Four Patch Fun - Quilt Along - Block #9 - a fun project for beginners and experienced quilters alike! Watch the full video tutorial on my Youtube Channel!

It's Thursday which means it's time for a new, free Splendid Sampler block to be released. And guess what? The books are coming SOON! I hear that some of the digital copies have already been delivered but I'm still anxiously awaiting my book - so exciting! If you still need to order yours it's not too late - grab one here on Amazon. Along with this week's block, I have a couple of secret weapons (a.k.a. favorite tools) to share with you - both of which really came in handy when I was making this block. First let me tell you about this week's block. It was designed by Jenny Doan, and you can find the free pattern for this block here. It's a fun version of the Cathedral Windows block and I promise it's faster and easier than you'd think! The pattern first has you pin the window "frame" fabric on one corner of a print square -- but I used my favorite applique glue instead. It's also called temporary basting glue, but because I use it mainly for applique, around here it's referred to as applique glue ;) There are two bottle types for this glue-- the standard bottle (find it here on Amazon) and the EZ Squeeze bottle (find it here on Amazon). I've used both, but personally I prefer the EZ Sqeeze bottle so I can get every.last.drop. out of the container. I ran a thin line of glue along two sides of my print square... ...and then placed one cream square right sides together on top. I gave it a quick press with the iron to set the glue. Then I folded back the corner. I added a second thin line of glue along the edge (wrong side) of the white square to hold that in place as well. Another quick press of the iron and my square was basted and ready for the next step - no pins needed! With the white squares (lightly) glued in place, it was much easier to sew the block together without everything shifting around on me. Alright - now for favorite tool #2: When it was time to top stitch, my bent tip tweezers were super helpful! These are great for holding tiny things in place as you stitch them. See how the tips get right in close to the presser foot? Now, keep in mind that at this point I'm sewing slowly, and being very careful to not sew over the tweezers. I keep a pair of these tweezers next to my machine and use them fairly often! I bought them here on Amazon in a pack of 4. I'm glad I bought the four pack - two pair have already wandered off to help with other hobbies like perler beads. The secret is out and my kids have realized how handy these are! Now I need to play catch-up on a few of the older Splendid Sampler II blocks. I've been working on them here and there but haven't shared photos of them yet! First up is Tulip in Bloom designed by Nadra Ridgeway (download the block pattern here). I also made this block called Point Taken, designed by Susan Ache (download the pattern here.) The last catch-up block is called Betty's Bloom designed by Carl Hentsch (download the pattern here.) I can't wait for the book to arrive so I can see all of the fun blocks! You can find the past free blocks here on the Splendid Sampler blog. Happy sewing everyone! --Andy **This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission (at no additional cost to you) when purchases are made through links found in this post.

Hi there! I am here to share Block 26 of the Moda Sampler Block Shuffle! This block was designed by: Amy Ellis Block 26 was a quick block to put together! I decided to do it with one print, but it w

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Do you love the look and texture of hand quilting but lack the time, precision, or desire to create itty bitty, uniform stitches? Try these big stitch techniques!

This sampler is done on wool felt and consists of Spanish feather stitch, (whipped with rayon ribbon floss and plain), Pekinese stitch, fly stitches, detached chain stitches and French knots.

detail ~ Stitch Ritual by Jane LaFazio Stitch Ritual by Jane LaFazio (60x24") This quilt truly combines my two artistic loves, dr...

Another project crossed off my To Do List! Mini Mini quilts! For your refrigerator or note board! Unfortunately, these were not my idea! I wish I was the brains behind this project! I was inspired …

