Would You Please Help Me?

Update 12 Jan, thanks for your help everyone. From now on, I'll be launching current BOM blocks right here on my blog as well as in my BOM Group over on Facebook. 

I need as many people as possible to test whether or not Google Drive is going to work on this blog to download PDFs. To help me, simply download my pattern 'Lily Rose' by clicking the image below. 

The complete pattern should open in a new window, ready to print

If it does, please leave a comment letting me know that it worked. Or not.

That's all. Thank you so much for taking a minute to help me out today!

the link has now been removed, thanks to everyone who took the time to help

I'm testing to see whether or not I can release pattern PDFs on this blog for those of you who don't want to use Facebook to download monthly BOM installments. You probably already know that my Yahoo BOM Group has moved over the Facebook and is therefore not called the 'Yahoo BOM Group' anymore but is now known as Esther's Blog: BOM Quilt Group. It's only been 48 hours, but the improvement for usability, posting pics and sharing is massive already. What a wonderful format. We're never going back. 

But...

There's always a but. No matter how well meaning you are, there are always issues. Some former members just don't want to move to Facebook and I just don't want to leave them behind. So, I'm happy to see if I can release BOM installments right here on the blog post each month. It should be possible, but I don't want to get people's hopes up without some kind of test first. This post is that test.

Thanks again for helping me out 
Please consider your downloaded Lily Rose pattern as my thank you gift

My Free BOM Group Has Moved!

Phew! What a weekend. If you haven't already heard, my BOM Group has 'moved house'. Previously it was hosted on a Yahoo forum called groups, but there were always issues and the format was difficult to navigate. For myself personally, I could never load 'albums' worth of images that I wanted to share with members and felt restricted each month whenever I tried to share and connect with members.

For the last 2 years, I'd been looking for an alternative to Yahoo, but simply couldn't find one. The popularity of LE really showed us all how the Yahoo format simply couldn't cope with people wanting to share their work quickly and easily and this frustrated me. I wanted to spend my time designing and sharing - not struggling with the site.

Then, a dear friend of mine suggested Facebook Groups. Well, I wasn't keen on the idea at first. I only went on Facebook myself a few months ago. But there's no denying how fast, connected and easy the Facebook Group area is to navigate - it's not just better than Yahoo, it's miles better. So we've moved. And now that it's done, I wish I hadn't waited so long to do it.

Images are a breeze, chatting and answering comments is super easy to follow, share and respond to. I love it. Now I can get back to focusing on what really matters - the quilting!

My free BOM Group is called, "Esther's Blog: Quilt BOM Group" and you can search for it on Facebook or simply click the image above (or on the sidebar) to join. All our Moderators have moved with us and our Group is still Moderated to make sure everything runs smoothly and any stuck members can get the advice they need.

Sounds good? It is!

If you were a member of the Yahoo BOM Group and would like to join us in our new and improved location, you will need to join Facebook and join our Group 'again'. You were not automatically transferred over. To do so would have been a violation of your privacy rights and I would never move our membership lists to the new Facebook home without your consent. Join now by clicking the image above. 

Because the Yahoo Group hosts many images of people's work, I will not close it down immediately, but leave plenty of time for members to clear albums.

Membership is, and always will be, free. Why not join today? We're ready to welcome you to our friendly, creative hub.

WOW: Getting BOM Ready

WOW = WIPs On Wednesdays

I must admit that I'm still a bit surprised we're already in 2016. Although I've already decided on what fabrics I'm showing Hazel and Little Hazel off in, I can't stop playing around with ideas. And, I'm especially happy that both Hazels work in any fabric pallette or colour scheme - so you can stash bust or splurge on your favourite new offerings and know your quilt will be gorgeous.

Over in my Yahoo BOM Group, we've had over 100 new members join in the past week alone and I haven't even launched my applique BOM for 2016 yet! I'm really excited to welcome new quilting friends and get stuck into what we all do best - creating and sharing.

What's Your WOW ?

An InLinkz Link-up

'Hazel' my new free BOM for 2016

'Little Hazel' 62 x 62"

Well, it's officially 2016 and that means it's time for me to start showing off the next Free BOM 'Hazel' and 'Little Hazel'. I wanted to make this pattern available to everyone and I know we don't all need large quilts, so I've decided to also offer my quilts into 'little' versions whenever convenient, so no matter your time schedule, you can fit a Hazel BOM into your quilting calendar:)

Didn't 2015 just fly by? This year is going to be the busiest yet, BOM wise. I have several lined up and during the week ahead, I'll be mapping out when they will be released throughout the year. Some will be BOMs, others will be complete patterns released as a one-off. Make sure you're a member of my Yahoo BOM Group - that way you won't miss out on any free gorgeous patterns that are coming!

