Nicola Foreman Quilts - BLOG

Vintage Paisley Stitchery Bag

21/3/2025

I needed a hand embroidery project to take with me on an up-coming holiday, and I couldn't resist this lovely kit from Cross Patch - the Vintage Paisley Stitchery Bag. The kit includes the pattern, all the fabrics for the bag, handles and lining, the zipper AND a spool of perle thread for the hand embroidery. The panel is pre-printed with the stitchery design, so all I had to do was add an embroidery hoop, a needle and scissors, and pop it in my suitcase! While I was away on holiday, I made a start on the hand embroidery using the Finca perle thread that was included in the kit.These are very simple stitches - back stitch, some lazy daisy stitches and a few Colonial knots...

...once the hand embroidery was completed, the panel was trimmed to size, and the pieced border was added. These pretty 2.5" squares are all by French General for Moda.The front of the bag was then layered on to a piece of fusible wadding (Vlieseline H630, also purchased from Cross Patch) and was hand quilted very simply around the edge of the panel, with a neutral perle thread. The sides and the base of the bag are made from piecing more of the 2.5" squares. The back has been machine quilted in a simple crosshatch pattern...

...when the quilting was completed, the bag was pieced together. The lining was added, and the zipper inserted...

...the fabric handles were machine stitched in place. This is the first time I've made this particular type of handle, and it was a really simple task - although I might add some flexible plastic tubing to give them a bit more structure...

...and here's the completed bag. This small tote bag measures approx 16" x 12" and is 2" deep, and will be perfect for keeping my project bags in.

Spis Fisk

10/3/2025

Another Norwegian project from my VERY long list of kits - and another set of placemats! This pattern - Spis Fisk (translates as Eat Fish) is also by the Norwegian designer AnnAKa, and the kit which included the pattern and all the fabrics inclding the the backing and binding, was purchased from Lapp-Elisa, in Sweden. Although the instructions are written in Norwegian, the pattern is very well illustrated, and was simple to put together. The instructions are for raw edge applique, and I've used a small black button on the eye which will be stitched in place once the placemats are completed. This cute fish-themed fabric is from the Fish Tales collection by Annie Brady for Moda...

...the wadding that I've used is my favourite one for tablerunners and placemats - Vliseline H630, whith is a thin felted polyester fusible wadding which quilts very nicely. I tend to buy this by the metre from Cross Patch here in the UK. The machine quilting has been kept very simple, with lines of echo quilting around the fish heads and tails. The centr panel has been machine quilted in straight rows half an inch apart, using the edge of the walking foot as a guide...

...I've used the star print to bind the placemats with a single fold binding, machined to the front of the mat then folded over and hand stiched to the back. Two mats have this cute fish print for the backing, and two have the orange fabric. I've added a label to the back of one of the mats, stitching it in place diagonally across the corner...

...and here are the completed placemats, ready to be wrapped and gifted to a very special friend.

Vårlige Tulipanhus

3/3/2025

Another project that has been on my to-do list for a VERY long time is this set of 4 placemats - the pattern is Vårlige Tulipanhus (translates as Spring Tulip House) and is by the Norwegian designer AnnAKa. This pattern was in issue 01/2011 of the Norwegian magazine Quiltemagasinet, and both the magazine and this super fabric kit was purchased from Lappedilla in Norway back in 2011. The pattern, although written in Norwegian, is relatively simple to make, as the instructions are well illustrated. I've used Lite Steam-a-seam 2 for fusible webbing. Once the shapes were traced onto the back of the webbing, the shapes were cut out with a small margin around the traced line, fused onto the back side of the fabric, then cut out exactly on the drawn line. The backing paper is peeled off, the shapes are pressed into place, then when everything is in the right place, a warm iron is used to fuse the shapes into place before machine stitching around the edge...

...there is a large picture in the magazine showing the layout of the windows, doors, tulips and leaves, so it is easy to replicate this with the fabric applique shapes. I machine stitched the appliqued shapes using a black Aurifil 40wt thread. I like to use a thin wadding for tablerunners and placemats, my favourite is a fusible felted polyested wadding, Vliseline H630, which I buy by the metre from Cross Patch - this wadding quilts nicely, and isn't too bulky. The placemats are made using the "birthing" method - the backing fabric is laid right side up on the wadding, the placemat is laid right side down. Once all layers have been pinned together, I've machined all around the "house" a quarter of an inch from the edge, leaving approx 5" opening for turning through. Once the placemat has been turned through, it is pressed, the gap is then hand stitched closed, and machine quilted...

...I'm really pleased with how these look, especially as they're a gift for a very special friend. I hope she enjoys using them as much as I enjoyed making them!

Flying Santa Tablerunner

25/2/2025

Back in 2016 I purchased this kit for the Flying Santa Tablerunner from Lynette Anderson's stand at the Festival of Quilts, here in the UK. The kit included the pattern, and all the fabrics needed, which were from Lynette's Festive Fun collection. I didn't have time that year to make it, and it was packed away where it has been joined by several other kits and time has sped by rather quickly than I expected! Anyway, a few weeks ago I finally made a start on it. I decided to use a raw edge applique for this project, using one of my favourite products, "Lite Steam-A-Seam 2" for the fusible webbing. I've used Aurifil 50wt thread in colours to match the fabrics, and machined the shapes into place on the background fabric an eighth of an inch inside the raw edge...