It is nearly time for this month's Saturday workshop! Altered Books. On the 23rd May in Boxmoor we will be making, starting and learning new techniques to make unique little works of ART from old, unloved hardback books. It is such a happy experience to see beautiful things emerging from the pages and seeing how everybody interprets the techniques that I'm showing them into their own personal artwork. This time we are going to be working with Acrylic mediums. Crackle paints, moulding paste, iridescent mediums and paints, and resin. We are also going to play with openings and put little doors with hinges into our books. Each person can choose to work to a theme or just to play with the techniques. Have a look through this blog for photos of Altered Books and there are lots on my website too. www.paulawatkins.co.uk if you'd like to see examples of this lovely art for. Here are a few more to show some of the techniques we will be playing with. This first one shows some of the different mediums used with iridescent paint effects, It also shows a window cut between the pages to showcase a vintage optometrist lens which has been treated with resin and wired between the pages. This little heat treated copper door has brass hinges and a fastening. It opens to reveal the vintage dresses hanging in the wardrobe by a chain and little wire hangers. The fairies on the other page a peeking in. This is a stitched panel on a book page using some of my collection of buttons and lace. As you can see, an Altered Book can be anything you want it to be. Let me know if you'd like to join us on this workshop or one in the future. We have such fun!

I can't believe I've just typed that heading! When I made the block for January 1st 2016 I could not have imagined the journey this quilt would have taken me on. So make yourselves comfortable and grab a cup of tea, because this blog post may get lengthy! I'd seen the 365 Quilt Challenge on Facebook. I think every quilter on Facebook must have been aware of it. Loads of my friends had signed up and it kept popping up as a "Page you might like" thing. In the end, in November 2015, I joined the group, had a poke round. Decided it wasn't for me. One of the things that really put me off were the fabric requirements: you needed x amount of dark dark fabric, x amount of medium dark fabric, x amount of dark medium, medium, light medium, light, background.... I just couldn't get my head round those requirements. I'd looked at the mock ups on the wesbite and couldn't bring myself to pick a colour. I put it to the back of my mind. But I had obviously at some point subscribed to the emails, and when the first few popped up in my inbox, I though "these seem easy - I'll have a go". I think it was then, about 4th January 2016, with no real plan that I had the idea for my colour scheme. Once I had seen how the blocks were turning out, I knew that I could use a dark background and then any colour I wanted and still end up with "dark block", especially if, when it came to the light blocks I used a light background with the colours I liked. Out came my daughter's crayons and I had a plan. I'd like to remind you, that at this point, I was five months pregnant. Doesn't everyone take on a mammoth project the year they're due to give birth to their second child? Up until the end of March, I kept up to date. And by 17th April, just three days before Jess was born, I had completed the centre of the medallion and the first dark border. I knew, as Jessica's birth approached, that even if I never made another block again, at I had completed something that would stand as a quilt in it's own right, albeit a small one. It was around this time, that the best aspect of this quilt became apparent. I had joined a UK based Facebook group for the 365 quilt, and I have never experienced a group come together like we did: we got to know each other, we chatted, and as Jessica's due date came and went, everyone wanted to know.... And once she's arrived, and I'd posted to let everyone know, I got the loveliest congratulations for "Our 365 Baby". Inevitably, I took a break, not from sewing entirely, but from this project, in the weeks after Jess was born. I was still sewing (it truly does keep me sane), but not this. I did the odd block through May and into June and by this time last year, I was 42 blocks behind. At the worst point I hit 84 blocks behind. And I'm not going to lie, it was a mammoth effort to pull myself back. I found that spending a day or so cutting the fabric for the next chunk of blocks and then piecing a bit here and there in spare minutes really worked - I had quite the system going! The 6" blocks released in May and June last year were absolute stinkers. We were dragged into this project with the exceptionally easy 3"blocks in January, but by midsummer we were ploughing through 6" blocks with more pieces than I care to think about. The blocks were beautiful though - not your bog standard churn dashes and pinwheels, but complex and beautiful - some of the half square triangle units finish at less than half an inch in some of the blocks. What I found truly amazing is that some of the blocks I would have thought were impossible without foundation piecing or using templates, but through careful cutting, corner covering and angles, every single block was rotary cut without the need for templates! These were the pieces for just one of the 6" blocks.... By mid-September I was back up to date and on the 21st September we moved from the sublime to the ridiculous with the instructions: "Trim the half square triangle units to 1 and 7/32". And so ensued a discussion: does one say "thirty-secondths" or "thirty-seconds" or my preferred option "thirty-tooths"? The girls (and guy) on the Facebook group cried