Nicola Foreman Quilts - BLOG

Christmas Tree Mini Quilt

5/1/2026

I'd originally bought this kit, designed by Sarah Edgar from Pretty Fabrics and Trims back in 2020. Like so many of my kits, I didn't have time to make it when I bought it, packed it away, and never found time to make it! Anyway, I needed a small project to kick start the new year, and this seemed perfect. The kit itself contained everything needed to make this mini quilt - all the fabrics, wadding, lace trimming, Aurifil 12wt thread and the decorative button. These fabrics are such lovely soft muted colours. The machine piecing was quite simple, and it didn't take too long to put it together. The "branches" of the tree are stitched together in pairs, the lace trimming is added to a couple of "branches" then the background fabric is added, then finally the pairs of fabric are joined together. A decorative button is stitched in place, and hand embroidery is added using the Aurifil 12wt thread. I've machine quilted very simply inside the tree, then hand quilted around the outside of the tree using the same thread that was used for the decorative hand embroidery...

...a hand appliqued star is stitched to the top of the tree, and I've hand quilted around this too. This small quilt is then trimmed to size, and a narrow flange is added. Finally the red and white striped binding is stitched into place...

...I've added a narrow quilt sleeve onto the back, ready to display this little quilt on a decorative hanger. I've got another couple of kits that were purchased from Pretty Fabric and Trims, and hopefully 2026 is going to be the year they get made!

Declutter Challenge - Day 4

4/1/2026

Day 4 of the Declutter Challenge is still about theprecious shelf space in your sewing space, and today is all about the books - and although I had managed to donate a lot of my books that I no longer use last year, I still managed to find a few today to go into my donate box!
Once I'd completed today's task, I was able to complete a small project that I'd started on New Year's Day.
There's lots more information over on the Just Get it Done Quilts website.

#declutterchallenge2026
#jgidqdeclutterchallenge2026
#reclaimingmyspace2026

Declutter Challenge - Day 3

3/1/2026

Day 3 of the Declutter Challenge is the first day that we look at the capacity of sewing rooms, looking in shelves, drawers, and cupboards, to determine how much volume your space can hold. Today is about dealing with subscriptions for magazines - both hard copy and digital. I was really ruthless last year when I took part in this challenge, so this year I just had a few magazines to go through, and I managed to recycle a few more!
Once the magazines have been dealt with, the other task for today is to pick a project to work on during the challenge - this can be a new project or a UFO.
There's lots more information over on the Just Get it Done Quilts website.

#declutterchallenge2026
#jgidqdeclutterchallenge2026
#reclaimingmyspace2026

Declutter Challenge - Day 2

2/1/2026

On to Day 2 of the Declutter Challenge - and it is all about squatters - these are the things that don't really belong in your sewing area, the things that were dumped there because you were in a hurry. So this is the day all those things get put back where they belong.
The second task for today is to clean your sewing machine, clear out the fluff, oil it, and put in a new needle.
There's lots more information over on the Just Get it Done Quilts website.

#declutterchallenge2026
#jgidqdeclutterchallenge2026
#reclaimingmyspace2026

Declutter Challenge - Day 1

1/1/2026

Last year I took part in the Declutter Challenge, organised by Just Get it Done Quilts and I'm joining in again this year. Although I've made a HUGE effort to keep my sewing studio clutter-free, I'm sure there'll be lots of work to do!
Anyway, the main task for today is garbage - so I'm heading off to my sewing studio with a box for recycling and a bin liner for rubbish. There shouldn't be too much rubbish as I had a quick tidy up before Christmas, but I'd been using my cutting table as my "gift wrapping station" so there may be a few bits I've missed!
The second task for today is to reclaim your sewing machine. Luckily I'm able to keep my machine set up all the time as I don't have to use my sewing studio for anything else. So once all of the rubbish

has been removed and recycled or disposed of, I'm going to clean my sewing table, ready for tomorrow.

