Nicola Foreman Quilts - BLOG

Hearts and Happy Flowers - Block 6 is Completed

24/4/2019

It's been a few months since I stitched any of my Hearts and Happy Flowers quilt - I can't believe it was at the end of November when I was away at a quilting retreat in Norfolk, when I pieced the blocks together, just leaving the hand embroidery and applique to finish! That row of tiny satin stitched hearts are made up of 1" background squares. This morning I've stitched the applique hearts in place on block 6 - it just needs a final press...

...drum roll please! Here's a picture of block 6 of "Hearts and Happy Flowers" -this 10 part BOM by the Australian designer Leanne Beasley was supplied along with all the fabrics from Cross Patch in Wales here in the UK. This block has been made with a variety of techniques - machine piecing, hand embroidery, English paper piecing and hand applique.

Nautical Quilts

22/4/2019

Just before Easter this fabulous book arrived - Nautical Quilts by Lynette Anderson Designs is full of new projects, large and small. All the quilty goodies in the book are made with a selection of fabrics from Lynette's previous collections...

...living not far from the Suffolk coast, this is giving me lots of ideas for future projects. There's such a good variety of projects in this book, the only problem is deciding what to make first!

Vintage Sewing Club - Month 5

21/4/2019

These GORGEOUS threads arrived in the post a few days ago - they're the next instalment of the Cottage Garden Threads Vintage Sewing Club. I signed up to this a few months ago with Cross Patch and I'm so glad that I did. These threads are lovely to sew with, and the colours are absolutely glorious.

Easter Tree

20/4/2019

Last year I made some "Spring Ornaments" - pattern by Lynette Anderson Designs - and this year they're hanging on my Easter tree. These were all hand embroidered, embellished with raw wood buttons and stuffed with toy filling. The glass eggs and the wreath were purchased on a recent shopping expedition to Snape Maltings, where they had a super display of Easter goodies, both decorative and edible! My basket of chocolate goodies will be shared out with any visitors over the Easter weekend - will you be a lucky recipient?...

...did you spot a very cute Easter bunnie, sitting beneath my Easter tree?...

...these gorgeous decorated glass eggs are so pretty. Unfortunately I gave away all my fabric scraps that were from the same collection that the Spring Ornaments were made from, so the Bunny Garden quilt that I shared a picture of yesterday was made with other fabrics - I may well have to source some more LA pastel fabrics and redo that mini-quilt at a later date!

Bunny Garden on Display

19/4/2019

I've been decorating my home for the Easter holidays, and have added some homemade pieces along with flowers and spring-themed ornaments. This mini-quilt pattern is my most recent project, and was finished just in time! The pattern is "Bunny Garden" by the Australian designer Lynette Anderson Designs. I'd bought the pattern and the hand painted wooden buttons that are used to embellish it from Cross Patch, an online shop in Wales, back in 2016!

Bunny Garden

18/4/2019

Bunny Garden is a cute pattern that is ideal for spring. The pattern is by the Australian designer Lynette Anderson and I'd bought both the pattern and the hand painted wooden buttons that are used for embellishment, from Cross Patch back in 2016! A few days ago the design was traced onto a piece of background fabric using a light pad and a very fine tipped Micron Pigma pen. A lightweight interfacing was fused to the back...

...and here's the finished wall hanging! The hand embroidery was completed using Valdani variegated threads and the hand painted wooden buttons have been stitched into place. This was machine pieced very simply, just stitch-in-the-ditch, using the same Aurifil 50wt thread that was used to piece the mini-quilt together. I've added a narrow quilt sleeve on the back, and it's ready to be displayed on a decorative quilt stand, along with other spring-themed decorations.

Elephant Key Case

16/4/2019

A few weeks ago, I bought this Elephant Key Case kit from Sew and So's of Bungay. The kit included the pattern, all the fabrics (just love these Liberty florals), wadding, binding fabric, the leather key strap and even a tiny black button for the elephant's eye. It was really quick and simple to make, and only took a couple of hours from start to finish. I used the Apliquick method of applique for the elephant that is appliqued onto the front of the key case...

...and here's the finished key case. This is perfect for clipping onto a tab in my handbag and in my tote bags, so I don't loose my keys! I bought another pack of 2 leather key straps from Sew and So's, so I can make a couple more of these cute key holders for friends.

Pink Flowers and Pink Lace

15/4/2019

I needed another cosmetic bag as a gift for a work colleague, so a few weeks ago I spent a couple of hours in my sewing studio, preparing this little bag. She particularly likes pink fabrics, but all I had in my fabric box was a small piece of floral Lecien with pink flowers on - this was was perfect but I didn't have enough to make the complete bag with the same fabric, so I added some blue spotty fabric and kept the pink theme with some vintage lace trimming. Now the gift has been delivered I can share a picture - she was really pleased with it!
The pattern is, as usual, Anna's Sminkepung by the Norwegian designer AnnAKa. These patterns are only available from quilt shops in Scandinavia - there are some links to these shops on the right hand toolbar of my blog. Oh and the instructions are in Norwegian too, but I just followed the diagrams!

Bless All Who Enter - Completed

14/4/2019

It's finished! My latest project "Bless All Who Enter" is a small wall hanging, approx 12" x 18" designed by Natalie Bird of The Birdhouse Patchwork Designs, and was purchased as a kit from Cross Patch, a fabulous online shop based in Wales, here in the UK. The kit included all the pattern, and all the fabrics needed to make the wall hanging including binding and backing. These gorgeous fabrics are by French General for Moda...

..I've used a selection of DMC threads for the hand embroidery. The blocks are machine pieced together with a neutral coloured Aurifil 50wt thread, and I used the same thread to quilt it in a very simple stipple design. Buttons were used in a creative manner to replace the satin stitched flowers!...

...one of my small hand embroidered labels has been embroidered to the back of the wall hanging, to remind me of the year it it was made. A narrow quilt sleeve has been stitched to the back, so it;s all ready to display on the wall of my sewing studio. Now it's time to tidy my sewing table, clean and oil my Bernina, and have a think about my next project!

Clever Ways With Buttons

13/4/2019

Here's a sneeky peek at the applique for Bless All Who Enter (pattern by the Australian designer Natalie Bird of The Birdhouse Patchwork Designs). Instead of satin stitched flowers, I decided to use buttons - as I didn't have red buttons the right size, I layered buttons up in different colours/sizes. I'm really pleased with this effect. The stitchery has been completed using DMC threads. The fabrics used for this are by French General for Moda.