with you on those days, and we heaved a collective sigh of relief on the days when the block was "easy". Easy is, however, a relative and changeable term, and what I classed as easy in September was definitely not what I would have classed as easy back in January! Then came the 12" blocks for the corners. Kathy, who designed the quilt, outdid herself. These blocks were absolutely horrific little stinkers. So. Many. Pieces. So many covered corners to get the right way. Y-seams.Each 12" block was genuinely the equivalent of making 16 of the hardest 3" blocks. But there was another block released the next day already. On 8th January 2017, I made the final block - just a week behind! And it was some block - Y seams all over the place. But I will never, ever be scared of a Y-seam again! And then I hit a slump. the next step was to add the final borders. And if you've read this blog for some time, you'll know that sashing, and long seams are my least favourite part of the process. I did bits here and there. But it wasn't until 5th February, that I finally added the the last of the pieced borders and a final, plain black border to tie it all together. And the reason I did it on that particular day. It was a weekend. But it was also a beautiful day - there was no wind and lots of bright sunshine. Which meant once finished, I could lay the quilt in our front garden and hang out of the bedroom window to photograph it, without it being blown into the North Sea - which is normally the case! I knew we wouldn't get another day like that. Next up was backing fabric. On such a special quilt, I splashed out and order Tula Pink Free Fall from the US. I then bundled up the quilt and the backing and entrusted it to Royal Mail to get it over to Cath in Cumbria. We'd hatched a plan. I decided towards the end of 2016, that I wouldn't quilt this one myself. It's the first time I'd ever contemplated not quilting a quilt myself. But with so many seams, I knew that if I tried to quilt it myself, I would break needles, snap thread and generally get very cross with the quilt.So I asked for contributions towards the cost of long-arming for my birthday, and got in touch with Cath Brough who is Cumbrian Long Armer. Michael and I had a holiday to the Lakes planned for late March and she confirmed that she could get it quilted and was happy for us to pick it up in person. So at the end of March, we went to see her and picked up this monster of a quilt. The work she had done on it was stunning, and the quilting made it come alive. I chose a bubbles pantograph as I felt an all-over design would not detract from the piecing, which really is the star of the show! I brought the quilt home, trimmed it. And then did nothing. The prospect of binding it didn't really appeal. Inevitably I left it until midsummer to hand sew over nearly 400" of binding. And you know what - it took no time at all - two hours to make the matched binding and attach it to the front of the quilt and then four nights in front of the TV to hand sew it down. And the quilt was finished. And I love it. And I cannot believe that I did it. Here is the THE photo from our recent photo shoot at Seaton Delaval Hall. I learned so much from this quilt: although I was already quite an experienced quilter, this improved my accuracy without a doubt. It taught me some organisational skills which have proved invaluable - such as cut out a load of blocks, hold them together with clips and pin them to a noticeboard - this is a great way of sewing for a busy mum who grabs moments here and there. Everything is where I need it and in manageable chunks! I realised that I don't like having my quilts long-armed. That is absolutely nothing against Cath - she did a fabulous job, I love the effect, and she was such a helpful and friendly person. But I don't like the fact that I didn't complete this quilt from beginning to end. Of course, if I had decided to quilt it myself, you may not be reading this post now! Or ever! I learned that a support group can be fantastic - the lovely ladies (and Bruce) over on the Facebook group have cheered me on when I fell behind, congratulated me when I achieved minor miracles and laughed over thirty-tooths with me. I think if it weren't for them, you wouldn't be reading this post either. So here are some stats and facts for you: This quilt was a stash quilt. Although I did have to buy some of the "light" and "dark" fabrics I used as my backgrounds, all of the coloured fabrics came from my stash. I would love to say it was a scrap quilt, but while it does have a scrappy look, with hundreds of different fabrics, and no cohesive background fabric, it actually created more scraps than it used! The family crazy was never far away - even during the final photo shoot! The finished quilt is made up of 365 "blocks" either 3" (all of which are dark) or 6" (all of the lights are 6" and there are a few darks too). There are 4 12" blocks, one in each corner, and the centre medallion was (I think) 10 days worth of "blocks" including the four light 6" corner blocks. As a group we were daft enough to add up the total number of pieces in the quilt to 10909 (with some variation as some of us used slightly different blocks - but I'm not counting my own quilt to give you an exact figure!). It finishes at 94" x 94" and I completed it with a scrappy matched binding. The next adventure for this quilt, if I get my act together and add a hanging sleeve, will be in Birmingham. Twenty of us from that Facebook group will be hanging our quilts at the Festival of Quilts in August in a special exhibit. I won't be able to go in person, but if you're planning on going, I'm sure my quilt would love to see you there! This is a Finish Along finish! You can find my original list here.

