Nicola Foreman Quilts - BLOG

Cosy Home Cushion

16/4/2021

Well another cushion has been completed! This pattern is Cosy Home Cushion by Gail Pan Designs and was bought last year from Poppy Patch. This has been hand embroidered iusing my favourite Hiroshima Tulip needles and a Cosmo stranded embroidery thread. These fabrics are from the Little Sweetheart collection by Edyta Sitar (bought from Cross Patch) and were leftover from a Turning Twenty quilt that I made last year.
Embellished with lace and vintage buttons as usual and there's a zipper in the back of the cover...

...rather than machine quilting, this has been hand quilted with a selection of variegated Valdani perle threads in colours to coordinate with my fabrics (also bought from Cross Patch). I.m beginning to enjoy this style of big-stitch quilting, and like the textured effect it gives. The zipper in the back has been hidden and I have handembroidered a small "label" using one of Gail Pan's sewing machine motifs too.

Pink Patchwork Pieces

11/4/2021

Once the embroidery was completed, pressed and trimmed to size, I picked out some scraps of fabric for the patchwork pieces. I've used fabrics from the Little Sweetheart collection by Edyta Sitar for Laundry Basket Quilts, that were left over from other projects - my plan is to have a pile of pretty cushions using these fabrics on the bed in my spare room, along with the matching quilt. This cushion top just needs to be layered ready for quilting, which I plan to do by hand, using variegated Valdani perle threads.

Saturday Morning Slow Stitching

10/4/2021

Early morning when everyone else is asleep is the perfect time for some slow stitching. I'd prepared this several months ago, so I just needed to thread a needle and sit down with a cuppa and stitch away. I'm using Cosmo stranded embroidery thread shade 506 along with my favourite Hiroshima Tulip embroidery needle for the embroidery and as you can see I like to work with a wooden hoop. This particular pattern is called Cosy Home Cushion by Gail Pan Designs.

Introducing Those Naughty Bunnies

6/4/2021

After their mischievious antics in the garden over the Easter weekend, Bertie and his sisters - Betsy, Bella, Bessie and Bunty have been carefully wrapped in tissue paper and packed away ready for next year. These were a real pleasure to make and I shall definitely make more next year as gifts. The pattern for the Easter Bunnies was a free PDF download from the Tildas World website.

A Bucketful of Bunnies

4/4/2021

Down amongst the hyacinths in my garden is a bucketful of bunnies, all dressed up in their Easter finery. The pattern is called Easter Bunnies and it is available as a free PDF download from Tildas World website. All of these pretty frocks have been made with scraps of fabrics, trimmed with an assortment of vintage buttons, lace and ric-rac and all with matching pantaloons! Betsy, Bella, Bessie and Bunty all have a riibbon around their ears and Bertie has a cute bee button along with a bunny toy on a stick...

...after an Easter egg hunt in the garden, those NAUGHTY bunnies decided to play hide and seek. They didn't think I'd be able to see them hiding in the hyscinths, but they were spotted! Thank goodness these mischievious miscreants were all wearing their pantaloons otherwise there would be lots of bare bottoms on show!

Hot Cross Buns

3/4/2021

Homemade hot cross buns are definitely the best! I baked these yesterday morning and they were absolutely delicioius eating them when they were still warm from the oven. I didn't have any apricot jam in my pantry, so heated some lemon curd to use for the glaze instead, which worked really well as it added a tangy twist. They were also delicious toasted for breakfast today. If there are still any left over I'll use them for a bread and butter pudding on Sunday as an Easter treat.

Wedding Anniversary

2/4/2021

April 2nd 1988 I said "I do" to this amazing man - goodness only knows where 33 years have gone!

Pretty Pantaloons

31/3/2021

I've been putting my ancient O-level dressmaking skills to good use and I've been making dresses and bunny sized pantaloons - with lace trimming obviously! Some are trimmed with ric-rac, to match their outfits. These bunnies just need to have their faces embroidered then they'll be ready for a photoshoot on Easter Sunday.

As Cute As A Button

29/3/2021

As cute as a button? Ohhhh the treasures I've found in my collection of buttons, haberdashery and vintage bits and bobs. This button was an absolute must for adorning a cute yellow spotted frock - goodness only knows how old it is, but it so lovely to finally have a project for it. Making these frocks was so much simpler than making the bunnies - those limbs are very narrow and stuffing them hasn't been without a few difficulties - and my swear jar is now full of I.O.U's!! I have a few more bunnies to make (I couldn't resist making more pretty frocks) so once I've stocked up with toy stuffing, watch this space for a bucketful of bunnies!

Making Frocks for Bunnies

28/3/2021

I've been playing around with some fabric scraps, vintage lace trimming and teeny tiny buttons, as I'm making a new frock for this naked Easter bunny! She might even aquire some more companions too as I have an idea for a bucketful of bunnies for a display on my sideboard. The pattern for this small bunny and a dress is available as a free download on the Tilda website.