#declutterchallenge2026
#jgidqdeclutterchallenge2026
#reclaimingmyspace2026

Update on That Long List of Quilts

1/1/2026

Since I shared an update on my LONG list of kits last year, I've been quite ruthless in which ones I still loved, and which ones I no longer liked and definitely didn't want to make! The former have been boxed up ready to be dealt with as part of the Declutter Challenge I'm going to take part in this year, and heres a list of the ones I've got left - I wonder how many I'll manage to make this year?
As you can see, I've recorded the year it was purchased, the name of the pattern, the pattern designer and the shop they were purchased from. You can click on the pictures below to enlarge them.

2017 - Wonky Santa - Lynette Anderson Designs - this was a gift
2019 - Tree of Life - Lynette Anderson Designs - Cross Patch
2022 - Tuesdays Child - by Susan Smith - fabric pack purchased from Pincushion Pantiles
2010 - Høytidsengler - AnnAKa - Lappelåven
2016 - Vintage Bouquet - Jo Colwill - Cowslip Workshops
2017 - Celebrate Christmas Advent Calendar - Sarah Edgar - Pretty Fabrics and Trims
2020 - Gingerbread Biscuits - Sarah Edgar - Pretty Fabrics and Trims
2020 - Christmas Tree - Sarah Edgar - Pretty Fabrics and Trims
2020 - Bali Bag - Two Aunties - Little Quilt Store
2022 - Grab Some Grub - lunchbag from ByAnnie - purchased from Oh Sew Sweet Shop
2022 - Forest Friends Bear and Bunny - by Kathi Campbell - purchased from Coast and Country Crafts and Quilts

Completed Projects 2025

31/12/2025

I've had another productive year in my sewing studio, making a selection of quilty things, and even finishing off a couple of "older" projects that have been languishing in my studio for quite a while! If you click on the pictures below you can enlarge them. I'm hoping to spend lots of happy days sewing again in 2026, so I just need to give my sewing studio a bit of a refresh - I'm taking part in the Declutter Challange again in January, so I hope I can sew a couple of smaller projects inbetween the decluttering!

George and the Donkey - Quilted and Bound and Labelled

28/12/2025

Here's my George and the Donkey quilt - designed by Lynette Anderson - was originally started as a mystery quilt back in January 2023. I'd signed up to do this mystery BOM with Poppy Patch here in the UK, and I'd actually received the first pattern at the end of September 2022 but unfortunately I didn't get a chance to start it then. Each month another pattern arrived to make some beautiful hand embroidered and hand appliqued blocks, and what felt like MILLIONS of hexagons - until finally the quilt top was put together in May 2023. Then it sat patiently waiting while I deliberated over how to quilt it. Over the past couple of weeks, I've found an hour or so here and there and now it's finally completed. The cute red apple button was included with the first pattern of this BOM, and was stitched in place once the quilt was completed...

...the machine quilting has been kept simple, so it doesn't detract from all the pretty hand embroidery, and I've free motion quilted around all of the appliqued pieces. A few free motion quilted swirls and curls are set amongst the hand embroidery. The hand embroidery has been stitched with a variety of hand dyed variegated Valdani stranded embroidery threads...

...I've machine quilted around each of the 64 heagon flowers too! Once the quilting was completed, it was time to choose fabric for the binding, and I decided to use the same red heart printed fabric for the binding that I'd used for the centre of ALL of those hexie flowers - this frames the quilt nicely. The double fold binding was machine stitched to the front of the quilt, then folded over and hand stitched to the back of the quilt using ladder stitch. This gorgeous backing fabric was also one of Lynette's fabrics, and is from her Garden of Flowers fabric collection - it really is very pretty. I've added a hanging sleeve (made with a leftover piece of the backing fabric) to the back too, so it can be displayed on the wall of my sewing studio...