Wessex Stitchery Sampler I thought I would tell you about my header to my blog. It is Wessex Stitchery and my own design. It was in 2000 that the book "Wessex Stitchery" by Gay Eaton first came out and "New Stitches" magazine ran an article on it. I then went out and bought a copy. It must have been a couple of years later that I got the book out again and thought I would have ago at some of the patterns. I had got some of the new Anchor multicoloured threads and thought they would look nice in this sort of stitching, and I made a Wessex needle case. I was hooked. Wessex Needle Case I just had to do some of the different patterns and try out different colour contracts. So my Wessex Sampler was born (see above). When you get into how it all fits, it gets a bit addictive and here is what I stitched next. I thought I could make this into a large greetings card for a special occasion or into a frame. In the close up you can see that I used some metallic threads to give a bit of sparkle. Wessex Stitchery Wessex Stitchery - Close Up Some of you may have seen these pictures before and wonder where you have seen them. I sent in a letter to "New Stitches" magazine and my letter was published in March 2010, issue 203. A whole page and was also the Star Letter, which was a great surprise to me. A lovely parcel arrived later on with lots of stitching goodies inside. New Stitches Magazine In my letter I wrote about showing my Wessex stitchery at the Cross Stitch Guild, and members there who were also from the Embroiders' Guild, were very interested in the Wessex Stitchery as it was something new to them. I told them about the book by Gay Eaton, but unfortunately it is out of print. I was able to give a contact in New Zealand (as Gay Eaton is from New Zealand), Lee, who is also a keen embroider and has a wonderful blog spot "Notes from Under the Mountain" and has written and given patterns about Wessex Stitchery. There was a comment from the magazine saying: "As to the book 'Wessex Stitchery', I took a look on the internet and there seem to be two copies available - at enormous cost! It would seem that it has become a collector's item already. Let's hope there will be a re-print soon." After my letter had been printed in 'New Stitches' magazine, I received a letter in July 2010 from them saying "Your fame has spread far and wide and I have been in correspondence with a lady in New Zealand whose friend wants you to have her copy of 'Wessex Stitchery' by Gay Eaton! Please find enclosed a well-travelled copy of this rare book....". "It does both amaze and delight me that something such as embroidery can bring people together from opposite sides of the globe!" Well you can well imagine how amazed and grateful I felt in receiving this wonderful gift. I have now found that "Nordic Needle" do have copies of this wonderful book. Also they have a free chart "Wessex Sampler Bookmark" by Debi Feyh. I've also found a good review with pictures of what the book is like inside by Mary Corbet at Needle'nThread. 'Wessex' Name Badge Happy Stitching Everyone

4-patch textured quilt Textured quilt You can buy the quilt tutorials in one single PDF document. The document contains a step by step instructions with colour photos in a 60+ page booklet each. F…

