x 84 inches, depending on whether you want to make 16 x 16 inch blocks or 20 x 20 inch blocks.

Tomorrow I'll be posting how I made my Tickled Pink block, step by step. So be sure to come back and see it for yourself if you're interested in this quilt.

WOW: Tickled Pink

WOW = WIPs On Wednesdays

Can you believe it's Easter already? This month feels like it really snuck up on me. Today I'm getting the dining room ready and generally tidying up (and putting away all my fabric piles from around the house) so that the weekend and meals to come can flow as smoothly as possible. I'm so pleased to have finished my latest pattern, Tickled Pink, just in time for the Easter weekend.

Be sure to check back tomorrow when I post my step by step guide to making the Tickled Pink block. 

What's Your WOW?

An InLinkz Link-up

Tickling for some Slow Quilting

I've been thinking about a Slow Quilting project for ages. Well, yes, I might have hundreds of UFO's on my WIP pile, but that's different. I wanted a specific project all cut up and ready for me to pick up and put down as when the mood and location suited. And I had just the pattern in mind too - a classic pieced block repeated over and over to assemble a gorgeous quilt top. And I was thinking about this project on and off when I saw the perfect fabrics for it:

This range is Marseille by Robyn Pandolph. It's much brighter when viewed on screen, almost neon actually, so opening the package that arrived late last week was a bit of a surprise - but a good one. These tones are gorgeous. I've been using a lot of Robyn Pandolph fabric just lately, I really love the colour combinations, especially in Marseille. Well, the minute I saw it I knew it was the perfect range for my Slow Quilting Quilt which I've named Tickled Pink because I'm hopelessly in love with pink and green colour schemes in all their tonal variations and also because the block itself just looks tickled pink, if you know what I mean!

So I've gone ahead and made a block which is stunning and now I'm all excited to have something to pick up and put down. It's a great project and yes, I really am going to take my time and do it whenever the occasion arises. Today I finished all the cutting for the entire quilt. I really think packaging up the various stages is the best way to take on Slow Quilting. Now I have bundled each block with all it's bits and pieces and I'll just grab each block at a time, until I've completed 16 of them sometime in the future.

I'm so pleased with myself today. I got this project all cut up and bundled and I did it just in time for Easter too. Phew! What a week it's been.

If you're interested in your own Slow Quilting Project, come back tomorrow as I'll be putting my Tickled Pink pattern up for sale. And like always, it will be heavily discounted for 48 hours to allow everyone who's interested in it an opportunity to have it for the price of a cup of coffee.