Here's the first BOM for 2016: Hazel is a pieced BOM which takes me down winding rivers and woodlands. Here is a quilt full of passages, connections and returning to centre - a nice reminder of life's turns and returns.

There are 2 x size options: the full size 'Hazel' BOM at 88x105" and 'Little Hazel' 62 x 62"

'Hazel' 88 x 105"

Something that I like to do whenever I design a quilt is to 'test' it to see which tones it cries out for. In my mind, 'Hazel' was always a nutty brown and muted blue kind of quilt - hence the fabrics below.

But, I couldn't help playing around with the complete opposite of my original idea and colouring it in with striking vibrant primaries of yellow, blue and red. Both are different quilts that evoke completely different moods and I must admit, they both work in their own way. This is a great satisfaction for me, it means that the pattern lends itself to a whole range of 'styles' when it comes to choosing fabrics and this versatility means everything when you're deciding on a new quilt.

I'm really excited about releasing this BOM. I've been meaning to release a pieced BOM for a while now and I'm glad it's actually happening. I already love Hazel and I hope you will too. 

For my fellow applique lovers, yes there is an applique BOM coming, I'm currently deciding which one to release :) 

Hazel and Little Hazel will be released on January 15th over in my Yahoo BOM Group. 

Membership is and always will be free. 

Merry Christmas 2015

Merry Christmas everyone. Today it's hot down my way, it's going to be 35c which means my usual ideas for Christmas day lunch have gone out the window and I'm just going to enjoy the day without the usual baking cycles.

If you're here, I'd like to thank you for reading my blog throughout the year. I feel so much encouragement and support from each of you and your comments mean so much to me too. When I'm working away in my studio, it feels really special to bring my work online and share what I do with you. It's a special connection and I've found some really wonderful people quilting online and for that, I'm grateful.

My personal motto has always been 'givers are receivers' and this blog has proven that to me over and over. I've been so blessed to have so many of you here encouraging me on. Over in my Yahoo BOM Group, I've been blessed with Moderators who volunteer their time to keeping all our members in a spam free zone where they can share their experiences as they make my patterns. 

This beautiful little film is a Russian production and it's one I share each Christmas on this blog on Christmas day because I think it's so charming in getting to the heart of the matter. It is such a nice change from the usual commercialism we are all bombarded with at this time of year. The detail is simply lovely, it's a pleasure to watch and a reminder to us all that Jesus is the reason for the season.

WOW: Glad Tidings Progress

WOW = WIPs On Wednesdays

This year's free Christmas Project 'Glad Tidings' was released to my Yahoo BOM Group which has over 5500 members now. And, as well as our Yahoo Group I decided to release it for free on Craftsy and am happy to report that's been downloaded more than 1'900 times so far. Not bad, eh? This is really exciting for me because the more quilts being made out there, the more likely I am to get to see them, and I always love that. It was a beautiful surprise to see Gail Smith's Red December earlier in the week (it's been a while since I'd even thought about that quilt first designed in 2011) and seeing it again really made my day.

I wonder how many of you will be stopping by today? I imagine you're all getting ready for Christmas. I have the day set aside to tidy the house, make room in the fridge and put the last load of washing on before the big day. I'm looking forward to taking it easy and letting my DDs take care of all the cooking.

What's Your WOW?

An InLinkz Link-up

Applique by Freezer Paper

The Freezer Paper Applique Method is popular, surprisingly easy and completely satisfying.

It attends to all those important details which are so important: like smooth edges, clean tucks and sharp lines. Whilst traditional needle turn applique is my favourite and most cherished technique, this is the technique I use the most. It's so practical. If you haven't tried it - I can only recommend that you do.

 Simply brush fabric edges with starch

 Turn with a hot iron, using the freezer paper insert as your edge guide

 Remove the freezer paper easily

 Inner view of turned piece

the completed applique shape

I know many of you are familiar with this technique, however from the emails I have received this week I realise that there are still some quilters who are not confident using this method.

This is the technique I will be using throughout Hearts Desire and as there is so much applique in this BOM, I have decided to show some more detail in the slides below.

Coming up in this BOM, you will be creating applique leaves ...so I have created a leaf in the tutorial below which shows exactly how I do it.

2015 update: I'm re-posting this technique which was first posted in 2011 as I'm asked about it so often. This is the same technique I use today except that these days, I replace the freezer paper with a wash away fusible instead. The method remains the same.