To continue with the Folk Art Quilt... thanks for waiting for part two. Three different ways to create the prairie point are shown in this book. Prairie Points – 3 ways: single-fold (218); double-fold (p219); continuous prairie points (p163) Construction of the Continuous Prairie Point: The next step was to work on the prairie points that are going around the edge of the quilt. I had not seen continuous prairie points before, nor had I made them. If I remember correctly, the strip was 4" wide, and then pressed in half to mark a center line from which to create each fold of the prairie points. Then cuts were made every two inches on both sides of the center line, alternating along the whole length of the fabric strip. Pressing a Fold-line Cut to the Pressed Line Then each cut square was folded once towards the centerline and pressed, as shown on the left below. The second step was to go back and fold each triangle shape to create another triangle, shown on the right side of the photo below. Once all the triangles were folded, all the points facing downwards were folded up to create the finished prairie point. These I pinnned and then basted along the cut edge. They were set aside. Folding the Prairie Points in Two Steps Basted Prairie Points Strip Before stitching the prairie points onto the edge, several things needed to be done first. Stacking the layers of the quilt top, batting, and backing together, to do the quilting. Shown below are the center of the quilt, and the applique elements. I stitched around the star design to quilt through all the layers. Then added a shadow stitch around the complete design. Quilting the Layers Quilting All Around the Outside of the Design Still having a square-shaped quilt, it was ready to mark the cutting line. I placed the pattern piece back onto the quilt and marked the edge with a pen. When completely marked, I stitched inside these marks about a quarter of an inch, and then cut on the dotted line, marked in pen. Marking the Cutting Line Stitching 1/4" Inside the Marked Line Attaching the Prairie Points Closeup of Binding I enjoyed making this quilt. It has lots of variety; especially, with the applique techniques, involved. And this quilt makes a delightful centerpiece, if one has a place to display it. I have done lots of square-shaped quilts on this challenge; however, it is my first round one. My Finished Project Size: 20" diameter This concludes my 2010 quilt technique challenge. I will try to complete the final quarter review within the next month. Enjoy the holiday season....

The quilt show side of the International Quilt Festival is amazing. So many quilts to see! And I only had 1 hour to see them! I didn’t take many photos but if you search social media I suspec…

Chapter Eight requires that five paper relief surfaces made for Chapter 3 are each translated into two different ways in fabric . For an ...

Ripples closeup Block type: log cabin Block size: 11 inches Colour scheme: reds and neutrals Texture/fabric manipulation: double controlled pleats with centre ripple effect Quilt size: The finished…

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Working on the Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt and using this great method to create 'Hour Glass' blocks Block #90 Storm Signal Block #69 Practical Orchard Block #17 Cat and Mouse Block # 109 Windows Block #108 Windmill Block #29 Economy Block #44 Gentleman's Fancy Block #6 Big Dipper Off to my quilt club gathering.... total blocks to date 73!! 38 more to go!

Hi there! I am here to share Block 29 of the Moda Sampler Block Shuffle! This block was designed by: French General Block 29 has to be one of my favorites out of all the blocks! I love pinwheels and this pinwheel is just too darned cute! We have only one block left!! Download PDF Previous blocks: Block 1 Block 2 Block 3 Block 4 Block 5 Block 6 Block 7 Block 8 Block 9 Block 10 Block 11 Block 12 Block 13 Block 14 Block 15 Block 16 Block 17 Block 18 Block 19 Block 20 Block 21 Block 22 Block 23 Block 24 Block 25 Block 26 Block 27 Block 28 If you are following along, I would love to see your progress! :) Use hashtag: sewingwithfwfabricstudio or email - [email protected] Talk to you soon!