...once all of the applique shapes were stitched in place, I then completed the hand embroidery, using 2 strands of DMC stranded embroidery threads. These tiny buttons from my button tin were perfect for the eyes of the reindeer. The jingly-jangly bells will be stitched in place once the machine quilting is completed...

...as you can see, I've machine quilted the background very simply, using the lines of the trellis pattern on the fabric as a guide. This meant there were lots of starts and stops, and lots of ends of threads to sew in, but I was really pleased with the finished result. The bells were stitched in place on the reindeer collars as planned...

...I've used the same fabric for the borders and the binding, and agian the borders have been machine quilted very simply. A narrow single fold binding has been machined in place to the front of the tablerunner, folded over and hand stitched to the back using ladder stitch. I've added a pre-made label to the back of the tablerunner, across one of the corners...

...these pictures show Santa and his reindeer flying around the tablerunner. The original design has a fringed trimming added between the appliqued centre and the borders, but I wasn't happy with how it looked, so removed it before I quilted the tablerunner..

...now it is finished, this tablerunner can be packed away ready for Christmas - it's going to look super with a few more decorations on my dining table!

Declutter Challenge 2025 - Day 8

20/2/2025

Day 8 is all about cutting tools - scissors, snips, and rotary cutters. I do have to admit that I have quite a large collection of Karen Kay Buckley scissors, but they are all essential! Also they're all kept together. Small embroidery scissors are kept in my hand sewing bag, and I have a special box for rotary cutters and spare cutting blades. Do I need all these tools? Yes I do. And do I use all these tools? Yes I do! These just needed a quick tidy, and I was done for day. Phew!

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Declutter Challenge 2025 - Day 7

18/2/2025

Today's activity is a choice - a catch up day, a day of rest, or sorting out a hot spot. I'm still deliberating over that ENORMOUS box of patterns, so I'm tackling that again, and might even add a few more to it - while I deliberate what to actually do with it!

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Declutter Challenge 2025 - Day 6

17/2/2025

Day 6 of the Declutter Challenge is about the capacity of your sewing space, and the memeories and tokens of your quilting, and how much space it takes up. I keep a journal with notes about my projects, so that doesn't take up much space! Luckily I have this blog, so I have an online record of all the quiltystuff that I make. I didn't fell that today's challenge was much of a problem, so once my blog was updated, that was me done for the day!

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Declutter Challenge 2025 - Day 5

16/2/2025

Day 5 of the Declutter Challenge is all about patterns - both paper patterns and PDF files. I've haven't bought many PDF patterns, and looking through them, there are a couple that I've used several times and will carry one making, so have printed off a hard copy and will keep the PDF as a backup copy, "just in case" - and the free PDF's that were downloaded and I no longer like, have now all been deleted!
The paper patterns I've got are a bit more tricky to deal with - due to copyright issues they can't be resold, so what to do with them? So far I've sorted through them all, keeping a small selection of favourite patterns that I definitely want to keep as I know I want to make again (mostly bags, and smaller projects) and a few newer ones that I know I really want to make in the future.

And so what to do with the ENORMOUS box of patterns that fall into 2 catergories - ones that I've made don't want to make again, and those that I no longer like and know that I'll never use?

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Declutter Challenge 2025 - Day 4

13/2/2025

It's been a while since I started the Declutter Challenge, as we've been away from home for several weeks house-sitting, however I'm back home and ready to get started again! So Day 4 is all about books. I'd already gone through my collection of sewing and quilting books a few months ago, and donated all those I didn't need to local charity shops, so just needed to tidy my shelves, have a browse with a cuppa, and plan a few projects for the future!

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Daisy and Lavender Cushion

6/1/2025

Another project - another kit from that VERY long list - and it's another cushion! This pattern is the Daisy and Lavender Cushion, from the book Cushions and Quilts by Jo Colwill, and was purchased from Cowslip Workshops back in 2017. I finally made a start on this cushion cover back in September 2024. The daisy petals were machine quilted in place, and I like tweaking patterns, so I've addded Suffolk Puffs as the centres, to add a bit of texture...

...the lavender stems and flowers are hand embroidered using DMC embroidery thread. The back of the cushion was "labelled" in a very simple way - I just wrote out a few words on paper, traced it onto the linen fabric using a lightpad and a Micron Pigma pen, and then hand embroidered over the words. As well as adding some lavender, I've scattered a few daisies amongst the words too...

...once the applique and embroidery were completed, this project was packed away while I focussed on other things - and a couple of days ago I finally pulled it out again, determined to get it finished before I started anything else! A row of bound buttonholes is used to fasten the cushion, and these can be quite fiddly to make. The fabric that wa sused is pulled through to wrong side of the cushion opening, and I folded the raw edges over and slip stitched the edges in place so it looks neat in the inside too...

...a long strip of fabric is neatened and threaded through the buttonholes to close the cushion cover, knotted at one end and tied in a smart bow at the other end...

...a very large pillow insert was used for the filling, as the cushion is approx 24" x 24" - now it's completed, I really don't know what's taken me so long to get it finished! This really has been a lovely project to make, and another one ticked off that long list of kits - now I just need to update that list ready for 2025 and see how many I can work my way through this year!