...one of my hand made labels has been stitched to the back of the quilt - I've used the butterfly and the bee motif from the front of the quilt, as well as scraps of fabric leftover from the quilt, as I like to reflect the theme of the quilt into the label for my special hand embroidered/appliqued quilts. I started my idea for the label by doodling some ideas on paper, then when I'm happy with the final design, I draw over the pencil lines with a fine Sharpie pen - this then becomes my template. The template is then taped to my lightpad (a very thin lightbox) and a piece of fabric is then taped or pinned to the template and the design can be traced onto the fabric. I prefer to use a Micron Pigma pen in a very fine nib, such as size 005 for this part - the ink is permanent so you do need a very steady hand! Then the hand embroidery stitches are completed, again using the same colour embroidery threads that were used for the main quilt. Once the label is completed, it is pressed and stitched to the back of the quilt, making sure the stitches don't go all the way through to the front of the quilt...

...and here's the front of the completed quilt. It will be displayed in my sewing studio in soon, once I've taken down my festive wall hangings and given my studio a good clean ready for making lots more projects next year!

Stjernedryss

26/12/2025

Several years ago I discovered the Norwegian designer AnnAKa - and I absolutely fell in love with her designs. This pattern is Stjernedryss - which translated means Star Sprinkles - and there certainly are LOTS od stars in this selection of fabrics! These were perfect for the special project that I wanted to make, and I'd actually chosen the fabrics before I'd decided which pattern I wanted to use. This tablerunner is pieced together and quilted very simply, then adorned with machine appliqued stars...

...I've used a neutral coloured Aurifil 40wt thread to machine quilt the centre of the runner, although if you look carefully you can see a couple of lines of machine quilting have been stitched with a metallic gold coloured thread, to add a little bit of sparkle. I've used Lite Steam-a-seam 2 for the fusible webbing, and I've used the same metallic gold thread to secure the stars into place, using a machine blanket stitch. The outer borders have also been quilted with a matching coloured Aurifil 40wt thread. The trickiest part of making this was the mitred corners of the binding, as the angles aren't the same as with a rectangular or square tablerunner, however I was pleased with the results...

...the single fold binding was then folded over and hand stitched to the back of the tablerunner using ladder stitch. I've also added one of my pre-made labels, which I sourced from Woven Labels UK...

...and here's the completed Stjernedryss tablerunner, before it was wrapped and gifted to a very special couple as a wedding gift. This was so enjoyable to make, I might have to make another one for me!

Tomtefar Med Ren - Nissefar Med Rensdyr

19/12/2025

Way back in 2011, I was gifted this gorgeous Tilda kit by a very kind Norwegian blogger called Hanne, who knew I loved Tilda products. I must admit when I first saw the instructions - which were written in Swedish, Danish and Norwegian, with very limited diagrams, I felt completely overwhelmed, so packed it awy to make "one day" and finally that day has arrived! I decided I'd procrastinated long enough, so with the help pf Google translate I decided to make a start...

...the first thing I did was to make the Santa body - I really do love his smart stripey legs! Once the body was made, and all the pieces carefully through and stuffed, it was time to make Santa's outfit. This beautiful woolfelf was lovely to sew with. I dooesn't fray, so the hems didn't need to be neatened. The trim around the jacket and trousers is finished with a neat red running stitch, and I've embelished the jacket front with red buttons, rather than crosses that were suggested in the original pattern...

...this Santa really does have a very big, fluffy beard - the yarn to make this was included in the kit. His hat is embellished with a couple of holly leaves, and red beads for berries. I've used a black Micron Pigma pen for his eyes...

...the reindeer was next - again, the construction was reasonably simple thanks to Google translate! And this is obviously a female reindeer, as she has antlers, and male reindeer lose their antlers when they're rutting during the Autumn. I've also used the black Micron Pigma pen to mark her eyes, and her nose has been hand embroidered using satin stitch. The final flourish for her is a sweet wreath adorned with more red bead "berries" - again, all the bits and bobs for mking this were included in the kit...

...and here is the finished Santa and his sweet reindeer - I have absolutely LOVED making this kit.