If you are one of those people that creates things with your hands, you really are very lucky. Apart from the calming effect that handwork has, using your hands to do meaningful tasks benefits both your physical and mental health. I know that it benefits me, curbs depression and boredom, gives me purpose. It definitely calms me and as I mellow with age it tends to make me so laid back that I am almost horizontal. Nothing wrong with that and I feel real sympathy for those that have not discovered the joy of handwork. We all know them – those that say that life is boring (how can you ever be bored I ask, with tears in my eyes), those that look for their kicks at the bottom of a bottle or those that spend their time mall-cruising munching on medication. Sad, really. For those of us that have discovered handwork and, in particular, those of us that discovered it early in life, the chances are we’ve tried the lot. I have. From watercolours to miniatures, dressmaking to felting. And everything in between. The only thing I have never tried is pottery. The idea didn’t grab me, bit messy. But needlework, done with my hands, no machine involved? What can I say? In reality, I have devoted all of my spare time and much of my life to it. I think it would not be unfair to say that most hand-stitchers have tried all of the different arts associated with their passion. Quilting, beadwork, lace making, embroidery, patchwork. They’ve probably also enjoyed crochet, knitting and tatting. But seldom do they combine these different arts. Some years ago I started building a doll’s house. One twelfth scale, everything made with my own hands and a few simple tools. It gave me the opportunity to use every craft that I had ever learnt. From wood carving to gilding, stitching to moulding with polymer clay. I was in my element and, particularly because I was forced to be innovative. I was so pleased with myself when I worked out how to make a wooden floor that looked like the real thing, using a roll of oak strip that kitchen-builders use down the sides of cupboard doors and a carton of wood filler. In my mind, crazy patchwork is the needlework equivalent of that doll’s house. It is an opportunity to use every kind of needle art that you have ever learnt. When I stitch, I spend some of the time thinking up what I am going to do in the future. A few years ago I had this thought that I would like to embellish crazy patch in such a way that not one thing is bought and stitched on, nothing should come out of a stash and, definitely, nothing that decorates it should be a machine-made applique or strip of lace. Everything that forms the embellishment should be made with nothing more than a needle, a thread, some beads and my own imagination. I tucked the idea behind one of my ears for future consideration. It was still sitting neatly behind my left ear when my fabulous publisher and I were sharing far too much French Red in Paris a few years ago. She asked me if I could write a book for quilters. I said no, I’m not an expert on quilting. Then suddenly, fuelled by Bordeaux and Beaujolais, this crazy patch thing came screaming out from behind said ear. And that was it. Or rather, this is it. Two of the projects in the book include crazy patchwork panels that have been put together with a sewing machine but, other than that, everything has been made by hand with a needle. What you might call ‘crazy patch from scratch’. That necessarily means that there are a lot of techniques’ galleries in the first half of the book. These include embroidery, bead embroidery, silk ribbon embroidery, beadwork, tatting, needle weaving and needle lace techniques’ galleries. That’s for the embellishment. There is a techniques’ gallery for crazy patching and also simple quilting techniques for finishing off. We decided to count the number of techniques the other day and it came to something in the region of 160, depending on how you count it. For that reason alone, we are hoping that the book will be of interest to all sorts of needle artists from quilters to embroiderers. Even if the actual projects are not necessarily something they would want to do. However. I had such fun working up the projects. I was barely restricted by lines, I could use every technique that I had ever played with and I could invent different ways to use them. Gussy Up This is the first project in the book and is truly ‘crazy patch from scratch’. I drew a circle with a large soup plate, ruled some lines to resemble crazy patchwork and then had fun. I filled the blocks with either needle weaving or otherwise, crewel embroidery stitches that created a background that loosely resembled fabric. And then I embellished. No applique, but daisies embroidered with thread. No buttons, but three-dimensional flowers made one bead at a time with beautiful Miyuki beads and beading thread. No machine made lace, but needle lace techniques stitched through the fabric to resemble insertion lace, then threaded with Di van Niekerk’s hand painted silk ribbon. Silk ribbon roses, bead embroidery, tatting and even some simple beading techniques that are generally used to make necklaces or bracelets, rethought to resemble braid. Of all the designs in the book, I had the most fun with this one. Nightshade The embroidery in the middle, although resembling crewel work is largely done with needle weaving, needle lace and bead embroidery, with a few crewel stitches pulling the whole thing together. The outside border is, as with the previous project, crazy patch from scratch. Every block is a needle weaving technique and where the two parts of the design meet, the intersection is worked with a beadwork jewellery technique. My friend Pat van Wyk took my line drawing, enlarged it and (being a hand quilter at heart) recreated it with applique and traditional crazy patch techniques. A photograph of the exquisite cushion that she made it into appears in the book. Waiting For Santa The cuff of this Christmas stocking is, like the previous two projects, worked from scratch. Just lines on the fabric to resemble crazy patch, then lots of fun filling in with once again, a selection of all of the techniques – embroidery, silk ribbon embroidery, beadwork, needle lace, needle weaving, tatting…….and the pattern to make up the stocking is in the book. Rambling Vine If you thought that I might have forgotten my readers who are embroiderers pure and simple, then the Rambling Vine design would put your mind at rest. It is a wall hanging (or whatever you would like to make it) that comprises an ornate Jacobean-style embroidered branch lying adjacent to a panel of traditionally-worked crazy patch, machine stitched with 15 different fabrics onto a natural-coloured linen/cotton blend base. And madly embellished, in line with the general style of this book. There are of course, needle artists out there who don’t want to embroider and to show them that they don’t have to, my friend Margie Breetzke has worked the Jacobean panel using a combination of applique techniques, bead embroidery and simple embroidery stitches. A photograph of the stunning result is in the book. Savannah Winter The day before I started this project, I had driven back from Johannesburg through the dry Highveld, as we call it in South Africa. A long, straight, flat, rather boring drive, it was mid-winter and everything at first glance appeared to be dead, dry and frigid with frost. I was, however, in the right frame of mind, not ever having really noticed how splendid the colours were on previous drives at the same time of year. For the better part of six hours I watched the road through my windscreen, all the time marvelling at the colours that were there. The gold and khaki of the dry grass, the grey-blue of the winter sky, the purple of the mountains in the distance, the green of the few evergreen trees, the crystal of the frost on the ground and some pink. When I got to Harrismith, decided it was time for a break and took off my sunglasses, I realised there was no pink in the landscape. It was my rose-tinted spectacles. But, what the heck, it’s a nice addition to the palette and so it was included. This project is machine-pieced crazy patchwork, the embellishment is of course, all hand worked using the same variety of techniques and I have made it into a lid for a covered basket. So…. Once again, Liezl Maree, Metz Press’s amazing book designer has taken my ramblings and turned them into a masterpiece. Between us all we think that we’ve caught all the errors and typos in the interminable proof reading process (if we haven't, please forgive us - with the best will in the world, it's an impossible task) and it goes off to print this week. The publishers, the printers, the ship that brings it to us from Malaysia, the warehouses, the distributors and any other players that I may not have mentioned, are working to a schedule that will mean that it is available from the 15th of March 2016. And where to get it? If you want to pre-order you can do so at: Amazon; The Book Depository; or Search Press. If you’re in South Africa, or indeed anywhere on the African continent, it’s not up there yet but you will be able to get if from: this website; or Takealot, who have taken over Kalahari.net and really do deliver. I know. I order from them all the time. With this book I set out to show readers and needle artists that they can combine the needle arts. All it takes is imagination and many enjoyable, calming hours. I hope that my intention will be achieved.

Click on the image to download a PDF pattern. Most of the patterns are free – a few at the bottom are available for purchase in my Etsy shop, Piecemeal Quilts. Copyright: This is pretty commo…

Circa 2016 Sew Along is now over. If you would like a pattern you can purchase a printed copy or download a PDF copy here.

These little inchies are great fun to work on and great for getting creative inspiration for other work. I have been tempted to do some for a while but it took signing up for a swap before I actually got around to doing some. For my first swap partner I made inchies with a blue theme in mind............... (click in the pictures for a closer look) For my second swap partner I made inchies with a black theme in mind..................... With this swap I have 2 partners each gets 12 inchies. So I made 16 of each colour theme and below are the 8 inchies I have decided to keep for myself. I figured I would soon build up a nice personal collection which I will probably frame. It will be nice to build up a collection in a variety of colours. In return for the ones I send I will hopefully receive 2 sets of 12 back, and hopefully again these will be in my colour preferences so if I build up a collection of these they should also make a nice collection to frame. So I have been thinking and wondered if anyone would like to swap 12 inchies with me, I would prefer fabric inchies, embroidered & embellished in your style. So if you are interested please leave a comment or email me privately.

Today is an exciting day! My Sew Tiny Sampler pattern, a foundation paper piecing pattern that includes foundation templates for 16 of the most-oft used blocks from my 100 Days of Sew Smaller proje…

During my research on sewing machine needles , I realized that when I did change my needle, I had been putting my slightly used needles back into the little case it came from along with the new needles. I had no way of discerning which needles were truly new and which I had used before. I

I'm so delighted that my Three Bears' Sleeping Bag PDF pattern is finally ready to share with you. I first started making sle...

Hello fellow Gypsies (and everyone following along)! It’s time to finish our sampler quilt journey. I’ve really enjoyed cohosting the 2019 Gypsy Wife Quilt-Along with @ScrappyViolet . It’s a quilt I’ve wanted to make for a long time.

Make Flying Geese the No Waste Way In the previous block, Belle, we added some seams, but in this block we definitely recommend reducing the number of seams. By replacing eight A-6 triangles with four A-4 triangles, we can make classic Flying Geese units and eliminate the extra bulk created where seam allowances would meet. Most of the Flying Geese Units in this quilt will be made with size-specific templates as in this block. (Please read the information following the link to the conversion chart about our Multi-size Flying Geese Ruler.) My personal grainline goals for any quilt are: Straight grain on the outside of the sub-units whenever possible Straight grain on the outside of the block whenever possible Definitely straight grain on the outside edges of the quilt Why? To prevent rippled edges and stretching. Straight grain can be either lengthwise or crosswise. Obviously, you can't have lengthwise grain on all 4 sides. Having said all that -- Design overrides grain! The only reason I can think of where you "need" a bias edges on the outside of a unit or a block, is when you want to make a statement with a directional fabric such as a stripe. The A-4 triangles in the Coral block will be cut with the hypotenuse (long side) on the lengthwise grain, which is parallel to the selvage, for the firmest edges. Measure the strip width "the Marti Way" using square template A-5. Here's my Coral Block Click the link to download the Template Conversion Chart for this block: From Marti Michell Template Conversion Chart #6 for Block #24, Coral In addition to our template conversion PDF download, you will want to read Gnome Angel's tutorials for these blocks. Speaking of Making Flying Geese Units We make a specialty Flying Geese Ruler with which you can use to cut both the small and large triangles needed for five popular finished Flying Geese sizes, from 2-1/2 x 5 inches to 4-1/2 x 9 inches. This ruler will also cut the triangles needed for the zig-zag layout Laurie has selected for this quilt, starting on page 260 in the book. Cut strips the perfect width, then use the same ruler to cut the small triangles… …and the large triangles! Making Flying Geese units couldn't be easier or more accurate. For smaller sizes of Flying Geese units, we recommend using the size-specific templates, as in this block. In fact, if you own our book, More Bang for the Buck, you will see on page 29 a chart with 26 additional sizes of Flying Geese, cut with right triangle templates in various Perfect Patchwork Template Sets.

(photo from laybabylay) The past little while I have felt a gentle pull to cut back on my commitments in the area of paper-crafting. I have fought against those feelings for as long as I could, but lately have found...

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Another project crossed off my To Do List! Mini Mini quilts! For your refrigerator or note board! Unfortunately, these were not my idea! I wish I was the brains behind this project! I was inspired …

Well the province went blue last night with a majority PC government. I'm not so sure it was an overwhelming vote FOR the PC's as much as a big vote against Graham's Liberals. Regardless, much as I love the color blue, I'm in love with green today. Here is the top for the tablerunner I told you of; I am very pleased with how it turned out. The pattern/directions are from a magazine I picked up this summer. It's called More Fast and Fabulous Quilting Ideas , part of the Better Homes and Gardens Creative Collection. It had a few projects in it which interested me, but this table topper really caught my eye. I used 9 different green fabrics, most of them batiks or hand-dyeds. This first photo is what the pattern called for. As I was putting it together, I wondered how it would look without the center section so I basted it together just to see (below). I like them both! What do you think? Sorry these photos are both just a little crooked... And look at the color difference- one was taken indoors, one outside... The one below is truer color... I hope to get it layered and quilted tomorrow. I'm going to use a variegated green King Tut thread, by Superior threads. The backing is a beautiful leafy print, with some gold, I think it suits very well although it's more of an Olive green tone. It will be bound with one of the darker greens. I promise a (straight!) photo when it's all finished... Piece, Linda "I think that I shall never see a poem lovely as a tree..." ~ Joyce Kilmer